Important and Early Parchment Ketubah – Wedding of a Brazilian Bride in Amsterdam in 1663 – Signed by Rabbi ...

Important and Early Parchment Ketubah – Wedding of a Brazilian Bride in Amsterdam in 1663 – Signed by Rabbi Yitzchak Aboab da Fonseca (First Rabbi in America) and by a Brazilian Witness / One of the Earliest Ketubot of Its Kind

Ketubah recording the marriage of Yaakov da Costa with the bride Rachel daughter of Yitzchak Athias. Signed by R. Yitzchak Aboab da Fonseca. Amsterdam, 15th Sivan [June 20] 1663.
The texts of the ketubah and Tena'im were handwritten in Sephardic script, on a particularly high-quality, thin, light-colored sheet of parchment, decorated with a copperplate border. The printing is sharp and clean, presumably due to the fact that this is one of the first copies printed from the original printing block. The engraving depicts two vases holding large bouquets, with various birds and winged insects perched on them. These are topped by images of a bride and groom in contemporary attire (on the right) and a mother with two children (on the left; an allegorical figure of Caritas [charity]). The text apears between two rounded pillars entwined with branches, topped with an arch. On both sides of the arch are two Cherubs holding a drapery bearing the inscription "B'Siman Tov". The word "BeRevii" (on Wednesday) is also printed. At the bottom of the engraving is a large Rococo cartouche in which the Tena'im were written.
The engraving is not signed. It is accepted that the border ornaments were inspired by two Dutch ketubot created by the artist and engraver Shalom son of R. Mordechai Italia; one in Rotterdam, 1648 (previously in the Moses Heiman Ganz collection, now in the Israel Museum collection, B51.04.0257) and the second in Amsterdam, 1654 (Collection of the Etz Chaim library, Amsterdam, Pl. A-1, catalog no. 385). Shalom Italia, who arrived in Holland from Mantua, was also known for creating two Esther scrolls and portraits of Jacob Judah Leon Templo and Menasseh ben Israel. He passed away ca. 1655, and one can presume that after his passing, his ketubah engravings served as inspiration and model for the design of the present ketubah.
This ketubah design, which appeared ca. 1660, was in use in the Spanish-Portuguese community in Holland for many more years, throughout the 18th century until the mid-19th century, in slightly different versions and in varying quality of print.
Three signatures at the foot of the ketubah text and again at the foot of the Tena'im: signature of the groom, Yaakov (Jacob) da Costa (to the right), and the signatures of the witnesses, R. Yitzchak Aboab da Fonseca, rabbi of Amsterdam (calligraphic Spanish-Hebrew signature, in the center) and Mordechai (Mordohay) Hallas (to the left).
One of the earliest ketubot of its kind. There are only two known earlier exemplars of this kind of Amsterdam ketubah, both from 5421 (1660-1661), one is held in a private collection (1660), while the other is in the Etz Chaim Library collection (1661). The present ketubah is therefore the second earliest ketubah in private possession. Furthermore, the present ketubah is one of the very few ketubot bearing the signature of R. Yitzchak Aboab da Fonseca as witness.
The wedding of the da Costa-Athias couple is also documented in the marriage records of the Spanish-Portuguese community in Amsterdam (listing 1817), which provides further biographic details: Yaakov da Costa was from Pinheiro (presumably in Portugal, although there is a place by this name in Brazil) and the bride was from Brazil.
The bride, Rachel Athias (born in 1634 or 1639) was the daughter of R. Yitzchak Athias Tartas. R. Yitzchak Athias was a disciple of R. Yitzchak Uziel in Amsterdam (who was also the teacher of R. Yitzchak Aboab da Fonseca). He served as rabbi in Amsterdam, and as first rabbi of the Portuguese community in Hamburg and later in Venice, where he passed away. He authored Thesoro de preceptos on the 613 commandments (first edition: Venice 1627, second edition: Amsterdam 1649); for further information, see enclosed material and see Jewish Encyclopedia, II, p. 268.
The groom, Yaakov da Costa, born ca. 1633, passed away in Amsterdam in 1694.
R. Yitzchak Aboab da Fonseca (the third, 1605-1693) – one of the most prominent rabbis of Amsterdam in the 17th century – rabbi, kabbalist, author and translator. Born in Portugal, he immigrated to Amsterdam in 1612, where he studied under R. Yitzchak Uziel. At the age of 21, he already served as rabbi in the Jewish-Portuguese community in Amsterdam, a position he held for decades. He was one of the initiators of the establishment of the Esnoga, the Portuguese synagogue in Amsterdam. He served as rabbi of Pernambuco, Brazil (which was then a Dutch colony) since 1642, and was thus the first rabbi to settle and officiate in the American continent, and the first Jewish author there. Following the war between Holland and Portugal, and the expulsion of the Jews from Brazil, he was compelled to return to Amsterdam in 1649, where he returned to his position as rabbi of the Portuguese community. He was one of the signatories on the ban against Baruch Spinoza in 1656 and around a decade later, he was one of the supporters of the false messiah Shabbetai Zevi. For further information, see Jewish Encyclopedia, I, pp. 74-75.
Mordechai (de Esperanca) Hallas was born in Pernambuco, Brazil in 1628, and passed away in Amsterdam in 1685.
The bride and her family presumably maintained close ties with the two witnesses whose signatures appear on the ketubah – R. Yitzchak Aboab da Fonseca and Mordechai Hallas, whom they knew from the time they lived in Pernambuco, Brazil. Likewise, it must be noted that the father of the bride and R. Yitzchak Aboab da Fonseca were both disciples of R. Yitzchak Uziel in Amsterdam, and this early acquaintance may be what connected R. Aboab da Fonseca to the bride's family.

40.5X34 cm. Good condition. High-quality, clean parchment. Some minor glue marks and abrasions on verso. Five small pieces of tape on verso. Folding marks and minor creases.

Reference:
• Shalom Sabar, Ketubbah: Jewish Marriage Contracts of Hebrew Union College, Skirball Museum, and Klau Library (NY, 1990), pp. 265-270, item 171.
• Mordechai Narkis, The Oeuvre of the Jewish Engraver Salom Italia, in: Tarbitz, Vol. 25, Issue 4, Tammuz 1956, pp. 441-451; Vol. 26, Issue 1, Tishrei 1956, pp. 87-101.
Exhibition: Yeshiva University Museum, New York, "The Sephardic Journey: 1492-1992", 1990-1992. See exhibition catalog, pp. 77, 336, no. 560.
The ketubah is digitized on the NLI website and in the Ktiv project.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 035.012.004.