Editing Jacob Abendana

{{Short description|Hakham of London}}
{{Infobox Jewish leader
| honorific-prefix = 
| name             = Jacob Abendana
| honorific-suffix = 
| title            = [[Hakham]] of [[London]]
| image            = 
| caption          = 
| synagogue        = [[Bevis Marks Synagogue]]
| synagogueposition = 
| yeshiva          = 
| yeshivaposition  = 
| organisation     = 
| organisationposition = 
| began            = 1680
| ended            = 1685
| predecessor      = 
| successor        = 
| rabbi            = 
| rebbe            = 
| kohan            = 
| hazzan           = 
| rank             = 
| other_post       = 
<!---------- Personal details ---------->
| birth_name       = 
| birth_date       = 1630
| birth_place      = [[Spain]]
| death_date       = {{death date and age |1685|09|12|1630|mf=yes}}
| death_place      = [[London]], [[England]]
| yahrtzeit        = 
| buried           = 
| nationality      = 
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| parents          = 
| father           = Joseph Abendana
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| semicha          = 
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}}
'''Jacob Abendana''' (1630 – 12 September 1685) was ''[[Hakham#Among the Sephardim|hakham]]'' of [[London]] from 1680 until his death.

== Biography ==
Abendana was the eldest son of [[Joseph Abendana]] and brother to [[Isaac Abendana]].<ref>{{cite ODNB|id=37092|title=Abendana, Jacob|first=David S.|last=Katz}}</ref> Though his family originally lived in [[Hamburg]], Jacob and his brother were both born in [[Spain]].  At some point in time, his family moved to [[Amsterdam]] where he studied at the ''De los Pintos'' [[rabbi]]nical academy in [[Rotterdam]]. In 1655, he was appointed ''hakham'' of that city. On 3 May 1655 Abendana delivered a famous memorial sermon on the [[Cordoba, Spain|Cordovan]] martyrs [[Marranos Nunez]] and [[Almeyda Bernal]] who had been burned at the stake.

Several years later, with his brother, Isaac, Jacob published the Bible commentary ''Miklal Yofi'' by [[Solomon ben Melekh]] which included his own commentary, ''Lekket Shikchah'' (Gleanings), on the [[Pentateuch]], the [[Book of Joshua]], and part of the [[Book of Judges]]. This was published by subscription in Amsterdam in 1660 with a second edition in 1685.

Having gone to [[Leiden]] seeking subscribers, Jacob met [[Antonius Hulsius]] whom he helped in his studies. Hulsius tried to convert Abendana to [[Christianity]] which began a lifelong correspondence between the two. The Abendana brothers similarly impressed other Christian scholars, such as [[Johannes Buxtorf]] ([[Basel]]), [[Johann Coccejus]] ([[Leyden]]), and [[Jacob Golius]] (Leyden).

With Hulsius, Abendana entered into a polemical discussion of Biblical verse Haggai 2:9,<ref>''Hebrew-English Bible'' {{Bibleverse|Haggai|2:9|HE}}</ref> which Hulsius attempted to prove was a reference to the [[Christian Church|Church]]. The debate lasted via correspondence from 24 September 1659 to 16 June 1660. Abendana responded with a [[Spanish language|Spanish]] translation of Rabbi [[Judah Halevi]]'s ''[[Kuzari]]''<ref>{{cite book|last1=ha-Levi|first1=Judah|title=Cuzary|date=1910|url=https://archive.org/details/cuzarydilogofi00judauoft|accessdate=8 March 2017}}</ref> in 1663. Hulsius eventually published the correspondence between the two in 1669.

In 1675, Abendana addressed the community at the dedication of the new synagogue in Amsterdam. Five years later, in 1680, he was brought to London to succeed Joshua da Silva as ''hakham'' of London where he served for 15 years as the hakham of the [[Bevis Marks Synagogue]] in London. Over the following years, he completed a Spanish-language translation of the [[Mishnah]], along with the commentaries of [[Maimonides]] and [[Obadiah of Bertinoro]]. The work was frequently cited by Christian theologians, though it was never published. Jacob Abendana died in London in 1685 and was buried in the Portuguese cemetery at Mile End.

==Notes==
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== Sources ==
* ''Abendana, Jacob'' in ''[[The Jewish Encyclopedia]]'', New York; London : Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1901–06, volume 1, p 53.
{{EB1911 poster|Abendana}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Abendana, Jacob}}
[[Category:1630 births]]
[[Category:1685 deaths]]
[[Category:17th-century English rabbis]]
[[Category:Dutch Golden Age writers]]
[[Category:Dutch Orthodox rabbis]]
[[Category:Dutch Sephardi Jews]]
[[Category:Bible commentators]]
[[Category:British Orthodox rabbis]]
[[Category:Sephardi rabbis]]
[[Category:English people of Spanish-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Spanish emigrants to the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:English people of Spanish descent]]
[[Category:English people of Dutch descent]]