ETS HAIM LIBRARY IN AMSTERDAM IS 400 YEARS OLD!
Sunday, March 21st
3:30-4:30PM EDT (US & CAN)/
8:30-9:30PM (AMSTERDAM)
Hosts: Sephardic Heritage International in DC & Bendigamos.
Scroll Down to Register (Free) for ZOOM Information.
The Ets Haim library goes back over 400 years and owes its richness to its genesis from Iberian Jews in 1616. Its collected works comprise over 500 manuscripts dating back to 1282 and 30,000 printed works dating back to 1484 – including works by philosopher Benedict Spinoza.
Although 90% of the Sephardic Jews in Amsterdam were lost during the Holocaust, the looted collection survived in Germany where it sustained damage. However, following renovations to ensure proper conditions for the collection, it returned home in 2000.
In 2003, the Ets Haim collection was added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage items and today the library and its curator Heide Warncke work to ensure that the knowledge stored between its pages is never lost again.
For our program, Curator Heide Warncke will focus on the Amsterdam Haggadah, created in 1695 and notable for its illustrations, which include one of the earliest printed maps of the Holy Land. She will also share other historic Haggadas, as well as some of the library’s crown jewels.