Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

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Library Ets Haim –
Livraria Montezinos
Inscribed 2003
What is it
The entire collection of Ets Haim Library – Livraria
Montezinos, comprising approximately 500 manuscripts
and around 30,000 printed works in 20,000 volumes.
Why was it inscribed
The collections allow an understanding of the unique
combination of Jewish religious and secular education
provided by the Portuguese-Jewish Community in
Amsterdam from 1616 until the Second World War.
They also reflect the cultural and social history of a Jewish
community that contributed substantially to the rise
of the Dutch Republic and the New World in the age
of mercantilism.
Where is it
Portuguese-Jewish Seminary Ets Haim,
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
The Ets Haim (Tree of Life) Academy has been
internationally renowned since the Dutch Golden Age. Its
rich collections of manuscripts, books, sheet music and
graphic materials reflect the institute’s influence until the
early 20th century and the international ties it maintained.
The collections of the Library Ets Haim – Livraria
Montezinos comprise 500 manuscripts dating from 1282
onwards and 30,000 printed works, the earliest from
1484; around 65 percent are in Hebrew. The printed books
include six Hebrew incunabula (books printed before
1501), four hundred Hebrew unique works, approximately
400 unique and rare Spanish and Portuguese works and
750 ephemera. Ets Haim also has approximately 250 prints
and sheet music for children’s and men’s choirs.
The collections are a unique and irreplaceable example
of Sephardic Jewish heritage. The culture of the Sephardic
Jews, who originated in the Iberian Peninsula, was
characterized by open exchange with their environment –
integration without assimilation. Continuing this tradition,
the curriculum of Ets Haim combined a thorough Jewish
education in combination with an excellent knowledge
of literature, philosophy, rhetoric and science. In training
its students for leadership positions in international
108 Library Ets Haim – Livraria Montezinos
Sephardic communities, the institute made important
contributions to societies in which several religions
coexisted peacefully. In addition, Sephardic Jews, based
in this location since 1675, were central to the rise and
prosperity of the Dutch Republic and mercantilism in the
Golden Age.
The collections reflect the 17th-century humanist
ideal, documenting all fields of human knowledge,
science and activities. Many editions are available of all
Jewish standard works: editions of the Bible, exegetic,
hermeneutic, homiletic, legal and didactic works,
and there are also various Christian publications.
History, language and literature, rhetoric, calligraphy,