This prayer book was published by the Ashkenazi community of Amsterdam in honour of the royal visit by Prince William V of Orange and his new wife, the Prussian Princess Wilhelmina. The decorative cover, which begins with a phrase from Megillat Esther describing the reaction of the Jews to their salvation at the end of the Purim story, demonstrates the significance of the occasion: “Light and rejoicing for the Jews.”
The community leaders extended an invitation to William V in the hope that the visit would secure good ties with his court and favourable conditions for the Jews of Amsterdam and the Dutch Republic in general. According to records, William V did in fact agree to visit the synagogue. The visit and the preparations leading up to it are documented in a series of texts preserved in Amsterdam’s civic archives. Three different versions detailing the order of prayers and psalms were printed: two copies were printed for the royal couple on satin fabric with the prayers and psalms written in both Hebrew and Dutch; 50 copies with the same text were printed for their entourage on paper and bound with red satin fabric; and 500 copies were printed just in Hebrew for the members of the local congregation.
In winter 2011, after researchers investigated the event and searched for the community’s documents in the Pinkas Kehilah (community records), copies of these historical texts were located in the National Library’s archives: one of the two copies printed on silk that had been presented to the royal couple, one of the 50 printed for the entourage, and one of the 500 with only Hebrew text. All three copies were just as described in the records of the Jewish community of Amsterdam. There is known to be just one more copy in existence which is located at the British Library in London. What is obvious though, is that the Dutch Governor and his wife did not fully appreciate this bibliophilic gift: apparently the second copy went missing, and no recollection of the visit, in the form of these beautiful booklets printed at the famous Jewish publishing house, Propes in Amsterdam, is to be found at any of the large libraries in Holland.
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The Jewish Community of Amsterdam – The largest and most significant Jewish community in Holland was located in Amsterdam, and it has existed for around 400 years. Sephardi Jews first settled in the city in the sixteenth century, many originating in families who had been expelled from Spain at the end of the previous century. The Jews flourished in Amsterdam, where they were allowed to practise their religion freely, and they contributed to the city’s economic growth in the seventeenth century. The first Ashkenazi Jews arrived in Amsterdam in the middle of the seventeenth century, fleeing from pogroms in Poland. Ashkenazi Jews soon outnumbered the Sephardi community, and by the end of the eighteenth century it was one of the largest communities in Western and Central Europe, earning Amsterdam the name “Jerusalem of the West” and “Mokum,” the Yiddish word for “place,” symbolising its status as a safe haven. During World War II, Holland was occupied by Nazi Germany, and the Jews of Amsterdam were rounded up and deported to concentration and death camps. Anne Frank, who was originally from Germany, spent the war years hiding in an Amsterdam attic, until she was discovered and sent to Buchenwald. Her famous diary provides unique documentation of these times and draws millions of tourist to her last home in the city. In total, at least 80 percent of the Dutch Jewish community were murdered during the Holocaust. In the years following the war, the Jewish community slowly rebuilt itself. Today, there are many synagogues in Amsterdam – among them the historical Esnoga synagogue – providing for the different Jewish communities and denomination. There are also Jewish primary and secondary schools, cultural organisations, and youth movements.
