A man who was wise, mighty, and wealthy was among the notables of Yehuda and perhaps from the seed of the kings of the House of David, was very beloved by the king of Portugal, his name was the great Don Yechiya ben Yaish. The king appointed him as lord of his house and ruler over all his possessions, only the throne of the king Antariko was greater than him, etc. In his days the book of lineage was found from his pure family which was from the seed of Yishai, and he excelled in doing good for all the Jews.
He died old and full of days in year 4808, and all the House of Israel wept for him because after his death many yeshivot were canceled due to the decrees that the Ishmaelite kings had renewed. The annual sustenance that the Galilot would send up to the two yeshivot was stopped because he would collect these gifts and send them every year. This minister Don Yechiya left after him Don Yehuda his son who sat on his throne, but the king reduced him from his father's rank and left him only a small income.
Don Yehuda left three sons: the firstborn was a great sage, Don Yosef ben Yechiya, who did not want to inherit the great lordship to enter the king's palace but gave his heart to his studies and raised many students and composed works and commentaries on Proverbs, and he built from his pocket the great synagogue in Lisbon. He had a son Don Shlomo, and the name of the second was Don Yechiya who sat on his father's throne and was a great politician [(see above 5199)] and was beloved by all the Jews and ministers.
Know that Don Yechiya the first, when he saw the king's love for him, began to draw on his seal the head of the king's face, who was a Cushite, and so that it would not be a complete image, he placed a white mask on his eyes tied with a ribbon behind his neck, and so do all his family in their seals. In ancient times their seal was the form of a lion from half the body and above with two open hands and a lulav in his right hand, and from his middle and below like half an eagle with his legs spread and both open and his tail broad like spreading, and this was in the days of Rav Sherira Gaon [(Shalshelet HaKabbalah, letter 39, part 2)].