Rav Dovid Nieto of Livorna & London zt"l
הרב דוד בן פנחס ניטו זצ"ל
Teves 28 , 5488
Rav Dovid Nieto of Livorna & London zt"l
Author Mateh Dan, also known as Kuzari Sheni
Son of Rav Pinchas of Holland
Born in Venice 29 Teves 1654 תי''ד
Died: January 10, 1728, London, United Kingdom
Books: Triumphs of Poverty, The Rabbi's Advocate, The Inquisition and Judaism: A Sermon Addressed to Jewish Martyrs on the Occasion of an Auto Da Fe at Lisbon, 1705)
His father was from Dutch origins and probably from the conversos - Jews forced into conversion during the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions.
He studied under Rav Shmuel Abuhav in Venice and later in Reggio and Rome.
He was a gadol in Torah and well-versed in many secular branches of knowledge including sciences such as mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and philosophy.
He studied medicine in the University of Padua (the only European University that tolerated Jews in its student body). His family consisted of other famous doctors and physicians such as Dr. David Nieto of Amsterdam.
He served as a dayan, darshan, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Reishis Chochmah. He also practiced medicine in Livorno (Leghorn), Italy, where he settled in spring of 1684 תמ''ד.
He authored a sefer in Italian that he named “Pascologia” – discussing the astronomical calculation for the date of the Christian Pascha (Greek, Latin) holiday of spring and its relationship to the Jewish Pesach. In it, he exposes the mistakes they made in its calculations.
In Sivan or Elul of תס''א he was appointed to serve as the Chacham—the Chief Sefardi Rav in London, succeeding Rav Shlomo Ailion (who was later discovered to be a secret Sabbatean). He served in this capacity for some twenty-seven years until his passing at age 74 on Shabbos 28 (25) Teves 1728 תפ''ח. He was succeeded by his son Rav Yitzchok Nieto.
His Legacy:
Rav Dovid Nieto’s magnum opus was the Mateh Dan which is also known as Kuzari Sheni. He modeled the work after the original Kuzari of Rav Yehudah haLevi which reads as a debate between the King of the Khazars and a Jewish sage. He focused on the truth of the Oral Law, arguing against the Karaites and others who discredited that part of Torah. It was published simultaneously in Hebrew and Spanish Ladino.
Another sefer he authored was Aish Das (the bilingual edition was a Fuego Legal to aid the conversos) against the heretical views of the Sabbatean Nechemia Chayun and against his heretical books HaTzad Tzvi, Shalheves Kah and Oz LeElokim. Both seforim by Nieto are presented as a debate by Dan against Naphtali (Dan stands as an acronym of Dovid Nieto). This sefer was also published bilingually in both Hebrew and Spanish.
Some of his halachic responsa were published in the collection Pri Etz Chaim preserved in Etz Chaim library of Amsterdam. He began a work to codify and arrange the entire Talmud by subject as a concordance. This was named Sha’ar Dan, but was never completed. Only a few volumes were ever published.
Rav Dovid Nieto also authored some liturgical poetry published in the collection Kol Oneg.
He and his wife Sarah had three children, Moshe, Pinchos and Yitzchok (Yitzchok succeeded his father in London).
Divrei Torah of Rav Dovid Nieto of Livorna & London zt"l
One of Rav Dovid Nieto’s derashos equated G-d with nature and caused some controversy. Some Jews claimed that in it, he follows the heretical views of Spinoza. When he published his ideas in the Spanish work, Della Divina Providencia, this added fuel to the fire. Yet, the Chacham Tzvi defended Rav Nieto and his views, ending the machlokes (see Shu”t Chacham Tzvi Siman 18).
The derasha in question (as translated into Hebrew and presented to the Chacham Tzvi) was:
“They say that in the yeshiva, I told them that nature and Hashem are one and the same thing: G-d is nature and nature is G-d. I admit that I did say so and it is accurate.
I also wish to prove that what I am saying is true from the pesukim in Tehillim 147: "He covers the Heavens with clouds, He prepares rainfall for the land, He sprouts forth grass on the hills etc.”
You need to know, listen up my fellow Jews, because this regards the first fundamental of our faith's foundations. The term “nature” is a new word. It is so contemporary that it only came into existence some four or five hundred years ago and you won't find it in the words of our earlier sages. It is Hashem Who sends forth wind and Hashem Who brings down the rain. He is the One Who brings dew and he is the one that we must believe does all those things that our contemporaries call “nature”.
There actually is no such thing independently as nature. Rather it is Hashem's Divine Providence and hashgacha that we refer to as nature. Nature and G-d are one and the same. This is a straightforward, just, proper, pious, and holy opinion. Whoever disbelieves this is an apikores and a Karaite.”
“When he was attacked as a heretic, he responded:
It is well known that clouds, rain and plants are natural objects. Everyone understands that he who covers is not the cover itself.
Therefore had I wanted to prove that specific natural objects were G-d, that would never have been my intention, since there is no need to believe such things and there is no proof for such a position not from the psalms of Dovid HaMelech and not from the words of Chazal.
The mizmor Tehillim says that it is G-d Who covers the heavens with clouds and not that G-d is a cloud. And Chazal say that Hashem blows the wind and they do not say, Heaven forbid, that He is the wind.
My intention then, is clearly to prove that the reason for cloud cover in heaven and for blowing winds is not nature, but rather, G-d. Because people call these actions “nature”, I intend to enlighten their eyes with clear proofs. My citations show that what they attribute to nature, we must attribute to Hashem.
We never spoke about specific natural objects, but rather we proved that the term “nature” or “the natural order” is what we were talking about. When we said there is no such thing as nature, we were referring to the natural order which actually does not exist independently of Hashem. Since He is the One Who includes and incorporates everything and He does everything. This is what I meant when I said that it is His hashgacha --His Divine Providence-- that contemporary achronim are naming as nature and that is actually, G-d.
What I mean is that both the hashgacha of Hashem, and Hashem Himself, are one and the same. I wanted to prove that to people and to warn them not to mix up the actions of Hashem with natural causes. Some people say that it is nature that rains and blows wind and activates the dew, while Dovid haMelech and chazal say that it is actually Hashem, that it is G-d that does all these things. And this is what I refer to when I say “nature is G-d”, meaning the One Who does all these things. Yet some people made up that the idea that nature is independent, that nature does these things.
Therefore, this concept that I have given over is true, righteous, and upright and I have just proven its veracity. With these proofs, it can be established that nature is Hashem; it is He Who provides and nourishes us and guides every aspect of His world. This idea departs sharply from those people who give honor to something else other than Hashem and who attribute actions to nature independent of Hashem, Heaven forbid.” (see Shu”t Chacham Tzvi Siman 18)