David Nieto

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Rabbi David Nieto

Grave of David Nieto
David Nieto (1654 10 January 1728) was the Haham of the Spanish and Portuguese
Jewish community in London, later succeeded in this capacity by his son, Isaac Nieto.
Nieto was born in Venice. He first practised as a physician and officiated as a Jewish preacher
at Livorno, Italy. There he wrote in Italian a work entitled "Paschologia" (Cologne, 1702), in which he
dealt with the differences of calculation in the calendars of the Greek, Roman, and Jewish churches,
and demonstrated the errors which had crept into the calendar from the First Council of Nicaea until
1692.
In 1702 Nieto succeeded Solomon Ayllon as ecclesiastical chief of the Portuguese Jews in London;
and two years after his settlement in that city he published his theological treatise, Della Divina
Providencia, sea Naturalezza Universal, Natura Naturante(London, 1704). He explained that
'nature' was a modern word, and in reality referred to the action of God in governing natural
phenomena. This work provoked opposition against him, including accusations of Spinozism (which
in the atmosphere of the time meant pantheism or atheism), but some of the accusers were believed
to be heretics motivated by their support for Shabbetai Zevi. Tzvi Ashkenazi, who was called in as
arbitrator, decided in his favor (Hakham Tzvi, Responsa, No. 18). Not only was he exonerated, but
he was highly praised for his teachings. Nieto was also highly praised by Rabbi Chaim Azulay (the
'Chida'). He died in London.
Nieto was a powerful controversialist. In his Matteh Dan, or Kuzari Heleq Sheni(London, 1714),
written in Hebrew and Spanish on the model of the Kuzari of Judah ha-Levi, he defended the Oral
Torah against the Karaites, and showed that the disagreements in the Talmud lay not in essential
laws but in minor matters. (Within the fictional framework of the book, his spokesman argues against
the historic Karaite etc., even quoting from Karaite literature, but as there were few if any actual
Karaites in Western Europe at the time of writing, the real attack was against Jewish dissidents such
as Uriel Acosta.) He also waged war untiringly on the supporters of the Shabbethaian heresies,
which he regarded as dangerous to the best interests of Judaism, and in this connection wrote
his Esh Dat (London, 1715) against Hayyun(who supported Shabbetai Zevi).
Nieto was one of the most accomplished Jews of his time and was equally distinguished as
philosopher, physician, poet, mathematician, astronomer, and theologian. A prolific writer, his
connection with Christian scholars was extensive, especially with Ungar, the bibliographer. Nieto
was the first to fix the time for the beginning of Sabbath eve for the latitude of England.
References[edit]
Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl., col. 881
Meyer Kayserling, Gesch. der Juden in Portugal, pp. 325326
Jewish World, Dec. 19, 1879
Wolf, Johann Christoph, Bibliotheca Hebra iii
Cat. Anglo-Jew. Hist. Exh. 1887
Portrait in Jewish Chronicle, June 28, 1901
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Joseph Jacobs and
Goodman Lipkind (19011906). "Nieto, David". Jewish Encyclopedia.