Abraham Saba (1440–1508) was a preacher inCastile who became a pupil ofIsaac de Leon. At the time of theexpulsion of the Jews from Spain he took refuge inPortugal, where he met with further misfortune; for scarcely had he settled inPorto when KingManuel I of Portugal ordered all Jews to be expelled from Portugal, all Jewish children to becomeChristians, and all Hebrew books to be burned (December 24, 1496). Saba's two sons were forcibly taken from him, and he fled from Porto, abandoning his entire library and succeeding only at the risk of his life in saving his own works in manuscript.
He fled toLisbon, but before reaching there was told of a new order of the king decreeing the death of any Jew with whom a Hebrew book ortefillin (phylacteries) were found. He hid his manuscripts andtefillin under an olive-tree and entered the city. Upon leaving Lisbon he attempted to recover his hidden treasure, but being discovered by the king's guards, he was thrown into prison, and after a six months' confinement was sent across the frontier. He went toFez, Morocco, where he resided for ten years. Soon after his arrival he fell ill; his great privations and terrible sufferings having undermined his health.
On his recovery he recommitted to paper from memory the following works, the original manuscripts of which had been lost in Portugal:
According toChida,[2] who read the anecdote in a work entitledDivrei Yosef, Abraham in journeying from Fez toVerona became sick on the ship in mid-ocean during a great storm. The captain, unable to control the ship, had given up all hope, and implored Rabbi Abraham to pray for divine assistance. Abraham stipulated that in case of his death his body should be delivered to the Jewish community of Verona, and then prayed for the safety of the vessel. His prayer was heard, the storm abated, and the ship went safely on. Two days later Abraham died, and the captain, keeping his promise, brought the body to Verona, where it was buried with great honors.
Abraham Saba is not to be confounded with R.Abraham Saba of Adrianpolou, who is mentioned in theresponsa of R.Elijah Mizraḥi, No. 52.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906)."Abraham Saba".The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. Its bibliography:| International | |
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