David Nieto

Who was David Nieto?

David Nieto was the Haham of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish community in London, later succeeded in this capacity by his son, Isaac Nieto.

Nieto was born in Venice. He first practised as a physician and officiated as a Jewish preacher at Livorno, Italy. There he wrote in Italian a work entitled "Paschologia", in which he dealt with the differences of calculation in the calendars of the Greek, Roman, and Jewish churches, and demonstrated the errors which had crept into the calendar from the First Council of Nicaea until 1692.

In 1702 Nieto succeeded Solomon Ayllon as ecclesiastical chief of the Portuguese Jews in London; and two years after his settlement in that city he published his theological treatise, Della Divina Providencia, ó sea Naturalezza Universal, ó Natura Naturante. He explained that 'nature' was a modern word, and in reality referred to the action of God in governing natural phenomena. This work provoked opposition against him, including accusations of Spinozism, but some of the accusers were believed to be heretics motivated by their support for Shabbetai Zevi. Tzvi Ashkenazi, who was called in as arbitrator, decided in his favor.