Rabbi Don Yitzchak Abarbanel

Don Yitzchak ben Yehuda Abarbanel - a renowned commentator on the Torah at the time of the Spanish expulsion (1437 Lisbon - 1508 Padua)   Yahrzeit - 10 Av Resting place - Padua, Italy   A direct descendant of the House of King David, Rabbi Yitzchak was a student of Rabbi Yosef Chayun. The title "Don" was given to him when he served as Minister of Finance in the Spanish government. Abarbanel joined the refugees despite the pleas of the king and queen for him to stay. In the late Middle Ages, learned members of the Jewish Abarbanel family became advisors to kings and princes. When the Middle Ages gave way to the Renaissance, one descendant of the Abarbanel family — Rabbi Don Yitzchak Abarbanel — became a true Renaissance man. A scholar, religious leader, philanthropist, diplomat, banker, and royal advisor, few figures in European history can compare in erudition and greatness to Rabbi Yitzchak and his devotion to his fellow Jews. Rabbi Yitzchak's father, Rabbi Yehuda Abarbanel, served as an advisor to the local Spanish ruler, King Henry, who reigned in the city of Castile. King Henry relied heavily on Yehuda's wise counsel and resisted the calls of Catholic leaders to persecute the Jews in his kingdom. But the relative peace of the Spanish Jews in this region was shattered when a charismatic populist arose, preaching hatred of the Jews. Ferrand Martinez, a local friar and the king's confessor, hated the Spanish Jews and wasted no time fanning the flames of hatred among his fellow Christians. He preached against the Jews and then led mobs from town to town, attacking Jewish quarters, breaking into synagogues, and threatening to kill Jews if they did not convert on the spot. Seville, Cordoba, Toledo, and many smaller towns fell victim to Martinez's mobs, and the region began to be emptied of Jews. King Alfonso appointed Yitzchak treasurer of the royal court of Portugal. Rabbi Yehuda Abarbanel fled along with many of his countrymen, settling in neighboring Portugal, where his natural talents once again attracted the attention of the local royal rulers. Yehuda became a favored advisor of King Alfonso V of Portugal. Finally wealthy and secure, he was able to give his brilliant young son Yitzchak a fine education. Yitzchak easily mastered many languages and excelled in Jewish studies and philosophy. Yitzchak became a rabbi, like his father. Eventually, he was forced to abandon his full-time studies when King Alfonso demanded that he join his father in serving the royal family, and appointed Yitzchak treasurer of the royal court of Portugal. At the Royal Court of Portugal King Alfonso V of Portugal recognized his great abilities and appointed him Minister of Finance, a post he held until the Jews of Spain were expelled from that country (9 Av 5252, 1492). Rabbi Yitzchak gave good counsel to the king and helped Portugal become more important and prestigious. He never forgot his Jewish brethren and always sought ways to ease the many burdens placed upon the Jewish community in an often harsh Catholic country. In 1471, when King Alfonso captured a city in Morocco, he put 250 of the city's residents up for sale as slaves. Rabbi Yitzchak took action. He knew it would be impossible to change the king's mind about the sale, so he offered his own money and raised additional funds among the Portuguese Jews to buy the slaves himself and then free them. For two years afterward, Rabbi Yitzchak personally supported these 250 Moroccan Jews until they learned to speak Portuguese and found jobs and occupations. He fled from Portugal to Castile when the king suspected him of involvement in a rebellion against him. In addition to his major work, a commentary on the Torah and the Prophets, he wrote a commentary on the Book of Daniel, "Ma'ayenei HaYeshuah," and two books on the coming of Mashiach: "Mashmia Yeshuah" and "Yeshuat Meshicho." These and many of his other works place him among the classic Jewish commentators on the Torah and Jewish thinkers. Abarbanel attacks Christian theology in his writings, which was very dangerous in his time. May the merit of the tzadik Rabbi Don Yitzchak Abarbanel protect us all! (https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/59-Rabbi-Don-Yitzchak-Abarbanel)