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Orabuena

ORABUENA, noted family of Navarre in the 13th and 14th centuries. ISHMAEL ORABUENA and his son JOSEPH are mentioned as important personalities in the kingdom of Navarre in 1265. Members of the family were among the signatories of the takkanot of Tudela (1305). The Orabuena family maintained close relations with the foremost Jewish families of the Iberian peninsula. JOSEPH, grandson of the above-mentioned Joseph, leased the tax collection for Tudela in 1367. He was the physician to King Charles III of Navarre, accompanied him on several journeys to France, and advised him in political matters of importance. He was chief rabbi of Navarre Jewry and it was to him that Solomon ha-Levi (*Pablo de Santa María), rabbi of Burgos, wrote announcing his intention of converting to Christianity. Joseph was still active in 1399, granting loans to the crown and providing medical services to the king.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

M. Kayserling, Juden in Navarra (1861), index; Baer, Urkunden, 1 (1929), index; Baer, Spain, index.


Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.