The Aboab family (

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 ...

: אבוהב, ''Abuhav'';

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

: ابوآب, ''Abuwab'';

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

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

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

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

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

and

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. 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 i ...

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. 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 ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

History

The family progenitor Abraham Aboab had one son,

Isaac Aboab I Rabbi Isaac ben Abraham Aboab (Hebrew: רבי יצחק בן אברהם אבוהב; 1300) also known by his magnum opus, Menorat ha-Maor, was an early 14th century Spanish Talmudic scholar and Kabbalist. He is known for his intellectual approach ...

who was a

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

ic scholar in Aragon. 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, Orur ...

, Castile, where he headed his own

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; 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 s ...

, teaching

Jewish ethics Jewish ethics is 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 philosoph ...

. He is best known for his work Menorat ha-Maor, which is a collection of midrashic sermons. His son Abraham II was a close contemporary of

Judah ben Asher Judah ben Asher (30 June 1270 – 4 July 1349) was a German Talmudist and later rabbi of Toledo, Spain, son of Rabbenu Asher and brother of Jacob ben Asher ("Ba'al haTurim"). Biography At the age of thirteen, according to the custom of the Germa ...

and Abraham II's great grandson Isaac Aboab II, was a Posek and

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "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. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

commentator in Toledo. Following the

Alhambra Decree The Alhambra Decree (also known as the Edict of Expulsion; 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 Ferdinand II of Arag ...

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

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

in order to negotiate with King John II of Portugal 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 Sp ...

. 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 countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

. With

Elijah Aboab Cardoso Elijah Aboab Cardoso was a philanthropist and founder of the Hamburg synagogue. He lived in that city in the first half of the seventeenth century. He was descended from the Spanish - originally Portuguese - Cardoso family, and was one of the firs ...

, and Abraham Aboab V in Hamburg. Immanuel Aboab, Isaac Aboab V, and Isaac Aboab da Fonseca in Amsterdam, and

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 his son Jacob Aboab VI 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 (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 (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) ******** Rabbi Miguel Aboab (b. 1525) ********* Rabbi Miguel Aboab II (b. 1555 - 1603) ********** Rabbi Isaac Aboab IV (b. 1594) *********** Rabbi Mattathiah Aboab (1631 - 1707) ************ Rabbi Isaac Aboab V (d. 1720){{Tree list/end

References

Families Jewish families Sephardi families