ר׳ יעקב ששפורטש

ר׳ יעקב בן אהרן ששפורטש (1610–1698) was an Algerian-born Sephardi rabbi, diplomat and one of the most determined opponents of the Sabbatean movement. Born and educated in Spanish-held Oran, he joined the Tlemcen rabbinical court while young and later served Jewish communities in Tlemcen, Marrakesh, Fez and Salé. Conflict with Moroccan authorities led to imprisonment and flight to Amsterdam. He later undertook a diplomatic mission to Spain for the Moroccan ruler and in 1664 accepted leadership of London’s newly re-established Portuguese congregation. The Great Plague drove him to Hamburg in 1665, precisely as the claims of שבתאי צבי swept Jewish communities. From Hamburg he conducted an international correspondence challenging reports of miracles, demanding evidence and resisting communal pressure. Preserved in ציצת נובל צבי, that correspondence is among the most important contemporary records of the Sabbatean crisis. He later headed Keter Torah in Amsterdam, served as dayan and rosh yeshiva in Livorno, returned to lead Ets Haim in Amsterdam, and in 1693 succeeded ר׳ יצחק אבוהב דה פונסקה as rabbi of the Portuguese community. He died in Amsterdam in 1698.