Shir Hilulim [poem in honor of the dedication of a new Torah Scroll]

The printer David Tartas commemoratively records on the title-page the name of his brother Isaac Tartas, who was burned at the stake during an Auto-da-fé. Isaac Tartas immigrated to Recife, Dutch Brazil in 1641. In 1644, he relocated to Bahia, which was under Portuguese jurisdiction. There, he was seized as a Judaizer and sent to Lisbon to be tried by the Inquisition. After a lengthy trial, in which Isaac steadfastly refused to abjure his Jewish faith, he was executed. This resulted in diplomatic exchanges between the Dutch and Portuguese Governments on behalf of other Jewish captives in Brazil who came from regions under Dutch sovereignty. See A. Wiznitzer, Isaac de Castro A Brazilian Jewish Martyr in: The Jewish Experience in America (1971) Vol. II pp.205-17. The volume contains a second Brazil-related association: The last page records the name of the compositor: “Jacob Haim ben Moses Raphael de Cordova of Brazil,” - Also known as Jacob de Cordovera, he was the printer in 1681 of “Parafrasis Commentada sobre el Pentateucho” composed by Isaac Aboab da Fonseca, one- time Haham to Recife. See R. Weinstein, “Stones of Memory” in: American Jewish Archives Vol. XLIV (1992), pp. 106-7. Bound with: Migdal David [commentary to the Book of Ruth, with text]. ff. 4-72. Lacks introductory leaves. [Vinograd, Amsterdam 454]. Amsterdam, 1680.