This is a picture of Rabbi Samuel Ben Berish Berenstein, who served as the chief rabbi of the Ashkenazi community of Amsterdam from 1815 until his death in 1838. He is dressed in hat and coat typical of the times. He is seated behind a table and is leafing through a book upon which the words Penei Yehoshua and Shmuel Hakatan is written. These words hint at the rabbi’s ancestor Rabbi Jacob Joshua, who wrote the important Talmudic work the Pnei Yehoshua, and to a Talmudic sage Shmuel (Samuel) with whom he shared a name. Beneath the portrait is a poem in honour of Rabbi Berenstein that includes the date of his death.
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Rabbi Samuel Ben Berish Berenstein – Samuel Berenstein was one of the most important rabbis of the Dutch Jewish community. He was descended from a scion of rabbis, including his great- grandfather, Rabbi Jacob Joshua Falk, who was the author of the important Talmudic work Penei Yehoshua. Rabbi Berenstein served as the rabbi of Gröningen and is known as the first rabbi to have given sermons in Dutch. He succeeded his father-in-law as chief rabbi of the Ashkenazi community of Amsterdam in 1815. Very little of his literature has survived with the exception of several sermons written in Dutch. He is, however, remembered as a strong advocate for the knowledge of Dutch among the Jewish community of the Netherlands.
The Jewish Community of the Netherlands – Jews have been living in the Netherlands since the Roman era, but the most reliable records referring to Jews living in Nijmegen, Doesburg, and Arnhem date back to the 1100s. The spread of the Black Death during the Middle Ages led to much anti-Semitism, blood libels, expulsions, and massacres in the Netherlands, as in other European countries. Documentation describes that Jews provided services, mainly financial, and paid taxes and in return received some protection from the kings and nobles. In the late fifteenth century, Jews were expelled or forced to convert to Christianity in Spain and Portugal. The atmosphere in the Netherlands, however, was more tolerant and favourable for the Jews, and many Spanish and Portuguese Jews arrived in the country, where they could practise their religion freely. Many of these Spanish and Portuguese Jews settled in Amsterdam and established successful trading businesses. Famous Jews of this time included the rabbi Menasseh Ben Israel and the philosopher Baruch Spinoza. German Jews were also attracted to the tolerant Dutch cities and began to immigrate to the country. They were generally poorer than the Sephardi Jews who had already settled in the Netherlands and were less welcome. Many were turned away and ended up settling in rural areas and establishing Jewish communities throughout the Dutch provinces. Over time, these Jews also prospered, and many were responsible for founding the Dutch diamond business. The eighteenth century brought the Dutch Jews emancipation and further prosperity. By the outbreak of World War II around 140,000 Jews lived in the Netherlands, among them approximately 25,000 German Jewish refugees. Germany occupied the country in 1940, and only 35,000 Dutch Jews survived the Holocaust. The Dutch Jewish community underwent many changes after the war, and many of the survivors immigrated to Israel and other countries. In the 1980s the community was boosted by an influx of Israeli and Russian Jews, and currently around 45,000 Jews live in the Netherlands, mostly in Amsterdam.
