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Rabbi Samuel ben Abraham Aboab (
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: 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 considered to be one of the greatest rabbinic sages of
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. He served as the
av bet din The ''av beit din'' ( ''ʾabh bêth dîn'', "chief of the court" or "chief justice"), also spelled ''av beis din'' or ''abh beth din'' and abbreviated ABD (), was the second-highest-ranking member of the Sanhedrin during the Second Temple period, ...
of
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
, where he rose to great prominence due to his vast knowledge of
rabbinic literature Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writ ...
. He is known for being an adamant opponent of the Sabbatean movement, and an early supporter of the
old Yishuv The Old Yishuv ( he, היישוב הישן, ''haYishuv haYashan'') were the Jewish communities of the southern Syrian provinces in the Ottoman period, up to the onset of Zionist aliyah and the consolidation of the New Yishuv by the end of Wor ...
.


Biography

Born into the Aboab family in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
in 1610. His father Abraham Aboab V, was a former
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 ...
and founding father of the Portuguese Jewish community in Hamburg. At age 13, Rabbi Samuel was sent by his father to study in
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
under Rabbi David Franco, whose daughter, Mazzal-Tov Franco he later married at age eighteen. He was soon appointed
Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a ...
of
Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...
, where he garnered such a reputation for learning that disciples sought him out, such as Samson Morpurgo and
Jacob Hagiz Jacob Hagiz (1620–1674) () was a Jewish Talmudist born of a Sephardi Jewish family at Fes, Morocco. Ḥagiz's teacher was David Karigal who afterward became his father-in-law. In about 1646, Ḥagiz went to Italy for the purpose of publishing his ...
, even the learned rabbis of Italy turned to him with difficult religious questions. Rabbi Samuel was also acquainted with secular learning and knew several languages including
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
,
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
, Ladino and Italian. After serving as Chief Rabbi of Verona, he was appointed Av Bet Din of Venice in 1650, where he became involved in the controversy concerning Sabbethai Zevi and his apostle,
Nathan of Gaza Nathan of Gaza ( he, נתן העזתי; 1643–1680) or Nathan Benjamin ben Elisha Hayyim haLevi Ashkenazi or Ghazzati) was a theologian and author born in Jerusalem. After his marriage in 1663 he moved to Gaza, where he became famous as a prophet ...
, who confessed to Rabbi Samuel, that his prophecies concerning the Messianic character of Sabbethai Zevi were mere deceptions. Rabbi Samuel was also responsible for obtaining financial support from Jewish communities in Western Europe for the Jewish settlements in the Land of Israel, particularly those in
Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies Above mean sea level, above sea level. The second-lar ...
. In 1643, he collected funds for the ransoming of the Jews of Kremsier taken captive by the Swedes. In his advanced age Rabbi Samuel became the victim of many misfortunes. Domestic troubles and severe illness afflicted him, as well as a dispute with the
doge A doge ( , ; plural dogi or doges) was an elected lord and head of state in several Italian city-states, notably Venice and Genoa, during the medieval and renaissance periods. Such states are referred to as "crowned republics". Etymology The ...
who forced him to leave Venice. It was only shortly before his death that he received permission from the doge to return to the city and to reassume his office, which in his absence had been conducted by his son Joseph, who later immigrated to Hebron. Rabbi Samuel died on August 22, 1694, in Venice. His son Jacob Aboab, was also a prominent rabbi in Venice, whose descendants eventually settled in
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
.


Works

Rabbi Samuel's works provide important accounts of the atmosphere and day-to-day life of 17th century Italian Jewry. Those works include:
Devar Shmuel
(דבר שמואל) () - Widely considered to be Rabbi Samuel's
magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...
, the work was published by his son Jacob in 1702 in Venice. It is an extensive responsa which discusses a variety of
halakic ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical command ...
issues. The preface of the work is a biography and his ethical will to his sons, in which he tells his four sons, to never pronounce carelessly the name of God, to be scrupulously honest in all their dealings, to never to calumniate, to never to give any one a contemptuous appellation or nickname, to care for the education of the young, and to attend synagogue daily. The work also has an appendix called "Zikkaron li-Venei Yisrael" which is an investigation of Nathan of Gaza.
Sefer ha-Zikhronot
(ספר הזכרונות) () - Published by Rabbi Samuel in
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
around 1650, the work contains ten principles on the fulfillment of the commandments in hopes of inspiring the masses to observe the
mitzvoth In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word (; he, מִצְוָה, ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment commanded by God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of discus ...
and avoid transgressions that are usually underestimated. Two more of his works, ''Mazkeret ha-Gittin'' and ''Tikkun Soferim'', exist in manuscript.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aboab, Samuel 1610 births 1694 deaths 17th-century Venetian writers 17th-century Republic of Venice rabbis German Sephardi Jews People from Verona Aboab family