Abraham Rovigo (born ca. 1650 in
Modena
Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...
, died 1713 in
Mantua
Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name.
In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...
) was a Jewish scholar,
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 ...
and
kabbalist.
Biography
Rovigo studied in
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 ...
in the ''
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 ...
'' of
Moses Zacuto and devoted himself to study the
Kabbalah
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...
. He was one of the main supporters in
Livorno
Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...
of the moderate wing of the
Sabbatean
The Sabbateans (or Sabbatians) were a variety of Jewish followers, disciples, and believers in Sabbatai Zevi (1626–1676),
a Sephardic Jewish rabbi and Kabbalist who was proclaimed to be the Jewish Messiah in 1666 by Nathan of Gaza.
Vast ...
movement, and gathered around him several important followers of
Sabbatai Zevi
Sabbatai Zevi (; August 1, 1626 – c. September 17, 1676), also spelled Shabbetai Ẓevi, Shabbeṯāy Ṣeḇī, Shabsai Tzvi, Sabbatai Zvi, and ''Sabetay Sevi'' in Turkish, was a Jewish mystic and ordained rabbi from Smyrna (now İzmir, Turk ...
, such as
Behr Perlhefter
Behr Shmuel Issachar Leyb ben Judah Moses Eybeschuetz Perlhefter (c. 1650 in Prague – after 1713 in Prague) was a Jewish scholar and rabbi. His educated wife Bella bat R. Jakob Perlhefter (Isabell, Bella, Bilah, died 1710 in Prague), corresponde ...
,
Mordechai Mokiach and
Mordechai Ashkenazi. In 1700–1701 he spent one year in
Fürth
Fürth (; East Franconian: ; yi, פיורדא, Fiurda) is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the t ...
, in order to proofread and manage the publishing of the manuscripts of the Zoharic commentary of his pupil Mordecai Ashkenazi. One year later, he and a group of followers settled in the Holy Land.
Rovigo came from a wealthy Modena family, and was dedicated throughout his entire life to studying, collecting, and publishing Kabbalistic manuscripts.
He was a close friend of Benjamin ben Eliezer Ha-Kohen Vitale of Reggio with whom he had studied Kabbalah in Venice under Moses Zacuto. Scholem also mentions in several places the correspondence about Sabbatean affairs he maintained with
Meir bar Hiyya Rofe between the years 1674 and 1678 as a very important source for the history of the Sabbatean movement.
[Scholem, Gershom, ''Sabbatai Sevi: The Mystical Messiah: 1626–1676'', Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1973, p. 771. This correspondence was published by Isaiah Tishby in ''Sefunoth'', III-IV (1960), pp. 71-130.]
References
Bibliography
* Gershom Scholem: Halomotav shel ha-Shabbetai R. Mordechai Ashkenazi. Jerusalem 1938.
* Abraham Yaari: Iggerot Ereẓ Yisrael. Jerusalem 1943, pp. 223–242.
* Yeshaya Tishby: Netivei Emunah u-Minut. Jerusalem 1964, cf. Index.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rovigo, Abraham
1650 births
1713 deaths
Kabbalists
17th-century Italian rabbis
Sabbateans
18th-century Italian rabbis
Religious leaders from Modena