This is a special booklet prepared for the birthday of William I (1772–1843) with the instruction to recite the opening prayer and the ensuing psalms. The booklet was been printed specially for the occasion but with no specific date. It could therefore be surmised that this booklet was used every year on the monarch’s birthday.
Worshippers are directed to the following psalms: 136, 100, 117, 145, 21, 45, 63, 72, 84, and 150. The booklet also includes prayers requesting divine protection for King William I and his wife. The prayer asks for his long reign and many righteous and honest heirs and ends with the traditional Jewish prayer for the royal family – “Hanoten tshuah lamalachim” (He who gives redemption to the kings) – that was said while the ark was open.
William I, who had been exiled due to the invasion of Holland by the French forces under the control of Napoleon, returned to the country in 1813, where he proclaimed himself King of Netherlands in 1815 and ruled until his abdication in 1840. He hand control of the country to his oldest child, King William II, and died in Berlin three years later.
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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.
