Aaron Isaac (also known as Aron Isak; Hebrew: אהרון יצחק; 16 September 1730 – 21 October 1816) was a Jewish seal engraver and merchant in haberdashery.

[2] Gustav III, in a letter to his mother, the dowager queen Lovisa Ulrika, wrote, "...It is certain, that it would be highly beneficial to the country, if such a hardworking people as the Jews were to settle here..."[3] The son of a merchant in Treuenbrietzen, Brandenburg,[4] Isaac first made his living as a peddler, but at a young age he apprenticed as a seal engraver and settled in the university town of Bützow in the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

[5] He came into contact with Swedish officers and received many commissions to engrave seals from them, and was told that there was a shortage of people with his skills in Sweden.

The magistrate had felt unable to grant him the right to stay in the kingdom unless he was baptized (this was before the Tolerance Act), but Isaac declared that he refused to change his religion.

[5] In 1775, he, his brother Marcus Isaac, and their companion Abraham Pach were granted licenses to work as seal engravers and as stonemasons.

In connection with this agreement, Isaac was also commissioned to attempt to sell a large consignment of 100,000 ship pounds (skeppund) of copper that was stored at the Riksbank without interest.

Immigration thus focused on relatives of Isaac and Jewish families from Germany who could bring their own capital and start their own businesses.

Isaac had a strong ability to win over the higher officials, and especially the lord chamberlain, Baron Sparre, to his cause.

However, this position of power was associated with some discomfort for Isaac, as it sometimes caused him envy and resentment on the part of the other Jews, which on several occasions led to strife within the congregation.

[7] From the beginning of his time in Stockholm, Isaac gathered a small circle of friends and relatives who put considerable effort into the development of the newly founded Jewish community.

Among other things, the memoirs reveal the conflicts Isaac had with other members of the Stockholm Jewish community, where his leadership was controversial.

[4] Prior to Isaac and Gustav III, Jews in Sweden were required either to convert to Christianity or to live an illegal and nomadic existence.