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Country
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NL
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Name of institution (English)
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Ets Haim Library/Montezinos Library
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Language of name of institution
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dut
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por
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Contact information: postal address
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Mr. Visserplein 3, 1011 RD Amsterdam
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Contact information: phone number
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0031 (0)20 5 310 398
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Contact information: email
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etshaim@jhm.nl
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Reference number
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EH
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Type of reference number
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Archival reference number
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Title (English)
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Ets Haim Library/Montezinos Library Manuscripts
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Title (official language of the state)
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Ets Haim Bibliotheek/Livraria Montezinos Manuscripten
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Language of title
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dut
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por
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Creator / accumulator
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Ets Haim Bibliotheek / Livraria Montezinos
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Date(s)
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1282/20th century
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Date note
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bulk: 17th century/19th century
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Language(s)
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dut
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heb
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lat
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ita
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por
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spa
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Extent
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560 manuscripts
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Type of material
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Textual Material
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Physical condition
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Good
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Scope and content
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The Ets Haim Library is the oldest active Jewish library and it preserves one of the richest collections of manuscripts produced and/or gathered by a Western Sephardic community. It covers a broad range of subjects, which reflects the diversified curriculum of the Ets Haim school: religion (Talmud, Halakhah, responsa, Bible commentaries, sermons, kabbalah, midrash, polemics), philosophy, grammar, natural science, medicine, astronomy, history, music, prose, poetry, among others.
The collection comprises manuscript copies of works composed by renowned students and teachers of the Ets Haim, such as Isaac Aboab da Fonseca (1605-1693), Menasseh ben Israel (1604-1657), Saul Levi Morteira (c. 1596-1660), Jacob Sasportas (1610-1698) and David Franco Mendes (1713-1792). Remarkable are also the collections of polemical treatises by Isaac Oróbio de Castro (EH 49 A 16, EH 48 E 42, EH 48 D 16, EH 48 D 06, EH 48 C 16, EH 48 C 12, EH 48 C 04, EH 48 C 03, EH 48 C 01-02, EH 48 B 13, EH 48 B 12, EH 48 B 06, EH 48 B 05, EH 48 A 23, EH 48 A 21, EH 48 A 12, EH 48 A 11), ethical works and Bible commentaries of Solomon Saruco (EH 48 B 08, EH 48 B 09, EH 48 B 10), Eliau Montalto's treatises (EH 48 B 03, EH 48 D 08, EH 48 D 27, EH 49 A 01), Abraham Gomes Silveyra's polemical discourses (EH 48 B 14, EH 48 B 15, EH 48 B 17, EH 48 B 18, EH 48 B 19), Isaac Cohen Belinfante's poetry collections (EH 47 E 15, EH 47 E 14, EH 47 D 01, EH 47 C 30-31, EH 47 B 26, EH 47 B 11 13, EH 47 B 11 12, EH 47 B 11 05, EH 47 B 11 03, EH 47 B 11 02), Isaac de Pinto's discourses and letters (EH 48 C 23, EH 48 C 22, EH 48 A 19), Abraham Mendes Chumaceiro's homilies (EH 49 B 05 01-02, EH 48 D 34, EH 48 D 10, EH 48 B 21), and Abraham de Solomon de Meza's dialogues composed in 18th-century Copenhaguen (EH 48 E 30 and EH 48 E 60). The Ets Haim manuscripts also include musical collections (EH 48 E 44, EH 48 E 46-52, EH 48 E 54, EH 48 E 59, EH 49 A 13, EH 49 A 14, EH 49 B 22, EH 49 B 36-58), catalogues of books and manuscripts pertaining to Jewish libraries (EH 47 A 08, EH 47 C 15), and several Purim parodies (EH 47 C 17 01, EH 47 C 17 02, EH 47 C 17 03, EH 47 E 06, EH 47 E 09, EH 47 E 39, EH 47 E 49).
Other highlights of this collection are the following:
EH 48 A 04: Account of events by Manuel Lopes in the form of a letter to his uncle, concerning their family, which is imprisoned by the Portuguese Inquisition. Goa, January 16, 1568.
EH 47 B 11 15: Hebrew and Portuguese version of the narrative of the rescue of David Curiel from the hands of a murderer. Amsterdam, 1628.
EH 48 E 61: "Orden de oraciones d'mes", Spanish translation of Hebrew prayers according to the Sephardic rite copied by Judah Machabeu in Recife (Brazil), 1650.
EH 48 E 33: Spanish translation of Erasmus' Moriae Encomium, 17th century copy.
EH 48 D 39: "Dialogos contra a Cristandade", polemical and autobiographic treatise in prose and verse by João Pinto Delgado, 17th century copy.
EH 48 D 20: Spanish translation of the Koran, late 17th century.
EH 48 C 08: An 18th-century copy of the so-called "Marrakesh Dialogues", a polemical treatise against Christianity in the form of a dialogue between two brothers composed in Morroco in 1661.
EH 47 A 11: Letter addressed to Shabbetai Zevi, copied by Elijah ben Michael Judah Leon, 1666.
EH 48 D 26: "De los Judios y la Santa Inquisicion del Reyno de Portugal", 17th-century copy of a treatise on the Jewish question in Portugal by João Carvalho.
EH 48 E 22: Spanish manual of ritual slaughter compiled by Isaac Lopez de Almeida, second half of the 17th century.
EH 48 E 29: Rehuel Jessurun's Biblical play "Dialogo dos montes", late 17th century copy.
EH 48 E 13: "Notisias dos Judeos de Cochim", history and customs of the Jews of Cochin by Moses Pereira de Paiva, 18th century copy.
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Archival history
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The Ets Haim Library has been the core of the cultural heritage of Jewish Amsterdam for almost 400 years. During World War II, the collection was transferred to Germany, from where most of its items were returned, albeit somewhat damaged, in 1946. In 1978, the core collection of 560 manuscripts and over 2,800 rare and valuable early printed works were long-term loaned to the Jewish National and University Library in Jerusalem with the aim of preventing further losses.
Between 1999 and 1997, a detailed policy plan was drawn up for the renovation of the Ets Haim library building, making it as accessible as possible to an international public of students, teachers, and researchers. In 1998 the library was accorded the status of protected cultural heritage. It had completely upgraded to meet present-day requirements, with financial support from the government and a number of funds. In 2000, the collection that had been transferred to Jerusalem returned to Amsterdam. Three years later, in October 2003, the Ets Haim Library was added to the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.
In 2012, a project was initiated with the aim of creating a catalogue of the library’s printed books, as well as digitizing and making the manuscripts available online. The cataloguing and digitization project was possible through the financial support of Gieskes-Strijbis Fonds, SNS Reaal Fonds, BankGiroLoterij, and Rothschild Foundation Europe.
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Administrative / Biographical history
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The Ets Haim Bibliotheek is the oldest functioning Jewish library in the world. It was established in 1616 as part of the Talmud Torah school and has occupied its current premises in the complex of the Portuguese Jewish Synagogue in Amsterdam since 1675. The Ets Haim (which means “Tree of Life”) Library started as part of the school founded by the first Portuguese Jewish congregation in Amsterdam. In 1889, the then-librarian David Montezinos, who served at the library from 1866 to 1916, opened his personal collection of manuscripts, books, and prints to the public, under certain conditions, for at least two days a week. Since then, it has been known as the Ets Haim Library–Livraria Montezinos. The library’s collections reflect the congregation’s interests in a wide range of subjects and tend to show a specific religious education.
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Jewish Cultural Quarter website
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Access points: persons, families
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Abaz, Samuel de Solomon
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Aboab, David
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Aboab, Isaac de Matatia
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Abudiente, Moses Gideon
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Aguilar, Moses Raphael d'
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Aylion, Solomon
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Belmonte, Moses ben Joseph
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Benveniste, Selomoh
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Campos, Esther
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Casseres, Samuel de
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Chaves, Moses de
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Cohen Belinfante, Isaac
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Cohen d'Azevedo, Daniel
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Cohen d'Azevedo, David
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Cohen Belinfante, Moses
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Cohen Faro, Josuah
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Cohen Herrera, Abraham
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Cordova, Isaac ben Moses Raphael de
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Cordova, Josuah Hisquiau
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Costa Abendana, Abraham da
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Curiel, David
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Curiel Abaz, Isaac
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Ergas, Joseph
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Franco Mendes, David
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Gomez de Silva, Jacob
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Gomes Silveyra, Abraham
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Henriques de Castro Mzn, David
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Israel, Menasseh ben (Manuel Dias Soeiro)
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Jessurun, Rehuel
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Leão Benavente, Samuel de
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Leão Templo, Jacob Judah (Jacob Judah Leão)
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Lopez, Joseph de David
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Lopez de Almeida, Isaac
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Lopez Pinto, Michael
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Luria, Isaac
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Machorro, Abraham
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Maimon, Mosheh ben (Maimonides)
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Meldola, Abraham ben David
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Mendes Belisario, Isaac
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Mendes Chumaceiro, Abraham
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Mendes de Solla, Semuel
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Mendes Serano, Samuel
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Mendosa, Dabiel ben Solomon
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Meza, Abraham de Jacob de
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Meza, Abraham de Solomon de
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Meza, Jacob de
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Montalto, Filotheo Elias (Elijah)
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Mortera, Saul Levi (Saul Levi Morteira)
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Monteyro, Eliau
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Naar, Isaac
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Oliveira, Solomon de
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Oróbio de Castro, Isaac (Baltazar Oróbio de Castro)
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Pelengrino, Abraham
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Pereira de Paiva, Moses
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Pinto, Isaac de
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Pinto, Jacob de
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Pinto, Josuah Jesurun
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Piza, Moses de Judah
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Pizarro, Abraham Israel
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Pulido, David Raphael ben Abraham
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Pinto Delgado, João
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Sarphati, David
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Sarphati, Samuel
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Saruco, Isaac
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Sarucco, Jacob de Solomon Hisquiau
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Saruco, Solomon
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Sasportas, Isaac ben Jacob
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Sotto, Jacob del
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Teixeira de Mattos, Moses
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Troki, Isaac ben Abraham of
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Uziel, Isaac ben Abraham
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Valle Saldaña, David
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Vieira, António
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Vita Israel, Jacob
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Vital, Hayim ben Joseph
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Zacuto, Moses ben Mordekhay
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Zacuto, Abraham
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Author of the description
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Maria Aires do Carmo and Carla Vieira, 2022
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Bibliography
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Akhiezer, Golda. 2007. “The Karaite Isaac Ben Abraham of Troki and His Polemics against the Rabbanites.” In Tradition, Heterodoxy and Religious Culture: Judaism and Christianity in the Early Modern Period, edited by C. Goodblatt and H. Kreisel, 437–68. Beersheba: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Press.
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Altmann, Alexander. 1982. “Lurianic Kabbaka in a Platonic Key: Abraham Cohen Herrera’s Puerta Del Cielo.” Hebrew Union College 53: 317–55.
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Alvar, Manuel. 1992. “El Orden de Bendiciones. Texto ladino de 1687.” In Actas del II Congreso Internacional de Historia de la lengua Española, 1:27–42. Madrid: Pabellón de España.
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Beltrán, Miquel. 2012. “Consideraciones sobre la Naturaleza de Ensof y la Teologia Negativa en Puerta del Cielo de Abraham Cohen de Herrera.” Miscelánea de Estudios Árabes y Hebraicos. Sección Hebreo 61: 47–67.
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Berger, Shlomo. 1992. “Remus, Romulus and Sephardic Jews in Amsterdam.” Studia Rosenthaliana 26 (1/2): 38–45.
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Bernfeld, Tirtsah Levie. 2012. Poverty and Welfare among the Portuguese Jews in Early Modern Amsterdam. Oxford; Portland: The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/9781786949837/type/BOOK.
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Boer, Harm den, and Pier Mattia Tommasino. 2014. “Reading the Qu’ran in the 17th-Century Sephardi Community of Amsterdam.” Al-Qantara 35 (2): 461–91.
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Divendal, Joost. 1997. “Mozes Cohen Belinfante, Jew to the Depth of His Soul.” Studia Rosenthaliana 31 (1–2): 94–138.
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Dunkelgrün, Theodor. 2012. “Like a Blind Man Judging Colors Joseph Athias and Johannes Leusden Defend Their 1667 Hebrew Bible.” Studia Rosenthaliana 44: 79–115.
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Emmanuel, Isaac S., and Suzanne A. Emmanuel. 1970. History of the Jews of the Netherlands Antilles. 2 vols. Cincinnati, OH: American Jewish Archives.
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Feitler, Bruno. 2003. Inquisition, Juifs et Nouveaux-Chrétiens Au Brésil: Le Nordeste XVIIe et XVIIIe Siècles. Leuven: Leuven University Press.
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Fisher, Benjamin. 2012. “Opening the Eyes of the ‘Novos Reformados’: Rabbi Saul Levi Morteira, Radical Christianity, and the Jewish Reclamation of Jesus, 1620-1660.” Studia Rosenthaliana 44: 117–148.
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Fuks, L., & Fuks R.. 1972. “Joodse Geschiedschrijving in de Republiek in de 17e En 18e Eeuw.” Studia Rosenthaliana 6 (2): 137–165.
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Goldish, Matt. 2012. “Hakham Jacob Sasportas and the Former Conversos.” Studia Rosenthaliana 44: 149–172.
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Heide, A. van der. 1973. “Vier Gedichten van Samuel Romanelli.” Studia Rosenthaliana 7 (2): 175–185.
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Kaplan, Yosef. 1982. “The Curaçao and Amsterdam Jewish Communities in the 17th and 18th Centuries.” American Jewish History 72 (2): 193–211. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23882528.
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Ḳaplan, Yosef. 1996. Judiós nuevos en Amsterdam: estudios sobre la historia social e intelectual del judaísmo sefardi en el siglo XVII. Barcelona: Gesida.
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Kaplan, Yosef. 2004. From Christianity to Judaism: The Story of Isaac Orobio de Castro. London: Littman Library of Jewish Civilization.
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Krabbenhoft, Kenneth. 1982. “Structure and Meaning of Herrera’s ‘Puerta del Cielo’.” Studia Rosenthaliana 16 (1): 1–20.
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Lieberman, Julia Rebollo, ed. 2011. “Childhood and Family among the Western Sephardim in the Seventeenth Century.” In Sephardi Family Life in the Early Modern Diaspora, Julia R. Lieberman, 129–76. Waltham, Mass. : Hanover: Brandeis University Press ; Published by University Press of New England.
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Mateus, Susana Bastos. 2016. “Escritos da Diáspora: para uma catalogação dos manuscritos em português da Biblioteca Ets Haim / Livraria Montezinos de Amesterdão.” Cadernos de Estudos Sefarditas 15: 43–56.
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Nahon, Gerard. 1977. “Pour une approche des attitudes devant la mort au xviii e siècle: sermonnaires et testateurs juifs portugais à Bayonne.” Revue des Etudes Juives 176: 3–123.
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Nahon, Gerard. 2001. “The Portuguese Jewish Nation of Amsterdam as Reflected in the Memoirs of Abraham-Haim Lopes Arias, 1752.” In Dutch Jews as Perceived by Themselves and by Others, edited by Yosef Kaplan and Chaya Brasz, 59–78. Leiden: Brill.
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Niewöhner, F. 1983. “Abraham Cohen de Herrera in Hamburg.” Zeitschrift Für Religions Und Geistesgeschichte 53: 163–67.
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Orfali, Moisé. 1997. “Il Daniello da Livorno: Testo e contesto.” Zakhor: Rivista di storia degli ebrei d’Italia 1: 207–20.
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Orfali, Moisés. 2019. “On the Role of Hebrew Grammars in the Western European Diaspora and the New World.” In Religious Changes and Cultural Transformations in the Early Modern Western Sephardic Communities, Yosef Kaplan, 431–51. Leiden; Boston: Brill.
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Perelis, Ronnie. 2019. “Prison Relelations and Jailhouse Encounters: Inquisitorial Prisons as Places of Jadaizing Activism and Cross-Cultural Exchange.” In Religious Changes and Cultural Transformations in the Early Modern Western Sephardic Communities, Yosef Kaplan, 137–53. Leiden; Boston: Brill.
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Plesser-Ginzburg, R., & Ginzburg-Plesser, R. 1967. "Een 18e Eeuws Responsum Over de Inenting Tegen Pokken." Studia Rosenthaliana, 1 (2): 107–109.
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Salomon, Herman Prins. 1979. “Joseph Jesurun Pinto (1729-1782): A Dutch Hazan in Colonial New York.” Studia Rosenthaliana 13 (1): 18–29.
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Schreiner, Stefan. 1999. “Rabbanite Sources in Isaac of Troki’s Sefer Hizzuq Emunah.” In Jewish Studies at the Turn of the 20th Century, edited by Judit Targarona Borrás and Angel Sáenz-Badillos, 65–72. Leiden: Brill.
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Sutcliffe, Adam. 2003. Judaism and Enlightenment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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Wilke, Carsten L. 2019. “Semi-Clandestine Judaism in Early Modern France: European Horizons and Local Varieties of a Domestic Devotion.” In Religious Changes and Cultural Transformations in the Early Modern Western Sephardic Communities, Yosef Kaplan, 113–36. Leiden; Boston: Brill.
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Yosha, Nissim. 1994. Myth and Metaphor. The Philosophical Interpretation of Abraham Cohen de Herrera of the Lurianic Kaballah. Jerusalem: Magnes Press.
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Published primary sources
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Amzalak, Moses Bensabat. 1928. “Um manuscrito inédito de Isaac Sasportas rabino de Amsterdam no século XVIII.” Revista de Estudos Hebraicos 1.
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Fabião, L. F. 1965. O caso de David Curiel com o alemão. Curioso manuscrito inédito seiscentista, da autoria dum Judeu Português de Amsterdam. Coimbra.
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Fuks, L. 1972. “De Amsterdamse Opperrabbijn David Lida en de Vierlandensynode (1680-1684): In Memoriam Prof. I. Halperin.” Studia Rosenthaliana 6 (2): 166–179.
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Fuks, L., and R. Fuks. 1973. “Een Portugese Kroniek Over Het Einde Van De Patriottentijd Door David Franco Mendes.” Studia Rosenthaliana 7 (1): 8–39.
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Fuks, L., R. G. Fuks-Mansfeld, and B. N. Teensma. 1975. “Memorias do Estabelecimento e Progresso dos Judeos Portuguezes e Espanhoes Nesta Famosa Citade de Amsterdam.” Studia Rosenthaliana 9 (2): I–II, 1–171.
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Langlois, Anne. 1970. “Un ouvrage anti-chrétien anonyme: ‘Viaje entretenido de Don Antonio de Contreras.’” MA thesis, Paris: Institut de Etudes Hispaniques.
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Ledo, Jorge, and Harm den Boer. 2014. Moria de Erasmo Roterodamo: A Critical Edition of the Early Modern Spanish Translation of Erasmus’s Encomium Moriae. Leiden: Brill.
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Mendes, David Franco, and J. Mendes Remédios. 1990. Os Judeus Portugueses em Amesterdão. Lisbon: Távola Redonda.
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Révah, I. S. 1961. “Pour l´histoire des nouveaux-chrétiens portugais. La relation généalogique d’I. de M. Aboab.” Boletim Internacional de Bibliografia Luso-Brasileira 2 (2).
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Salomon, H. P. 1975. “The ‘De Pinto’ Manuscript: A 17th Century Marrano Family History.” Studia Rosenthaliana 9 (1): 1–62. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41481179.
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Salomon, Herman Prins. 1988. Saul Levi Mortera. Tratado da Verdade da Lei de Moisés. Escrito pelo seu próprio punho em Português em Amesterdão 1659-1660. Coimbra: Imprensa da Universidade.
