September 23 1508 – 29 Tishrei 5269
Venice
The tumultuous life of Jewish leader, Bible commentator, theologian, and finance minister Don Isaac Abravanel came to an end. Forced by accusations of treachery to flee his native Portugal, where he’d faithfully served Afonso V until John II rose to power, Abravanel found asylum in Spain. Failing to persuade his new masters, Ferdinand and Isabella, not to expel their Jewish subjects, he too was exiled, eventually settling in the Republic of Venice. Abravanel wrote his Bible commentaries largely between periods of political activity. His later works interpreted biblical prophecies in light of current events, even predicting the Messiah’s arrival in the early 16th century.
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