Providencia de Dios con Israel.
The Providence of God with Israel. Polemical autograph work by Saul Levi Morteira. Amsterdam, before 1660.
A printed note on the inside front cover: “Obras originais de muy doctissimo H. H. R. S. L. Morteyra D. G. Ma. escritas com seu mesmo pucho (sic) em idioma Portugues, cuja obra depois de completa mandave (sic) ao muy insigne H. H. R. Mosseh Rephael d’Aguilar D. G. Ma. p[ar]a que lha coregise como se vera por algums fragmentos o neste Livro se achao donde lhe pedia seu pareser e aviso. O ultimo H. H. a tradusiu em espanhol ficando o original em seu poder po. esse efecto e por seu falesimento ficou em poder de seu genro o excellentissimo Sr. H. H. R. Josseph Franco Serrano d. G. Ma. meu sogro e por absencia deste a millor vida em meu poder amador de antiguedades Jacob Abenacar. NB: Não se acha outro exemplar em Idioma portugues que este.” (Original work by Saul Levi Morteira, written in Portuguese. Once the work was completed, it was sent to R. Moses Rephael d’Aguilar, who revised it, as can be seen in some parts of this book. Aguilar translated it into Spanish. He had the original book until his death, when it came into possession of his nephew R. Joseph Franco Serrano, my father-in-law. Since his death, it belongs to me, Jacob Abenacar. NB: This is the only copy in Portuguese). The same text is written in an 18th century hand on the first fly-leaf.
At the beginning of the book an incomplete index in a late 17th century hand.
The author, who was a pupil of R. Judah Aryeh Modena in Venice, arrived in Amsterdam in 1616. He was rabbi of the Beit Ya’acov congregation and after the unification of the three communities in 1639 he was appointed one of the four rabbis of the United Portuguese congregation Talmud Torah.
On the author, rabbi of the Sephardic congregation in Amsterdam, who died in 1660, cf. J. S. da Silva Rosa, Geschiedenis; GJN, p. 201 sqq.
The ms. was translated into Spanish by Moses Raphael d’Aguilar, also rabbi of the Sephardic congregation in Amsterdam. After his death in 1679, the ms., which had remained in Aguilar’s possession, went to his son-in-law Joseph Franco Serrano and after his death to his son-in-law Jacob Abenacar.
The Spanish translation reposes in many copies in several collections. Its last chapter has been enlarged by the translator.
Cf. De Rossi, BJA, p. 71 sqq.; Kayserling, Bibliotheca, p. 74 sqq.; Cat. Ros. nr. 276A, 278 et passim.
Purchased from the collection of D. Henriques de Castro in 1899. Cf. Cat. de Castro, nr. 527, p. 656
The author, who was a pupil of R. Judah Aryeh Modena in Venice, arrived in Amsterdam in 1616. He was the rabbi of the Beit Ya’acov congregation and after the unification of the three communities in 1639 he was appointed one of the four rabbis of the united Portuguese congregation, Talmud Torah.
Portuguese / Paper / 31,6 x 21,1 cm. / Index (incomplete) of 4 ff. of 20,8 x 15,8 cm. / [204] ff. (irregular original foliation) / Current Iberian writing (autograph) / No original title / Contemporary leather binding.
Fuks 187. Kaplan 46. Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian.