Isaac Orobio de Castro
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Balthazar (Isaac) Orobio de Castro (c.1617 in Bragança,
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
– November 7, 1687 in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
), was a Portuguese Jewish
philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
,
physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
and religious
apologist Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and ...
.


Life

While still a child, he was taken to
Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
by his parents, who were
Marranos Marranos were Spanish and Portuguese Jews living in the Iberian Peninsula who converted or were forced to convert to Christianity during the Middle Ages, but continued to practice Judaism in secrecy. The term specifically refers to the charg ...
. He studied philosophy at
Alcalá de Henares Alcalá de Henares () is a Spanish city in the Community of Madrid. Straddling the Henares River, it is located to the northeast of the centre of Madrid. , it has a population of 193,751, making it the region's third-most populated Municipalities ...
and became teacher of
metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...
at the
University of Salamanca The University of Salamanca ( es, Universidad de Salamanca) is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the city of Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It was founded in 1218 by King Alfonso IX. It is th ...
. Later he devoted himself to the study of
medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
, and became a popular practitioner in Seville, and physician in ordinary to the duke of Medina-Celi and to a family nearly related to the king. When married and father of a family, De Castro was, at the instigation of a servant whom he had punished for theft, denounced to the
Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...
as an adherent of
Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
, and thrown into a dark and narrow dungeon, where he remained for three years, subjected to the most frightful
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...
s. As he persistently denied the charge, he was finally released, but compelled to leave
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
and to wear the ''
sanbenito Sanbenito (Spanish: ''sambenito''; Catalan: ''gramalleta'', ''sambenet'') was a penitential garment that was used especially during the Spanish Inquisition. It was similar to a scapular, either yellow with red saltires for penitent heretics, or ...
'', or penitential garment, for two years. He thereupon went to
Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...
, where he became professor of medicine at the university, at the same time receiving from
Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...
the title of councilor; but, weary at last of hypocrisy and dissimulation, he went to
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
about 1666, and there made a public confession of Judaism, adopting the name "Isaac." In that city De Castro continued the practice of medicine, and soon became a celebrity, being elected to membership in the directory of the Spanish-Portuguese congregation and of several academies of poetry. He died at
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
. Esther, his wife, died on July 5, 1712.


Works

Orobio de Castro was a very prolific writer. His work entitled ''Certamen Philosophicum Propugnatæ Veritatis Divinæ ac Naturalis Adversus J. Bredenburgi Principia'' was published at Amsterdam, 1684 (reprinted 1703 and 1731). This work, in which De Castro attacks the
Ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...
of
Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, b ...
, with whom he maintained a friendly correspondence, was translated into Spanish under the title ''Certamen Philosophico, Defiende la Verdad Divina y Natural Contra los Principios de Juan Bredenburg,'' by G. de la Torre, (The Hague, 1741). ''Certamen Philosophicum'' was translated into english in September 2020, by Walter Hilliger. All the other writings of De Castro, like the foregoing translation, are still extant in manuscript. They are: * ''Prevenciones Divinas Contra la Vana Ydolatria de las Gentes'' (Libro ii, ''Contra los Falsos Misterios de las Gentes Advertidas a Ysrael en los Escritos Propheticos''); *''Explicação Paraphrastica sobre o Capitulo 53 do Propheta Isahias. Feito por hum Curiozo da Nação Hebrea em Amsterdam, em o mez de Tisry anno 5433'' (compare
Adolf Neubauer Adolf Neubauer (11 March 1831 in Bittse, Hungary – 6 April 1907, London) was at the Bodleian Library and reader in Rabbinic Hebrew at Oxford University. Biography He was born in Bittse (Nagybiccse), Upper Hungary (now Bytča in Slovakia ...
, ''The Fifty-third Chapter of Isaiah,'' pp. 21–118, London, 1876); *''Tratado em que se Explica la Prophesia de las 70 Semanas de Daniel. Em Amsterdam à 6 Febrero anno 1675,'' a paraphrastic explanation of the
Prophecy of Seventy Weeks The Prophecy of Seventy Weeks is the narrative in chapter 9 of the Book of Daniel in which Daniel prays to God to act on behalf of his people and city (Judeans and Jerusalem), and receives a detailed but cryptic prophecy of "seventy weeks" by the ...
; *''Epistola Invectiva Contra un Judio Philosopho Médico, que Negava la Ley de Mosse, y Siendo Atheista Affectava la Ley de Naturaleza.'' This is identical with ''Epistola Invectiva Contra Prado, un Philosopho Medico, que Dubitava, o no Creya la Verdad de la Divina Escritura, y Pretendió Encubrir su Malicia con la Affecta Confacion de Dios, y Ley de Natureza,'' a work directed against
Juan de Prado Juan de Prado (c. 1563 – 24 May 1631) was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest and a professed member from the Order of Friars Minor. He served as part of the missions in Muslim Morocco at the request of Pope Urban VIII and brought much solace to ...
, a physician and author of
Picardy Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France. Hi ...
who resided in Amsterdam. Long after De Castro's death a Jew by the name of
Henriquez Henriquez or Henríquez may refer to: * Alexis Henriquez (born 1983), Colombian footballer * Amílcar Henríquez (born 1983), Panamanian footballer *Ángelo Henríquez (born 1994), Chilean footballer * Astor Henríquez (born 1983), Honduran football ...
published an alleged work of his in French under the title ''Israel Vengé,'' claiming it to have been originally written in Spanish (London, 1770). It has been translated into English by
Grace Aguilar Grace Aguilar (2 June 1816 – 16 September 1847) was an English novelist, poet and writer on Jewish history and religion. Although she had been writing since childhood, much of her work was published posthumously. Among those are her best know ...
(London, 1839). De Castro's discussions on
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
with the Dutch preacher
Philipp van Limborch Philipp van Limborch (19 June 1633 – 30 April 1712) was a Dutch Remonstrant theologian. Biography Limborch was born on 19 June 1633 in Amsterdam, where his father was a lawyer. He received his education at Utrecht, at Leiden, in his native city ...
were published by the latter in the work entitled ''De Veritate Religionis Christianæ Amica Collatio cum Erudito Judæo,'' Amsterdam, 1687.


The de Castro family

The various branches of this family are all of Spanish and Portuguese origin. Some have continued to bear the simple name of "
De Castro The de Castro surname is used by a Sephardic Jewish family of Portuguese, Spanish and Italian origin. Soon after the establishment of the Portuguese Inquisition, members of the family emigrated to Bordeaux, Bayonne, Hamburg, and various cities ...
", others are known as De Castro-Osorio; De Castro Sarmento; De Castro-Castello-Osorio; Pereira de Castro; De Castro Vieira de Pinto; Rodriguez de Castro; Orobio de Castro; De Castro de Paz; Henriquez de Castro, etc. A separate article gives details of many more members of the family.


See also

*
De Castro family (Sephardi Jewish) The de Castro surname is used by a Sephardic Jewish family of Portuguese, Spanish and Italian origin. Soon after the establishment of the Portuguese Inquisition, members of the family emigrated to Bordeaux, Bayonne, Hamburg, and various cities ...
*
Marrano Marranos were Spanish and Portuguese Jews living in the Iberian Peninsula who converted or were Forced conversion#Spanish Inquisition, forced to convert to Christianity during the Middle Ages, but continued to Crypto-Judaism, practice Judaism i ...
s *
Crypto-Jew Crypto-Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith; practitioners are referred to as "crypto-Jews" (origin from Greek ''kryptos'' – , 'hidden'). The term is especially applied historically to Sp ...
s *
History of the Jews in the Netherlands The history of the Jews in the Netherlands began largely in the 16th century when they began to settle in Amsterdam and other cities. It has continued to the present. During the occupation of the Netherlands by Nazi Germany in May 1940, the ...


References

*Kaplan, Yosef ''From Christianity to Judaism. The Story of Isaac Orobio de Castro'' Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2004 () * {{DEFAULTSORT:Orobio de Castro, Balthazar 1617 births 1687 deaths 17th-century Sephardi Jews Dutch Sephardi Jews Dutch people of Portuguese-Jewish descent University of Salamanca faculty University of Toulouse faculty People from Bragança, Portugal Court physicians 17th-century Spanish philosophers 17th-century Spanish theologians