The Aboab family (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: אבוהב, ''Abuhav'';

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: ابوآب, ''Abuwab''; Turkish: Abuaf;

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

: Abuyav) is an old and distinguished Western Sephardic family, originally from

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. The family has produced several notable rabbis, scholars, physicians, and merchants - especially achieving prominence in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

and

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. The progenitor of the family is Rav Abraham Aboab, who, in 1263 was given a tower in

Altea Altea (, ) is a city and municipality located in the Valencian Community, Spain, on the section of Mediterranean coast called the Costa Blanca. At present, the economy of Altea is based on tourism, which started to grow in the 1950s because of ...

with the surrounding dairy farms along with a

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

achievement by

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( Catalan/Valencian: ''Jaume I or Jaume el Conqueridor''; Aragonese: ''Chaime I'' ''o Conqueridor''; ; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1 ...

. Some have suggested that Aboab is a spelling of the

" Abdelwahab", which means "the benefactor’s servant", while others have stated that it derives from the town of Umm al-Abohav in

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

History

The family progenitor Abraham Aboab had one son, Isaac Aboab I, who was a

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

ic scholar in

. He later moved to

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

, Castile, where he headed his own

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

, teaching

Jewish ethics Jewish ethics are the ethics of the Jewish religion or the Jewish people. A type of normative ethics, Jewish ethics may involve issues in Jewish law as well as non-legal issues, and may involve the convergence of Judaism and the Western phil ...

. He is best known for his work ''Menorat haMaor'' "Lamp of Illumination", which is a collection of

midrashic ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

sermons. His son, Abraham II, was a close contemporary of Judah ben Asher and Abraham II's great-grandson

Isaac Aboab of Castile Isaac Aboab of Castile (1433 – January 1493), also known as Isaac Aboab II, was a Spanish-Jewish Rabbi, Posek and Torah commentator. Biography Born at Toledo, the great-great-grandson of Isaac Aboab I. He was the pupil and successor of Isa ...

, was a

posek In Jewish law, a ''posek'' ( , pl. ''poskim'', ) is a legal scholar who determines the application of ''halakha'', the Jewish religious laws derived from the written and Oral Torah, in cases of Jewish law where previous authorities are incon ...

and

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

commentator in Toledo. Following the

Alhambra Decree The Alhambra Decree (also known as the Edict of Expulsion; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Decreto de la Alhambra'', ''Edicto de Granada'') was an edict issued on 31 March 1492 by the joint Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdi ...

of 1492, he with thirty others of the most respected Jews of the land went to

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

in order to negotiate with King

John II of Portugal John II (; ; 3 May 1455 – 25 October 1495), called the Perfect Prince (), was King of Portugal from 1481 until his death in 1495, and also for a brief time in 1477. He is known for reestablishing the power of the Portuguese monarchy, reinvigo ...

for the reception of his banished coreligionists. He and his companions were allowed to settle under favourable conditions in

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. However, his son Abraham Aboab IV was the victim of forced conversion in 1497 and thus he and all his descendants became

Crypto-Jews 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 Spani ...

. In the early 17th-century the majority of the family immigrated to

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

. With Elijah Aboab Cardoso, and Abraham Aboab V in Hamburg. Immanuel Aboab,

Isaac ben Mattathiah Aboab Rabbi Isaac ben Mattathiah Aboab (Hebrew: רבי יצחק בן מתתיה אבוהב; d. 1720) also known as Isaac Aboab V an early 18th-century rabbinic scholar and hakam of the Portuguese congregation in Amsterdam. Born around 1650 in Amsterdam, ...

, and

Isaac Aboab da Fonseca Isaac Aboab da Fonseca (or Isaak Aboab Foonseca) (February 1, 1605 – April 4, 1693) was a rabbi, scholar, kabbalist, and religious writer. In 1656, he was one of several elders within the Portuguese-Jewish community in Amsterdam and for a time ...

in Amsterdam, and Samuel Aboab and his son Jacob Aboab in Venice.

Family tree

* Rabbi Abraham Aboab (fl. 1263) ** Rabbi Isaac Aboab (fl. 1300) *** Rabbi Abraham Aboab II (fl. 1340) **** Rabbi Judah Aboab (b. 1360) ***** Rabbi Abraham Aboab III (b. 1400) ****** Rabbi Isaac Aboab II (1433 - 1493) ******* Rabbi Abraham Aboab IV, alias Duarte Dias (1470 - 1550) ******** Rabbi Menasseh Aboab (1519 - 1600) ********* Rabbi Abraham Aboab V (d. 1642) ********** Rabbi Samuel Aboab (1610 - 1694) *********** Rabbi Jacob Aboab VI (d. 1727) ************ Rabbi Abraham Aboab VI (d. 1760) ************* Rabbi Samuel Aboab II (b. 1705) ******** Rabbi Isaac Aboab III, alias Henrique Gomes (b. 1520) ********* Rabbi Immanuel Aboab (1555 - 1628) ******** Rabbi Jacob Aboab II (d. 1604) ********* Rabbi David Aboab (1570 - 1612) ********** Rabbi Isaac Aboab da Fonseca (1605 - 1693) *********** Rabbi David Aboab da Fonseca (b. 1643) ******** Miguel Dias (b. 1525) ********* Duarte Dias (1555 - 1603) ********** Rabbi Mattathiah de Isaac Aboab (1594 - 1667) *********** Rabbi Isaac de Mattathiah Aboab (1631 - 1707) ************ Rabbi Mattathiah de Isaac Aboab II {{Tree list/end

References

Aboab family Sephardi families