Disputed portrait of Menasseh ben Israel by Rembrandt

Manoel Dias Soeiro (1604–November 20, 1657), better known by his Hebrew name Menasseh Ben Israel (also, Menasheh ben Yossef ben Yisrael, also known with the Hebrew acronym, MB"Y), was a Portuguese-Jewish rabbi, kabbalist, scholar, writer, diplomat, printer and publisher, founder of the first Hebrew printing press (named Emeth Meerets Titsma`h) in Amsterdam in 1626. Events 284 - Diocletian was chosen as Roman Emperor. 762 - Bögü Khan of the Uyghurs, Spanish and Portuguese Jews are a distinctive sub-group of Sephardim who have their main ethnic origins within the crypto-Jewish communities of the Iberian Rabbi (pronunciation, although in English usually) in Judaism, means a religious ‘teacher’ or more literally ‘my great one’ when addressing any master Kabbalah (קַבָּלָה lit "receiving" is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mystical aspect of Judaism. A printer is a company that provides commercial Printing services often also offering Typesetting and Book-binding services A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a medium (such as paper or cloth thereby transferring an image Amsterdam (pronounced) is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west

Life

Rabbi Menasseh was born in Madeira in 1604, with the name Manoel Dias Soeiro, a year after his parents had left Portugal because of the Inquisition. History See also History of Madeira Pre-Portuguese times Pliny mentions certain Purple Islands the position of which with reference to the Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. The term Inquisition can refer to any one of several institutions charged with trying and convicting heretics within the Roman Catholic Church and The family moved to The Netherlands in 1610. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands The Netherlands was in the middle of a process of religious revolt throughout the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648). The Dutch Revolt, Eighty Years' War or the Revolt of the Netherlands (1568—1648 was the revolt of the Seventeen Provinces in the Low Countries The family's arrival in 1610 was during the truce mediated by France and England at The Hague. The Dutch Revolt, Eighty Years' War or the Revolt of the Netherlands (1568—1648 was the revolt of the Seventeen Provinces in the Low Countries This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland

Menasseh rose to eminence not only as a rabbi and an author, but also as a printer. He established the first Hebrew press in Holland. One of his earliest works, El Conciliador, won immediate reputation; it was an attempt at reconciliation between apparent discrepancies in various parts of the Old Testament. Among his correspondents were Gerhard Johann Vossius, Hugo Grotius, and Pierre Daniel Huet. Gerhard Johann Vossius ( Voss) ( 1577 - March 19, 1649) Dutch classical scholar and theologian, was the son of Johannes Hugo Grotius or Huig de Groot, or Hugo de Groot; ( Delft, 10 April 1583 Rostock, 28 August 1645 Pierre Daniel Huet ( February 8, 1630 &ndash January 26, 1721) was a French churchman and scholar editor of the Delphin In 1638, he decided to settle in Brazil, as he still found it difficult to provide for his wife and family in Amsterdam, but this step was rendered unnecessary by his appointment to direct a college founded by the Pereiras. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld

In 1644, Menasseh met Antonio de Montesinos, who convinced him that the South America Andes' Indians were the descendants of the lost ten tribes of Israel. Antonio de Montezinos was a Portuguese traveler and a Marano Sephardic Jew who in 1644 persuaded Menasseh Ben Israel, the chief For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States. The phrase Ten Lost Tribes of Israel refers to the ancient Tribes of Israel that disappeared from the Biblical account after the Kingdom of Israel was destroyed This supposed discovery gave a new impulse to Menasseh's Messianic hopes. But he was convinced that the Messianic age needed as its certain precursor the settlement of Jews in all parts of the known world. Filled with this idea, he turned his attention to England, whence the Jews had been expelled since 1290. He found much Christian support in England. During the Commonwealth the question of the readmission of the Jews was often mooted under the growing desire for religious liberty. The Commonwealth of England was the Republican government which ruled first England (including Wales) and then Ireland and Scotland Besides this, Messianic and other mystic hopes were current in England. In 1650, there appeared an English version of the Hope of Israel, a tract which deeply impressed public opinion. Oliver Cromwell had been moved to sympathy with the Jewish cause partly by his tolerant leanings, but chiefly because he foresaw the importance for English commerce of the presence of the Jewish merchant princes, some of whom had already found their way to London. Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 Old Style &ndash 3 September 1658 Old Style) was an English military and political leader best known At this juncture, Jews received full rights in the colony of Surinam, which had been English since 1650. Suriname ( Dutch: Suriname; Sranan Tongo: Sranan) officially the Republic of Suriname (traditionally spelled Surinam by

In 1655, Menasseh arrived in London. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. During his absence, the Amsterdam rabbis excommunicated his student, Spinoza. Baruch or Benedict de Spinoza (ברוך שפינוזה Bento de Espinosa Benedictus de Spinoza ( November 24, 1632 – February 21, One of his first acts on reaching London was the issue of his Humble Addresses to the Lord Protector, but its effect was weakened by the issue of William Prynne's able, but unfair Short Demurrer. William Prynne (1600 &ndash 24 October 1669) was a seventeenth-century English author polemicist and political figure Cromwell summoned the Whitehall Conference in December of the same year. The Whitehall Conference was a gathering of prominent English Merchants, Clergymen, and Lawyers convened by Oliver Cromwell for Some of the most notable statesmen, lawyers, and theologians of the day were summoned to this conference. The chief practical result was the declaration of judges Glynne and Steele that "there was no law which forbade the Jews' return to England. " Though nothing was done to regularize the position of the Jews, the door was opened to their gradual return. John Evelyn was able to enter in his diary under the date Dec. John Evelyn ( 31 October 1620 – 27 February 1706) was an English writer gardener and diarist 14, 1655, "Now were the Jews admitted. " But the attack on the Jews by Prynne and others could not go unanswered. Menasseh replied in the finest of his works, Vindiciae judaeorum (1656).

Menasseh's grave in Ouderkerk aan de Amstel.

Soon after Menasseh left London Cromwell granted him a pension, but he died before he could enjoy it. Death overtook him at Middleburg in the Netherlands in the winter of 1657 (14 Kislev 5418), as he was conveying the body of his son Samuel home for burial. His tomb is in the Beit Hayim of Ouderkerk a/d Amstel. The Beth Haim of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel is the oldest Jewish cemetery in the Netherlands. Ouderkerk aan de Amstel ( is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland.

Writings

Menasseh ben Israel was the author of many works. His major work Nishmat Hayim is a treatise in Hebrew on the Jewish concept of reincarnation of souls, published by his son Samuel 6 years before they both died. Gilgul, Gilgul neshamot or Gilgulei Ha Neshamot ( Heb גלגול הנשמות refers to the concept of Reincarnation, emanating from the Some are of the opinion that he studied kabbalah with Abraham Cohen de Herrera, a disciple of Israel Saruk. Abraham Cohen de Herrera ( רבי אברהם כהן בן דוד דה-הירירה) also known as Alonso Nunez de Herrera or Abaham Irira (c Israel Sarug Ashkenazi (also "Saruk" ( 16th century; fl This would explain his amazing familiaritiy with the method of the Ari haQadosh he`Haï. Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534 – July 25 1572) was a Jewish mystic in Safed. Among his other works, his De termino vitae was translated into English by Pococke, and his Conciliator by G. Pococke is a Surname, and may refer to Edward Pococke (1604-1691 - an English Orientalist and biblical scholar H. Lindo; we also find a ritual compendium Tesoro dos dinim. He was a friend of Rembrandt, who painted his portrait and engraved four etchings to illustrate his Piedra gloriosa. Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (July 15 1606 &ndash October 4 1669 was a Dutch painter and etcher. These are preserved in the British Museum. The British Museum is a Museum of human history and culture in London. Other works can be found in the Biblioteca Nacional - Rio De Janeiro/Brazil per example: Orden de las oraciones del mes, con lo mes necessario y obligatorio de las tres fiestas del año. Como tambien lo que toca a los ayunos, Hanucah, y Purim: con sus advertencias y notas para mas facilidad, y clareza. Industria y despeza de Menasseh ben Israel

Children

His son, Yossef, died at age 20. Descendent of the Abarbanel, Menasseh was also the father of Samuel Abarbanel Soeiro, also known as Samuel Ben Israel. Isaac ben Judah or Yitzchak ben Yehuda Abravanel (1437 - 1508 (יצחק בן יהודה אברבנאל was a Jewish Statesman, philosopher

See also

• History of the Jews in England
• History of the Jews in England--Jews came to England with the Normans
• History of the Jews in England--The Expulsion
• History of the Jews in England--Maranos in England
• History of the Jews in England--Menasseh Ben Israel's Mission
• History of the Jews in England--The Jew Bill of 1753
• History of the Jews in England--Other Influences on the Jewish Standing in the Community
• History of the Jews in England--The Struggle for Emancipation
• History of the Jews in the Netherlands
• Early English Jewish literature
• History of the Jews in Scotland

External links

• England related articles in the Jewish Encyclopedia
• Digital collection of books and letters related to Menasseh Ben Israel
• Short biography of Menasseh Ben Israel

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The first written records of Jewish settlement in England date from the time of the Norman Conquest, mentioning Jews who arrived with William the Conqueror This article describes the Edict of Expulsion, given by Edward I of England in 1290, that expelled all Jews from England for The History of Marranos in England consists of the Marranos contribution and achievement in England. The Resettlement of the Jews in England was a historic commercial policy dealing with Jews in England in the 17th century and forms a prominent part of the The Jewish Naturalization Act 1753 was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of Great Britain, which received Royal assent on 7 July 1753 Improvement of Jewish relations One reason for an improvement in the public image of the Jews at the end of the Eighteenth century and beginning of the Nineteenth Freedom for Catholics bodes well for Jews When in 1829 the Roman Catholics of England were freed from all their civil disabilities the hopes of the Jews rose Most history of the Jews in the Netherlands was generated between the end of the sixteenth century and World War II. English Jewish Literature (This page is part of the History of the Jews in England) Effects of restrictions The increasing degradation of The earliest date at which Jews arrived in Scotland is not known The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone