Creator Bio
Isaac Aboab da Fonseca
1605–1693
Isaac Aboab da Fonseca was a rabbi, kabbalist, and preacher, born in Castro Daire, Portugal, to a family of New Christians. He arrived in Amsterdam with his family at the age of seven and was subsequently brought to Judaism. Between 1642 and 1654 he lived in Recife, Brazil, where he served as the rabbi of the local community and was, in fact, the first rabbi on the American continent. After the Portuguese conquest of the Dutch colony in Brazil, he returned to Amsterdam, and from 1660 until his death he served as chief rabbi of the Sephardic community. During the Sabbatean messianic ferment he was one of the chief believers in Shabbetai Tzvi in the Dutch capital.
Entries in the Posen Library by This Creator
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Prayer of Thanksgiving after the Portuguese Attack on Recife
And Isaac offered this prayer and supplication before the Lord:
Master of the worlds and Lord of lords, possessed of infinite wisdom and endless understanding, who emanates through His beings which…
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Nishmat ḥayim (Breath of Life)
We are therefore obliged to examine the words of the living God, which are expressed through the wonderful wise men who have received the truth [i.e., kabbalists], the foundation of the Torah. The…
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Proofreader’s Preface: Seder tefilot ke-minhag kahal kadosh Sefarad (The Order of the Prayers of the Holy Congregation of Spain)
Menasseh ben Joseph ben Israel, seeing the Bomberg types worn out, and since nothing can be imperfect for the Holy Work, arose from within the community and went out, and came to the house of an…
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Who is like You
Who is like You [see Exodus 15:11]; there is none like You,
Who is similar to You; there is none similar to You
God, God, the Lord [see Psalms 50:1],
High above all high ones [see Psalms 113:4]…