Portrait of Isaac Aboab da Fonseca

Aernout Naghtegaal

1683

This engraving portrays Isaac Aboab da Fonseca, 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 followers of Shabbetai Tzvi in the Dutch capital. The Hebrew inscription under the crown notes that the engraving was done while he was still alive.
We’re sorry. The Posen Library’s licensing agreements prevent this image from being printed or downloaded.

Credits

Aernout Naghtegael, Portret van Isaac Aboab da Fonseca, 1686. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.

Engage with this Source
Page with Hebrew text of decorative border and Star of David located in bottom section, with signatures in the Roman alphabet below.
Tooltip info icon

Related Guide

Early Modern Rabbis and Intellectuals on the Move

1500–1750

Carrying books and knowledge, itinerant rabbis and scholars traveled between communities, facilitating cultural exchange. 

Restricted
Some content is unavailable to non-members, please log in or sign up for free for full access.

Related Guide

The Rise of Kabbalah

1500–1750

Kabbalah spread widely after the Spanish expulsion. The Zohar's printing in Italy, Safed's influential kabbalistic center, and Shabbetai Tzvi's messianic movement popularized mystical ideas across Jewish communities.

Facing-page Hebrew manuscript with charts with Hebrew letters on left side, and geometric drawings on right side.
Tooltip info icon

Related Guide

Early Modern Spiritual Ideologies

1500–1750

Early modern Jewish spiritual life encompassed diverse elements, including theology, ethics, liturgy, and messianism.

You may also like

Print portrait of man in skullcap and beard, in front of bookshelf and holding open book in his hand, with crown and Hebrew text underneath.
Tooltip info icon

Breath of Life

Nishmat ḥayim

Here Isaac Aboab da Fonseca argues that all Jews have a place in heaven, drawing on the Lurianic doctrine of tikkun.

View Source

Breath of Life

Nishmat ḥayim

In this letter, Saul Levi Mortera is a petitioner to the Venetian rabbis to condemn as heresy the doctrine that all Jews are guaranteed a place in heaven.

View Source

Ari nohem (Roaring Lion)

Why this knowledge, which is called “the science of kabbalah” [ḥokhmat ha-kabbalah] contradicts itself, and each one of these names (i.e., “science” and “kabbalah”) is not suitable to it…
View Source