Confirmation of the Old Regulations and Decisions

Kahal Talmud Torah of the Sephardic Jews in Amsterdam

1639

  1. The mahamad [congregation board] shall have supreme authority over everything. And no one shall be able to contravene the decisions taken and promulgated by the said mahamad, nor shall they sign any papers to counteract it, and those who do so, shall incur the penalty of excommunication. Thus it is ordered that the mahamad, in each year that it serves, must be the supreme body in the governance of the congregation and the Nation and its dependents. And it shall be able to impose upon the disobedient such penalties as it shall deem fit, forcing them to ask forgiveness publicly at the tevah [raised platform in the center of the synagogue]. In addition, the mahamad, or anyone of his choosing who is found in the synagogue (deeming it necessary to ascertain that there be no differences among the parties), shall be able to order any person or persons of this congregation to leave the synagogue, keep quiet, or be silent, or that they not leave their homes until otherwise instructed on pain of excommunication. And in all this or in any other eventuality, a father may not be replaced by his son, nor a son by his father, nor a relative by another relative; rather, they shall all seek to obey and fulfill their mandate for as long as it is appropriate for the sake of the good governance, peace, and tranquility of this congregation, with God’s blessing.
  2. That on the mahamad no one who is a father may be elected together with his son, a brother with his brother, a grandfather with his grandson, an uncle with his nephew, a father-in-law with his son-in-law, cousins with their cousins, a brother-in-law with his brother-in-law, nor may any such relative vote for another relative having the same degree of kinship nor sit in judgment on any matter to which they are a party.
  3. None of the seven persons elected to serve on the mahamad each year may refuse the position for any reason, nor, upon being accepted, may any of them leave the position, unless there be very just cause for contravening the mandate of the elections.

 

Translated by

Marvin 
Meital

.

 

Credits

Kahal Talmud Torah Society of the Sephardi Jews in Amsterdam, Confirmation of the Old Regulations and Decisions, Ms. Municipal Archives (Amsterdam), PA 334, no. 19, ff. 106.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.

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Creator Bio

Kahal Talmud Torah of the Sephardic Jews in Amsterdam

Toward the end of the sixteenth century, as the Netherlands sought to free itself from Spanish rule, New Christians began to settle in Amsterdam to find religious freedom and economic opportunity. The first to arrive did not live openly as Jews, but a group that settled in Amsterdam in 1602 conducted religious services in a private home. Initially, the Reform Church opposed allowing Jews to live in the city, while the civic authorities favored it. The first congregation, Beth Jacob, was founded in 1603. Another was founded in 1607, and together the two established charitable foundations. A third congregation was founded in 1618 as a consequence of disagreements in Beth Jacob. Tensions between religious leaders and liberal individuals led to disagreements between the two groups, but in 1639 the three congregations united and established the Kahal Talmud Torah of Amsterdam. Amsterdam became a center of Jewish learning and intellectual life. Many Spanish and Portuguese Jews engaged in foreign trade, tobacco production, printing, and the diamond industry.

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