Samuel da Silva

A New Christian physician born in Oporto, Portugal, Samuel da Silva later settled in Hamburg, where he returned to Judaism. He translated into Spanish the section of Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah on repentance. After reading a manuscript version of Examen das tradiçoes Phariseas (Examination of Pharisaic Traditions) by Uriel da Costa, in which the latter criticized Jewish tradition, da Silva wrote, in Portuguese, a strong polemical response, Tratado da Imortalidade da alma (Treatise on the Immortality of the Soul). He was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Altona, near Hamburg.