XVIIth century CE

writer

German rabbi

Rabbi of Zempelburg, in western Prussia, formerly attached to the kingdom of Poland, active around the middle of the 17th century and intimate friend of Shabbethaï Hurwitz, rabbi of Prague. His work…

German biblical scholar

Ottoman Talmudist, author of the treatise Hen Yeshallah, in controversy with Moses Benveniste.

Judeo-German poet of the seventeenth century, taken prisoner in Ofen (Buda), capital of Hungary, on 2 September 1686, when the imperial troops of the Duke Charles of Lorraine wrested it from the…

Judeo-Persian poet, author of Shoftim-nameh, versified paraphrase of the book of Judges.

Rabbi and Talmudist (Prague, Worms, Cracow), author of a commentary on the Haggada.

Member of the rabbinical college of Lemberg, where he figures among the rabbis called upon to decide a case of matrimonial law concerning the remarriage of the widow of a man killed by the bands of…

Hebrew author born around 1620, active in Germany in the second half of the 17th century. He published in 1690 in Frankfurt-an-der-Oder, then elderly, the « Bet Aharon », a repertory of passages from…

Rabbi active in Frankfurt-an-der-Oder, author of the biblical concordance Beit Aharon.

Italian Kabbalist died in 1639, student of Rabbi Hillel of Modène and Rabbi Menahem Azariah of Fano; he established, at the request of the Ḥebrah Ḳaddisha of Mantua, the rites of this funeral…

Talmudist and head of yeshiva in Constantinople, master of several Ottoman scholars.

Talmudist and director of a yeshiva in Constantinople, active toward the end of the 17th century. Student of Ḥayyim Shabbethai in Salonika, he founded in Constantinople a talmudic school from which…

Hungarian scholar died in Nikolsburg on April 10, 1670. Successor of Gerson Ashkenazi, he was rabbi of Nikolsburg while also serving as chief rabbi of the province of Moravia; the epithet "Ḥarif"…

Rabbi and author of Salonika, student of Hasdaï Perahia ha-Kohen.

British rabbi

Ottoman rabbi

Polish Jewish rabbi

Court agent (Court Jew) of King Ladislas IV of Poland in the 17th century. He is known only through a letter of January 11, 1638, in the official correspondence between the Russian and Polish courts,…

Rabbi, editor and merchant of Salé, of the Siboni family.

Author of the "Nishmat Adam" (Hanau, 1611), a collection of dissertations on the nature of the soul, the purpose of human existence, the world to come, rewards and punishments.

Lithuanian rabbi

Author active in the seventeenth century, he composed the « 'Amude Sheba' » (Seven Pillars), published in Cracow in 1637: commentaries and glosses on the old and new Zohar with explanation of foreign…

Judeo-Turkish scholar active around the mid-17th century, author of the « Bet Aharon », a collection of sixty homilies following the order of the sections of the Pentateuch and accompanied by…

Rabbi in Amsterdam in the second half of the 17th century, where he died around 1693. He translated into Portuguese, after the Hebrew version by Ibn Tibbon, the "Ḥobot ha-Lebabot" of Baḥya…

Hebrew poet and Talmudist, lived around the middle of the 17th century in Rosette, Egypt, descended from the Abbas family. His full name would be, according to Pollak, Moses Juda Abbas ben Meïr; he…

Purported martyr of the Roman Catholic Church in Prague who, according to the account of Jesuit John Eder, was killed by his father Lazarus Abeles on March 21, 1694 for persisting in his desire to…

Refugee fleeing the Spanish Inquisition, he settled in Hamburg and was related to the ḥakam of the same name; his sons Jacob and Isaac, born in Spain, devoted themselves to works of erudition.

Probably the son of Daniel Abensur, he too served as resident minister of Poland to Hamburg after 1695. By instituting private religious services in his own house in 1701, he provoked a division…

Author of « Sefer Toledot Yiẓḥaḳ », a collection of homilies on the Pentateuch of which only the first part was published by his son Solomon in Frankfurt-an-der-Oder in 1691.

Christian Hebraist born in 1672 in Königsee, in the Principality of Schwarzbourg-Rudolstadt, and died in 1740. After studies in Jena and then Leipzig, he became professor of Oriental languages at the…

Kabbalist of the seventeenth century, he settled in Hebron, one of the principal centers of Jewish mystics of his time. His kabbalistic work « Bat Melek » (The Daughter of the King) was edited by…

Polish talmudist born around 1635 in Gombin, Russian Poland, and died around 1683 in Kalisz, where he was dayyan (assistant rabbinical judge) almost all his life. Son of Ḥayyim ha-Levi, killed by…

Rabbi and ritual slaughterer (shohet) in Fès in the 17th century. Author of novellas (hiddouchim) that were reproduced by the rabbi of Meknès Eliézer Bahloul in his book « Mar'eh Einayim » (Mree…

Sephardi rabbi settled in Jerusalem in 1655, author of commentaries on Jewish law.

Rabbi of Tétouan, active in the 5th century of the Hebrew era (1640–1739). Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 18-3.

Emissary from the Holy Land called Mwalin Dad, saint healer; hiloula on Lag Ba'omer.

physician

Polish Talmudist of the first half of the seventeenth century, died in Brest, in Lithuania, in 1642. Rabbi in Tarnopol in 1636, he was called the same year to the rabbinate of Brest, then the largest…

Polish author of the seventeenth century, he went to Vienna and, following the expulsion of Jews from that city in 1670, settled in Brest, in Lithuania, where he married a daughter of Elie Lipschütz.…

Polish preacher (darshan) of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, great-grandson of Issachar Baer, surnamed Baerman Ashkenazi, commentator of the Rabbot. In Amsterdam, in 1673, he edited his…

Rabbi, active in the 5th century of the Hebrew era (1640–1739). Son of Yaakov. Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 17-4.

Liturgical poet of the seventeenth century, born in Kosfeld and became rabbi in Münster. During a stay in Amsterdam in 1675, he learned of an attempt to defame the Jews by an ecclesiastic named…

Active commentator in the seventeenth century, author of the « Holekh Tamim » (He who walks in integrity), which explains the laws of the Pentateuch according to the method of four-level…

Physician trained in Padua, he practiced in Frankfurt. He is the author of the Sefer Refu'ot (1700), a treatise combining ailments of body and soul.

Palestinian rabbi and author born around 1670. He was rabbi in Jerusalem and member of the rabbinical court presided by Moses ben Jonathan Galante. He is the author of a theological work entitled…

Polish commentator born in Cracow around 1620, died probably in Hamburg around 1670, or at least sometime after 1659. Fleeing the Cossack persecutions of Jews in Poland in 1656, he took refuge in…

Jewish scholar of the Sephardic Cavallero family (var. Caballero) established in Fès between 1688 and 1700, attesting to the presence of the surname in Morocco.

Egyptian rabbi of the late seventeenth century. In 1691, he edited in Venice the responsa of his father, "Darké Noam," adding to them a personal treatise on circumcision that aroused vigorous…

Rabbi and Moroccan kabbalist of the first half of the seventeenth century, who studied the Kabbalah under Abraham Azoulaï. He wrote commentaries on several Talmudic treatises; the one on Nazir was…

Polish Orthodox rabbi

Rabbi of Mantua (after a stay in Sassuolo), author of several halakhic works. Several of his responsa were taken up by contemporaries, notably in the « Devar Shemuel » of Samuel Aboab (Venice, 1702).

Rabbi of Fès, active in the fifth century of the Hebrew calendar (1640–1739). Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), p. 16-3.

Rabbi of Marrakech, 17th century. Mentioned in 5366 of the Hebrew era (1606). Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 11-4.

Rabbi of Tétouan, seventeenth century. Mentioned in 5418 of the Hebrew era (1658). Recorded in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 13-1.

Rabbi of Fès, seventeenth century. Born in 5413 of the Hebrew era (1653). Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 13-3.

Rabbi of Amsterdam, student of Morteira, author of the Minhat Kohen.

Rabbi and kabbalist of Hebron in the 17th c.

Parnas and leading figure of the Ashkenazi community of London, born in Hamburg after 1650 and died in London after 1721. In 1705, he had Rabbi Judah Loeb ben Ephraim Anschel removed to install Uri…

Polish rabbi active towards the end of the seventeenth century, son of Juda Loeb, rabbi of Ulanov, in Galicia. Left young for Fürth, in Germany, with the intention of publishing his father's work, «…

Rabbi of Fès, active in the 5th century of the Hebrew Era (1640–1739). Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 18-3.

Rabbi of Fès, active in the 5th century of the Hebrew era (1640–1739). Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 10-2.

Polish halakhic authority, author of the Magen Avraham, the reference commentary on the Orach Chayyim section of the Shulchan Aruch. He was active in Kalisz.

Son of David Gradis, he developed from 1728 the firm « David Gradis et fils », obtained exclusive trading rights with Canada and founded in 1748 the Canada Company. He risked his fortune to supply…

Rabbi of Fès, 17th century. Mentioned in 5398 of the Hebrew era (1638). Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 16-3.

Rabbi of Tétouan, seventeenth century. Mentioned in 5429 of the Hebrew era (1669). Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 14-3.

Rabbi, 17th century. Mentioned in 5404 of the Hebrew era (1644). Recorded in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 10-4.

Rabbi and member of the beth-din of Modena, ordained in 1647 by his grandfather Nathaniel Trabot. Renowned as 'first collector of books and manuscripts among Italian Jews'. He signed 'Ish Ger' ('a…

Rabbi of Marrakech, active in the 5th century of the Hebrew era (1640–1739). Recorded in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 7-1.

Rabbi of Fès, 17th century. Died in 5441 of the Hebrew era (1681). Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 7-4.

Son of the musician Isacchino Massarano. Author of a Hebrew narrative of the expulsion and pillage of the Jews of Mantua during the siege of 1630 (siege by imperial troops) and of their return.

Son of Joseph Maymeran, he was nagid (chief) of Moroccan Jewry and agent of the sherifs at the court of Moulay Ismaïl (1672–1727) in Meknès; he was among the wealthy Jews who had rich residences…

Spanish physician

Rabbi, seventeenth century. Died in 5362 of the Hebrew era (1602). Recorded in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), p. 13-3.

Rabbi of Fès, active in the fifth century of the Hebrew era (1640–1739). Recorded in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 18-1.

Portuguese businessman

Posek, disciple of Judah Rosanes, chief rabbi of Constantinople from 1720.

Rabbi and kabbalist of Modena, editor of mystical manuscripts.

Rabbi of Tétouan, active in the 5th century of the Hebrew era (1640–1739). Recorded in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 18-2.

Rabbi of Fès, 17th century. Mentioned in 5426 of the Hebrew era (1666). Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 18-1.

Lithuanian merchant, surnamed « the Honorable Sir Abraham, the Jew of Turisk », active at the end of the sixteenth and beginning of the seventeenth century. His name appears in the customs registers…

Karaite leader active in Poland at the end of the seventeenth century, favored by King John III Sobieski (1674-96) and greatly involved in the founding of Karaite colonies around Lemberg, in Galicia.…

Rabbi of Fès, active in the 5th century of the Hebrew era (1640–1739). Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 17-1.

Rabbi of Rif, active in the 5th century of the Hebrew era (1640–1739). Son of Yaakov. Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 16-2.

Turkish talmudist active in the mid-seventeenth century. In collaboration with Michael ben Moïse ha-Cohen, he composed the « Moré Tsedek » (Master of Justice), printed in Salonique in 1655, a sort of…

Preacher (darshan) of Lemberg in the first half of the seventeenth century, he published several homiletic works: the « Ben Da'at » (Hanau, 1616), one hundred fifty sermons on the Psalms, the «…

Merchant established in Hamburg in the first half of the 17th century, descendant of a prominent Portuguese Marrano family, he was appointed, around 1640, first holder of the agency that King João IV…

English clergyman and author, father of Joseph Addison, born in Meaburn Town Head in 1632 and died on April 20, 1703, he was trained at Queen's College Oxford and served seven years (1662-70) as…

Arab author and talmudist who lived in the first half of the 17th century in Sanaa and Aden, in southern Arabia, hence his nickname "Adeni". Student of the talmudist Bezalel Ashkenazi and the…

Jew from Tunis who, to escape forced baptism, took his own life in the house of catechumens in Rome on May 2, 1666, at the very moment he was about to undergo the rite.

Friend and contemporary of De Barrios, whom he praises in his "Relación de los Poetas", he is known for his Spanish translation of the works of Philo of Alexandria, of which the manuscript now seems…

Rabbi of Rabat, active in the 5th century of the Hebrew era (1640–1739). Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 19-4.

Leading Moroccan kabbalist, disciple of Rabbi Isaac Eturqui of Salé. His glosses/annotations accompany the original edition of "Hekhal ha-Kodesh" by Rabbi Moshe Elbaz, in the spirit of the kabbalah…

Talmudist and Kabbalistic author, son of Joseph Hanoks, forced by the expulsion of Jews from Vienna in 1670 to settle in Bavaria, where he teaches from town to town before becoming rabbi in…

Italian rabbi, posted in Florence at the end of the 16th century and beginning of the 17th. He is the author of a collection of homilies on the Pentateuch, « Toledot Ya'aḳob » (The Generations of…

Assistant rabbi of Prague in the second half of the 17th century. His work « Sheḥiṭot u-Bediḳot », written in Hebrew and Judeo-German and published in Amsterdam in 1667, treats, as its title…

Alabarch, brother of the philosopher Philo and father of Julius Alexander and Tiberius Julius Alexander, he held his office under the emperors Tiberius and Claudius. Imprisoned by Caligula, he was…

Theological writer of the 17th century, converted to Christianity in Rouen on April 21, 1621. He then drew up an open letter, in rabbinical Syriac, setting forth the reasons for his abandonment of…

Second tsar of the Romanov dynasty, born in Moscow on March 29, 1629, died on February 9, 1676. He succeeded his father, Michael Fiodorovitch, on July 26, 1645. Under his reign, the number of Jews…

Presumably established in Smyrna in 1659, he would be the son of the author of the « Shema' Shelomoh » (The Fame of Solomon), published in Smyrna that same year and containing homiletic explanations…

Rabbi of Constantinople in the 17th century, disciple of Joseph di Trani. He is the author of a commentary on the « Sefer Mesharim » — the section devoted to civil law in the ritual code « Toledot…

Rabbi of Rhodes and Smyrna, active in the 17th century, author of « Bene Ḥayyai » (Children of My Life), notes and novelties on the four Ṭourim, edited by his student Meïr Danon in Orthokoï, near…

Rabbinic writer active in Smyrna in the seventeenth century, brother of Salomon Algazi the Elder. He annotated two rabbinic works by his grandfather Moses Benveniste the Elder: the « Dobeb Sifte…

Rabbi of Smyrna and then of Jerusalem in the seventeenth century, not to be confused with his homonymous grandson, rabbi in Egypt in the eighteenth century. A prolific writer of rabbinical…

Contemporary of Moses Benveniste, active in Constantinople around the middle of the 17th century. He writes a commentary on Maimonides' 'Sefer ha-Miṣwot', where he defends him against the attacks of…

Marrano born in Salamanca, Spain, of Jewish parents. He marries in 1696 Leonore de los Rios Sotte, then, after her death, a Christian woman. Emigrated to England, he publishes in 1703, in English and…

Turkish rabbi and author, born in the second half of the 17th century, died between 1723 and 1739. Assistant rabbi in Constantinople, his printed work, « Ḥiddoushim we-Sheelot ou-Teshouvot » (novellæ…

Ordinary physician at the court of the Sultan Mourad IV (1623-40) in Constantinople. Rich and learned, protector of Jewish scholars, he returns in his old age to Salonika, his native city, where he…

One of the first Jewish colonists of New York, then New Amsterdam. He is part of a group of twenty-three Jews who arrived in New Netherland in September 1654, apparently after leaving Bahia, Brazil,…

One of the first Jewish settlers of New York, whose name appears for the first time in 1655. More fortunate than most of his coreligionists, active in commerce, he is one of the leaders of efforts to…

Physician born in Pernambuco in 1657, of Portuguese parents who had fled to Dutch Brazil. When the Portuguese retake Brazil, he goes to Holland, practices successfully in The Hague and then settles…

Talmudic author and principal of the Talmudic colleges of Salonica and Smyrna, in the first half of the seventeenth century, student of Asher ha-Cohen ben Ardout and one of the most prominent masters…

Empress of Russia, born on February 8, 1693, crowned in 1730, died on October 28, 1740. Under the German influence of her court, represented by Ostermann and Biron, she adopts, in contrast to the…

French Christian theologian converted to Judaism, born of Catholic parents in 1602 or 1603 in Briey, Lorraine, died at the stake in Geneva on 20 April 1632. Educated by the Jesuits, he detaches…

Christian Hebraist and learned Kabbalist, born in the first half of the seventeenth century, died in 1679, daughter of Duke Eberhard III of Württemberg (1629-74). She acquired remarkable mastery of…

Italian Jew residing in England from 1623 to 25, probably a teacher, doubtless of Hebrew, at King's College, Cambridge, whose records mention a subsidy of two pounds granted in 1623-24. Queen…

Dutch banker (1614 - 1685)

Hetman of the Cossacks of both sides of the Dnepr, born in South Russia in 1658, died on December 15, 1734. When Catherine I expels the Jews from Ukraine, May 7, 1727, Apostol is the first to ask the…

Writer and translator of the 17th century, son of Philippe d'Aquin. Converted to Christianity at Aquino, in the Kingdom of Naples, he left several works on Hebrew language and literature, including a…

Active in the seventeenth century, he is a member of a poetic academy in Amsterdam in 1682, a good mathematician, and arouses the admiration of his peers for his skill in solving riddles.

Physician active in the 17th century in Amsterdam. In 1655, he composed an elegy in memory of the martyr Isaac de Almeyda Bernal.

Marrano man of letters, active in the latter part of the 17th century. Member of the literary circle of dramatist Joseph Penso, he holds a high rank in the Spanish army in Brussels, where he reaches…

Rabbi and author, son of R. Hananya Aruvas, active in the 17th century. After practicing the rabbinate in several communities in Africa, he settles in Venice. He is the author of « Emet we-Emounah »…

The "Shaagas Aryeh", talmudist, rav in Metz; author of the eponymous collection of responsa.

Polish rabbi from a great lineage, who became Chief Rabbi of Amsterdam in 1740.

Dayan of Lublin, in Poland, in the 17th century. He is the author of « Likkouté ha-Or » (Collection of Light), in two volumes, the second of which, « ha-Maor ha-Gadol », remains unpublished; the…

Rabbi and one of the most eminent Talmudists of his time, born in Lithuania in the late seventeenth century, died in Metz on June 23, 1785. Rabbi in Pinsk then president of the yeshiva of Minsk, he…

Kurdish-Jewish scholar, regarded as the first woman rabbi in history, head of a yeshiva in Mosul. She left writings in rabbinic Hebrew.

Cabalistic and rabbinic author, probably born in Lemberg in the early seventeenth century, died in that same city on April 3, 1681. He wrote the "Sefer ha-Echel", a collection of homilies whose first…

Preacher of Tarnogrod, in the government of Lublin, in Poland, in the 17th century. He is the author of the « Naḥalat Azriel » (The Heritage of Azriel), homilies and commentaries on parts of the…

Rabbi, born in 1658 in Moravia, died on May 2, 1718 in Lemberg, from a family of renowned scholars. As a child, he received his instruction from his father and then from his grandfather Ephraim…

Rabbi and author, born in Morocco in 1700, died in Aleppo around 1760. Chief rabbi of Livorno, he emigrates to Jerusalem around 1729, where he remains about thirty years; he is the author of a «…

Physician and founder of modern Pentateuchal criticism, born in Sauve, France, on 19 March 1684, died in Paris on 5 May 1766. Son of a Huguenot converted to Catholicism, he studied medicine and…

Rabbi, banker, and Austrian commentator, born in Vienna in the early seventeenth century, died in Krotoschin, Poznania, on July 8, 1689, from the celebrated Auerbach-Fischhof family — his father,…

Cabalist Bible commentator, active in the 17th century. His father David dies as a martyr during persecutions of Jews in Poland, and he himself narrowly escapes the same fate, first in Lublin on…

Elector of Saxony (1694-1733) and, from 1697, King of Poland under the name Frédéric-Auguste I, born in Dresden on 12 May 1670, died in Warsaw on 1 February 1733. He confirms the privileges of the…

Elector of Saxony and in this capacity Frederick-Augustus II, King of Poland, son of Augustus II "the Strong", born in Dresden on October 17, 1696, died in that city on October 5, 1763. Raised…

German writer, born in Frankfurt an der Oder in 1691, died in Eschberge May 13, 1782. According to a biography printed anonymously during his lifetime and probably inspired by him, he left his home…

Christian orientalist, active in Leipzig at the end of the sixteenth and beginning of the seventeenth century. He devoted himself to Hebrew versification and published, in two volumes, a work…

Rabbi and preacher in Meknes and then in Salé, Morocco, born in Meknes in 1687 or 1688, he published in 1715 in Amsterdam a collection of sermons entitled « Ozen Shemuel », gathering sermons on…

Haham of the Sephardic congregations of London and Amsterdam, adherent of Shabbetai Tsevi, he was born in the East in 1664 (perhaps 1660) and died in Amsterdam on 10 April 1728; his name comes from a…

Commentator and casuist, born in North Africa around 1690 and died in Jerusalem on September 11, 1760, he studied the Talmud in Algiers under Salomon Ẓeror and served as dayyan of that city from 1728…

Moroccan orientalist established in Holland in the first half of the seventeenth century, he was the professor of Jewish literature of Hottinger and published in Amsterdam, in 1647, a versified…

Diplomat of the seventeenth century, died in 1699, he was resident minister to Amsterdam for the dey of Algeria and negotiated on this basis a commercial treaty with the Netherlands; he was also an…

Portuguese marrano of the seventeenth century, he was sent in 1673 to Rome to implore the papal curia to curb the cruelties of the Inquisition; well supplied with money and supported by the Jesuits,…

Rabbi, seventeenth century. Died in 5387 of the Hebrew era (1627). Recorded in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 101-4.

Poet-chronicler of Kashan, author of Kitab-i Anusi on the persecution of Jews under the Safavids.

Religious writer and hazzan (cantor) of Posen, also known as Aaron Ḥazzan, he lived in the seventeenth century and was the author of « Urim we-Tummim », an exhortation to morality and piety…

German rabbi, born in Leipnik, in Moravia, in 1639 and died in Worms on January 1, 1702, he was appointed rabbi of Koblenz in 1666, was not reelected in 1669 — the position having to be renewed every…

Rabbi in Eibenschütz, born in Frankfurt an der Oder in the second half of the seventeenth century, he composed a collection of cabalistic homilies entitled « Arba' Ḥarashim » (The Four Skilled…

Kabbalist who lived in Kremnitz, Hungary, in the early seventeenth century, he apparently traveled to the East and stayed in Safed, whose Kabbalistic school he often evokes in his writings. He is the…

German writer established in Frankfurt-on-the-Main at the end of the seventeenth and beginning of the eighteenth century, he published in 1712 a play in Judeo-German with a Hebrew title, « Mekirat…

Spanish physician and marrano, who declared himself openly Jewish in Amsterdam around 1640; versed in astronomy, medicine and botany, he knew Arabic and Syriac, and Manasseh ben Israel dedicated his…

Writer who lived in the seventeenth century in Salonique, student, according to Azoulaï, of Ḥayyim Shabbethaï (died in 1647), he left little trace of his literary activity: a decision published in…

Bishop of Lincoln, born in Westmorland in 1607 and died on October 8, 1691, trained at Appleby then at Queen's College Oxford, he became keeper of the Bodleian in 1654, then principal of his college,…

Hebrew teacher at Oxford around 1613, where he instructed students under the direction of Richard Kilbye, royal professor of Hebrew, he was noticed by Isaac Casaubon during his visit to the…

Son of Daniel Levi de Barrios, born on March 17, 1665 in Amsterdam and died on May 16, 1688 in Barbados, he was a member of the Ets Ḥayyim congregation and of several poetic academies in Amsterdam.

One of the very first Jewish colonists of New Amsterdam (New York), arrived at the port on the ship « Pear Tree » on July 8, 1654, probably from Holland — making him the oldest identified Jewish…

Italian scholar of Jewish letters, born in Celleno on April 1, 1613, and died on October 19, 1687, he learned Hebrew from a convert Jew, Giovanni Battista, before becoming a Cistercian priest, then…

Talmudic author active in Gnesen, near Posen, in the early seventeenth century, he drafted the Gedullat Mordecai, annotations and corrections to the work of Mordekhaï ben Hillel, to which he joined…

Italian writer of the seventeenth century, author of « Zikkaron li-Bene Yisrael » (Memorial for the Children of Israel), a short account of the agitation caused by Shabbethai Tsevi and his prophet…

Philosopher of Amsterdam, excommunicated (herem) by the Jewish community in 1656. His Theologico-Political Treatise (1670) founds modern biblical criticism. His Ethics, a masterpiece of rationalism,…

Rabbi of Fès, active in the 5th century of the Hebrew era (1640–1739). Son of Mordekhay. Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 24-2.

Christian printer of Hebrew books and Orientalist, born in Hanau, Prussia, on October 26, 1679, died around 1750. He founded a printing workshop in his native city between 1709 and 1712, from which…

Protestant pastor born in Rouen, France, on August 8, 1653, died in Holland on December 22, 1725. After directing the Protestant Church of Rouen, he becomes, following the revocation of the Edict of…

Casuist and rabbi of Constantinople in the seventeenth century. His responsa, published in Constantinople in 1737, are valued for the fineness of their analysis and the conciseness of their style. He…

Daughter of Ebert Geronim, second wife of Jacob Bassevi, son of Abraham Bassevi and president of the Jewish community of Prague; she died in the summer of 1628. Her tomb bears the family coat of arms…

Marrano poet of the seventeenth century, born in Spain, son of poet Antonio Enriquez Gomez. Like his father, he resided several years in Rouen before settling in the Netherlands. He is the author of…

Ambassador of Sultan Mehmed IV to King Charles XI of Sweden, died on May 29, 1673 in Amsterdam, where he was buried with great honors. His son, Juda Berbi, succeeded him as ambassador and returned…

German orientalist and theologian born on May 22, 1649, died on February 2, 1701. Trained in oriental languages under Vossius in Jena, he established himself as a preacher in Augsburg. He published a…

Financial agent of the dukes and princes of Hanover, born around 1630, died in Hanover on January 1, 1714, whose honorable position is praised by Manassé ben Israël in his « Hope of Israel ». He…

Envoy of Morocco to Maurice of Nassau, Governor General of the Netherlands, in 1608, bearing credentials from the Moroccan sharif Mouley Zaïdane presenting him as his trusted minister, entrusted with…

Preacher and teacher in Amsterdam, endowed with profound knowledge of biblical and rabbinical literature and accomplished Hebrew poet, he teaches the third class of the Talmud Torah and serves as…

Relative of Daniel Belilhos, rabbi in Venice around 1680, he wrote the « Binyan Ne'arim », a refutation of Samuel Aboab, which was however never published.

Poet and translator, eighth child of Jacob Belmonte, born in 1619, died in Amsterdam on May 29, 1647. Student of Saül Morteira, whose sermons he edited, « Gib'at Sha'ul » (1645), with Benjamin Diaz,…

Poet, Spanish Marrano of the 17th century, son of a Jew of Murcia, reputed as editor and commentator of Spanish popular poetry. He is notably responsible for this quatrain (redondilla) which became…

Benjamin b. Jehiel ha-Lévi is a Polish Talmudist active at the beginning of the seventeenth century, author of "Gib'at Benjamin" (Lublin, 1617), an alphabetical index of the four Ṭurim of Jacob b.…

Judeo-Persian poet of Kashan called « Amina », author of some forty religious poems.

Jewish writer

Benjamin Wolf ben Isaac Lévi is a Kabbalist active in Leitmeritz, Bohemia, in the mid-seventeenth century, author of «Amarot Tehorot», a commentary on difficult passages of the Zohar published by his…

Benjamin Wolf b. Daniel is a rabbi of Chomsk, in the governorate of Grodno, in Russia, author of "Naḥlat Binyamin," a collection of festival sermons and a homiletic commentary on the Haggadah of…

Benveniste ben Jacob, of Spanish origin, is one of the leaders of the society Biḳḳur Ḥolim of the Spanish synagogue of Venice at the end of the seventeenth century, cited alongside Raphael ben…

Rabbi of Meknès, active in the 5th century of the Hebrew era (1640–1739). Son of Messod. Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 24-1.

Rabbi, active in the fifth century of the Hebrew era (1640–1739). Recorded in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 23-4.

Rabbi, active in the 5th century of the Hebrew era (1640–1739). Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 24-1.

Berachah, called "the Hero", was a Polish Jewish soldier killed in the battle fought near Moscow during the war of Poland against Russia in 1610, son of Aaron ha-Ḳadosh ("the Martyr") of Tishovitz. A…

Berechia Berak b. Eliakim Goetzel, grandson of Berechia b. Isaac, was a rabbi and preacher active in Klementow, Poland, and then in Jaworow, Galicia, at the end of the seventeenth century and the…

Berechia Berak b. Isaac Eisik is a Galician preacher who died in 1664 in Constantinople. Trained by Nathan Shapira, rabbi of Cracow, he becomes preacher of that city, where he spends most of his…

Austrian rabbi and private banker (1691/92–1753)

This second Joseph Bergel is a Judeo-German writer probably active in the seventeenth century, author of « Ein Schön Göttlich Lied », a religious poem that appears to have been printed in Prague in…

David b. (Judah) Loeb Berlin is the rabbi of the three united congregations of Altona, Hamburg and Wandsbeck, probably born in Eisenstadt, Hungary, in the second half of the seventeenth century, and…

Abraham Núñez Bernal is a Spanish martyr, burned alive by the Inquisition of Córdoba on May 3, 1655. His martyrdom is celebrated in a work published the same year in Amsterdam by Jacob Bernal, which…

Isaac (Marcos) de Almeyda Bernal was a Spanish martyr born in Montilla in 1633 and burned alive in Santiago de Compostela in March 1655, at the age of twenty-two, nephew of Abraham Núñez Bernal.…

Salomon Bernich, also called Berenicus or Beronicus, is a scholar, poet, and adventurer of uncertain origin, who appeared in the Netherlands around 1670, noted for his mastery of several languages…

Joseph Isaac Berruyer is a French Jesuit born in Rouen on November 7, 1681 and died in Paris in February 1758, author of the "Histoire du Peuple de Dieu" (Paris, 1728), a history of the Jews from the…

Mathias Bersohn is a Polish bibliographer, archaeologist and art writer born in Warsaw in 1826, owner of a rich library of rare books and manuscripts. He published notably « Tobias Kohn » (Cracow,…

Ẓebi Hirsch ben Naphtali Herz Bialeh, called Ḥarif (« the perspicacious »), is a rabbi and Talmudist born around 1670 in Lemberg, in Galicia, and died on September 25, 1748 in Halberstadt, in…