Abstract
Samuel ben Meir ha-Levi Abulafia is a prominent figure in the history of Iberian Jews. He acted as the treasurer of Castilian king Pedro 1st, and funded the Toledo synagogue known as Synagogue of the Transito. The foundation of a building of such size, beauty and luxury must have meant one of Samuel ha-Levi’s major personal and political achievements, and must have been perceived as a main deed by his contemporary fellow Jews. In the context of the complex medieval patronage system, foundations were meant to symbolize nobility and prestige within the power scene of society. The analysis of the symbols utilized by Samuel ha-Levi in the synagogue he founded shows the way in which he viewed himself, as well as the way he wanted to be viewed and remembered. This essay, based in the analysis of the synagogue and its epigraphy, intends to examine the public image that Samuel ha-Levi attempted to project.
Highlights
Samuel ben Meír ha-Leví Abulafia es un personaje destacado de la historia de los judíos en los reinos peninsulares
“Happiness, Well-being, Glory and Honor,” the Public Image that Samuel ha-Levi Showed through the Synagogue of El Tránsito.– Samuel ben Meir ha-Levi Abulafia is a prominent figure in the history of Iberian Jews
He acted as the treasurer of Castilian king Pedro 1st, and funded the Toledo synagogue known as Synagogue of the Transito
Summary
El poder no fue el único atributo con el que Samuel construyó su identidad pública. La sabiduría parece ser otro de los elementos con los que Samuel quiso ser relacionado. Es posible sugerir que un lema escrito en árabe junto a los escudos de Samuel, en una sinagoga sobre suelo cristiano, pretende afirmar los orígenes andalusíes de la familia ha-Leví Abulafia, para así entroncar el linaje familiar con esta tradición genealógica, que a través de al-Ándalus asienta sus orígenes en la ciudad de Jerusalén y en el prestigio, e incluso nobleza, de los que fueron sus habitantes. En el caso de la Sinagoga del Tránsito, Samuel ha-Leví, a través de su escudo, se sirve de la heráldica de origen cristiano y de las inscripciones árabes como seña de identidad 39, a la vez que pretende entroncar con una tradición que, como ya hemos visto, lo dotaba de un linaje de calidad que justificaba su estatus social, autoridad y prestigio. Ambas ciudades también ocupan un importante lugar en la obra Omer ha-Šijeha, un comentario al Libro de Proverbios, en el que la familia Gavison, asentada en Argelia, realiza una línea genealógica a través de varias generaciones para establecer los orígenes fundacionales de la familia en las ciudades de Granada y Sevilla 41
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