Rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

Abraham ben Menasseh Aboab (

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 ...

: רבי אברהם בן מנשה אבוהב; d. 1642) also known as Abraham Aboab V was a Western Sephardic

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

philanthropist and Rabbi, who was an early founder of the Portuguese Jewish community in Hamburg.

Biography

Born to the

Aboab family The Aboab family (Hebrew: אבוהב, ''Abuhav''; Arabic: ابوآب, ''Abuwab''; Turkish: Abuaf; Slavic: Abuyav) is an old and distinguished Western Sephardic family, originally from Aragon, Spain. The family has produced several notable rabbis, ...

around 1560 in

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 ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. Abraham Aboab's father Rav Menasseh Aboab was a

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 Spani ...

, and the son of Abraham Aboab IV. In his early years he went by his

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

alias "António Faleiro". He and his brother Jacob amassed great wealth by trading colonial commerce assets in Lisbon. In order to escape the

Portuguese inquisition The Portuguese Inquisition (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Inquisição Portuguesa''), officially known as the General Council of the Holy Office of the Inquisition in Portugal, was formally established in Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal in 15 ...

, he and his brother later moved to

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, where they reverted to the surname Aboab and headquartered an important family firm in which they imported sugar and spices from Portugal to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

. Abraham later married Ana Dinis, and the couple moved to

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 ...

in 1611. In Hamburg, he built the second

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

in that city, named "Keter Torah," for the Portuguese community, and founded several Yeshivahs both in Germany and in the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...

with the wealth he had amassed. He was also granted a coat of arms. In 1625, he moved to

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

, where he died in 1642. He is the father of

Samuel Aboab Rabbi Samuel ben Abraham Aboab (Hebrew: רבי שמואל בן אברהם אבוהב; – August 22, 1694) also known by his acronym RaSHA (רש"א, Rabbi Shmuel ben Avraham) was a 17th-century Western Sephardic rabbi and scholar, who is considere ...

and the grandfather of

Jacob Aboab Rabbi Jacob ben Samuel Aboab (; died 1727) was an Italian rabbi and scholar. He is the son of Samuel Aboab. Biography Born into the Aboab family around 1650 in Venice, Italy. His father Samuel Aboab was the Av Bet Din of Venice. A position which ...

References

17th-century Sephardi Jews German Sephardi Jews 16th-century Portuguese Jews 17th-century German rabbis People from Lisbon Rabbis from Hamburg Aboab family {{Germany-rabbi-stub