Samuel Robles de Medina. Peri Alonim [compendium of Hebrew abbreviations “to ease a student’s education.”]

(AMERICAN JUDAICA).

Surinam

1762

Manuscript in Hebrew written in a Sephardic square and cursive hand on paper. Title surmounted by a crown with central illustration of two oak trees (“Ke’Alah VekeAlon.”) Upper cover signed by Hazan Jacques Judah Lyons. From the library of Rabbi Dr. David de Sola Pool.

RARE HEBREW MANUSCRIPT FROM SURINAM. The Jewish Community of Surinam, located in the Dutch West Indies, represents the oldest Jewish settlement in the Western Hemisphere. The Jews there enjoyed a remarkable degree of autonomy, possessing a well-developed religious infrastructure. They were of a high socio-economic status, owning vast sugar plantations. The Community felt itself closely bound to both Amsterdam (the mother of the earliest synagogues in the Americas) and New York’s Shearith Israel, this was due to both tradition and family ties, as well as the bonds of commerce. The scribe of this manuscript is the author’s son, David ben Samuel Robles de Medina who signs the final leaf and alludes to his name in the introduction. Following the introduction is a lengthy dedication to Jacob Enriquez di Briez Junior, one of the pillars of the community. The Robles de Medina family stemmed from Granada and settled in Surinam in the early 18th century where they successfully thrived for many generations. Jacques Judah Lyons (1814-77), a native of Surinam, Dutch Guiana, was elected in 1836 as Hazzan of Shearith Israel, the Spanish and Portuguese Congregation in New York City. He served in this capacity for the next thirty-eight years. See JE, Vol. VIII, p. 231.