Isaac Aboab da Fonseca

Isaac Aboab da Fonseca

Isaac Aboab da Fonseca (February 1, 1605 – April 4, 1693) was a rabbi, scholar, kabbalist and writer. In 1656, he was one of several elders within the Portuguese-Israelite community in the Netherlands who excommunicated Baruch Spinoza for the statements this philosopher made concerning (the nature of) God.

Isaac Aboab da Fonseca was born in the Portuguese town of Castro Daire as Simão da Fonseca. His parents were Marranos, Jews who had been forcibly converted to Christianity. Although the family had ostensibly converted to Christianity, this did not put an end to local anti-semitic suspicions. When Isaac was seven, the family moved to Amsterdam. From that moment on, the family "reconverted" back to Judaism, and Isaac was raised Jewish from that moment on. Together with Manasseh ben Israel, he was given lessons by the scholar Isaac Uziel.

At the age of eighteen, Isaac was appointed rabbi ("chacham") for Beth Israel, one of three Sephardic communities which existed at that point in Amsterdam.

In 1642, Aboab da Fonseca was appointed rabbi at the Dutch colony of Pernambuco (Recife), Brazil. Most of the white inhabitants of the town were Sephardic Jews from Portugal who had been banned by the Portuguese Inquisition to this town at the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. In 1624, the colony had been occupied by the Dutch. By becoming the rabbi of the community, Aboab da Fonseca was the first appointed rabbi of the Americas. The name of his congregation was Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue and the community had a Synagogue, a mikva and a Yeshiva as well. However, during the time he was rabbi in Pernambuco, the Portuguese re-occupied the place again in 1654, after a struggle of nine years. Aboab da Fonseca managed to return to Amsterdam after the occupation of the Portuguese. Members of his community immigrated to North America and were among the founders of New York City.

Back in Amsterdam, Aboab da Fonseca was appointed chief rabbi for the Sephardic community. In 1656, he was one of several scholars who excommunicated famous philosopher Baruch Spinoza. During the reign of Aboab da Fonseca, the community flourished; the Portuguese synagogue (the Esnoga) was inaugurated on August 2th 1675 (10 "Av" 5435).

On April 4th 1693, Isaac Aboab da Fonseca died at the age of eighty-eight in Amsterdam.

In 2007, the Machon Yerushalaim published a book about Rabbi Fonseca's works, including the author's expositions about the community of Recife at that time. The book is called "Chachamei Recife V'Amsterdam", or "The Sages of Recife and Amsterdam".

ee also

*History of the Jews in the Netherlands
*Sephardic Jews in the Netherlands
*Manasseh ben Israel
*Marrano
*Spanish and Portuguese Jews

External links

* [http://www.jhm.nl/ Jewish Historical Museum]
* [http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Fonseca/ Jewish Virtual Library]


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  • Isaac Aboab da Fonseca — Gemälde von 1661 Isaac Aboab da Fonseca (* 1. Februar 1605 in Castro Daire, Portugal; † 4. April 1693 in Amsterdam) war ein Rabbi, Gelehrter, Kabbalist und Schriftsteller …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Isaac Aboab da Fonseca — (Portugal, 1605 Amsterdam, 1693) a été rabbin de Recife au Brésil de 1642 à 1653 et, à ce titre, est le premier rabbin à la tête d une communauté établie aux Amériques[1] …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Isaac Aboab I — Not to be confused with Isaac Aboab da Fonseca or Isaac Aboab of Castile. Isaac Aboab (fl. end of the 14th century) was a Jewish Talmudic scholar. He was also known by the pen name Menorat ha Maor or Menoras HaMaor, a work which he authored …   Wikipedia

  • ABOAB DA FONSECA, ISAAC — (1605–1693), Dutch Sephardi rabbi. Aboab was born in Castro Daire, Portugal, of a Marrano family, as Simao da Fonseca, son of Alvaro da Fonseca alias David Aboab. He was brought as a child to St. Jean de Luz in France and then to Amsterdam, where …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • ABOAB, ISAAC I — (end of the 14th century), rabbinic author and preacher; probably lived in Spain. His father seems to have been called Abraham and may have been the Abraham Aboab to whom judah b. asher of Toledo (d. 1349) addressed responsa (Zikhron Yehudah, 53a …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • ABOAB — ABOAB, Spanish family whose descendants remained prominent among the Sephardim of the Mediterranean world as well as in the ex Marrano communities of Northern Europe. The origin of the name is obscure. The family produced many outstanding Jewish… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Aboab — ist der Name folgender Personen: Isaac I. Aboab (um 1300), jüdischer Autor Isaac II. Aboab (um 1433 um 1493), kastilischer Rabbiner und Gaon Isaac Aboab da Fonseca (1605 1693), jüdischer Gelehrter und Kabbalist Immanuel Aboab (um 1555–1628),… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Fonseca — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Alfonso de Fonseca I. († 1454), Bischof von Ávila Alfonso de Fonseca II. († 1485), Bischof von Ávila Alonso de Fonseca III., spanischer Erzbischof von Compostela Anton Eduard Wollheim da Fonseca… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Isaac Uziel — Isaac ben Abraham Uziel (* im 16. Jahrhundert in Fès; † 1. April 1622 in Amsterdam) war ein spanischstämmiger Rabbi und Dichter, zuletzt tätig in der sephardischen Gemeinde von Amsterdam. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 Werke 3 Literat …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Fonseca — Statue of the brazilian professor Celso Suckow da Fonseca at CEFET/RJ. Fonseca is a common Portuguese, Galician and Italian surname, whilst the variation Fonseka is common in Sri Lanka. A habitational name from any of several places named for a… …   Wikipedia

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