(Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We h...)
Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1313506966/?tag=2022091-20
Menasseh ben Israel was born in 1604, on Madeira Island, into a family of Marranos (Jews of Spain and Portugal who publicly accepted Christianity but privately practiced Judaism). After his father appeared as a penitent in an auto da fé, the family escaped to Amsterdam, where Jewish settlement was officially authorized.
Manasseh became the rabbi of a Portuguese Jewish congregation in Amsterdam in 1622. He founded that city’s first Hebrew printing press in 1626, publishing his works in Hebrew, Latin, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Among his writings, Conciliador, 3 vol. (1632–1651), was an attempt to reconcile discordant passages in the Bible; it established his reputation as a scholar in the Jewish and Christian communities. Menasseh maintained friendships with Hugo Grotius and Rembrandt, corresponded with Queen Christina of Sweden, and was an early teacher of Benedict de Spinoza.
Menasseh believed that the messiah would return to lead the Jews to the Holy Land only after their dispersal throughout the world was achieved. He considered immigrating to Brazil in 1640 and reported the alleged discovery in South America of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel in Esperança de Israel ("Hope of Israel"). To support the settlement of Jews in Protestant England, where their presence had been officially banned since 1290, he dedicated the Latin edition of this work (1650) to the English Parliament.
Menasseh continued to plead for the formal recognition of Jewish settlement in England, and he appeared before Oliver Cromwell in London in 1655 to argue his cause. While in England he wrote Vindiciae Judaeorum (1656; "Vindication of the Jews") in answer to contemporary attacks on Jews, including William Prynne’s Short Demurrer. He returned to Holland in 1657, believing his mission to have been unsuccessful. His efforts, however, initiated the unofficial English acceptance of Jewish settlement and led to the granting of an official charter of protection to the Jews of England in 1664, after Menasseh’s death on November 20, 1657.
(Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We h...)
Menasseh Ben Israel was married to Rachel Sara Ben Israel (Abravanel), they had several children.
