ABSTRACT
It was Saul Levi Morteira who, from his seat in the beit din (rabbinical court of law), pronounced the ban against Spinoza in 1656. Morteira was an Ashkenazi Jew born in Venice, where he had studied under a famous rabbi, Leone Modena. In 1616 he found himself in Amsterdam, having accompanied the mortal remains of Elijah Montalto, personal physician to the French queen, to his final resting place in the Portuguese cemetery in Ouderkerk. Morteira served as a rabbi in Beth Jacob and later in the united Talmud Torah congregation. He was known for his critical attitude to the Conversos, who preferred Spain and Portugal to life in a more open Jewish world. Many of his most impressive sermons were printed in Hebrew under the title Givat ShaUl.
