The International Observatory for Human Rights and B’nai B’rith Portugal paid tribute Sunday night to the first Chief Rabbi of the Kingdom, Yaish ben Yahya.
Yaish ben Yayha’s cooperation in the Twelfth Century with the first King of Portugal, Dom Afonso Henriques, helped pave the way for modern Portugal, according to those who gathered to celebrate the historic rabbi’s life.
Distinguished national and international figures attended the event, held at the headquarters of B’nai B’rith.
The public recognition of the rabbi’s life comes as part of a chain of solidarity events promoting peace and coexistence between peoples, organized by the International Observatory for Human Rights and B’nai B’rith Portugal.
A noted military leader and scholar of the Jewish Bible, Yaish ben Yahya was a direct descendant of King David, through the Exilarchs of Babylon, a contemporary of Maimonides, the greatest Jewish intellectual authority of the era, and an advisor to King Dom Afonso Henriques.
The King appointed Yaish ben Yahya as the first Chief Rabbi of the Kingdom, supervisor of tax collection and Knight-Major of the Order of St. James of the Sword as a reward for services rendered in the reconquest of the territory.
The first dynasty of Portuguese kings never forgot the services of Yaish and the Jewish community, which had already constituted a significant presence in the country for many centuries.
Thanks in part to the relationship between Yaish and the King, Portugal subsequently became a global diplomatic, scientific, economic and military power, controlling large territories around the world.
“Yaish ben Yahya is the first major Jewish figure in the history of Portugal. He is one of the greatest Portuguese figures from 900 years ago,” José Ribeiro e Castro, president of the Historical Society of Portugal and a former Member of the European Parliament, said at the event. “He deserves to be better-known, through more in-depth investigation into historical sources.”
The president of B’nai B’rith Portugal, Gabriela Cantergi, likewise noted that “The Jews were linked to the foundation of Portugal and helped in the development of this small county, which became the strongest empire of the age. They were treasurers, chamberlains, astronomers, cartographers, financiers in the age of discovery, masters of trade and even spies in the known world.”
Rabbi Menachem Margolin, Chairman of the Brussels-based European Jewish Association, pointed out the importance and “poignance” of the event “in these difficult times,” calling it a “reminder to all of the significant and important contributions made by Jews to the cultural, civic and economic life in Europe, to the philosophical, the ethical, and the wider prosperity that Judaism has added to the concept of what we term Europe, and being European.”
“The legacy and history of this great Chief Rabbi, so bound to the deep roots of Portugal deserves this recognition, not just in Portugal, not just on the Iberian peninsula, but across this wide continent as a whole,” Margolin added.
Rabbi Eli Rosenfeld, president of Chabad Portugal, noted that “The story of Portugal cannot be told without the story of the Jewish People”.
B’nai B’rith Portugal includes members from across Portugal and the world who work to defend human rights in general, and Jewish human rights in particular. Its work is carried out in conjunction with the International Observatory of Human Rights based in Portugal.
