SPINOZA MERCHANT & AUTODIDACT CHARTERS AND OTHER AUTHENTIC DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE PHILOSOPHER'S YOUTH AND HIS RELATIONS

SPINOZA MERCHANT &AUTODIDACT CHARTERS AND OTHER AUTHENTIC DOCUMENTSRELATING TO THE PHILOSOPHER'S YOUTH AND HIS RELATIONSAuthor(s): A. M. VAZ DIAS and W. G. VAN DER TAKSource: Studia Rosenthaliana, Vol. 16, No. 2 (NOVEMBER 1982), pp. 109-195Published by: Peeters PublishersStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41481501 .

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CONTENTS OF SPINOZA MERCHANT & AUTODIDACT

I. The Portuguese-Israelitic Cemetery at Ouderkerk aan de Amstel. A. Inscriptions of tombstones p. 113 B. From the Livro de Bet Haim 114

Remarks to I 114 II. Abraham de Spinoza de Nantes.

1. Emanuel Rodrigues Vega in Amsterdam grants a power of attorney to Abraham de Spinoza in Nantes 116

2. Abraham has joined the Santa Companhia de Dotar Orphas e Donzellas in Amsterdam 117 a. Deed of entry 117 b. The end of membership-roll of the society of the year 1616 with the

signatures given at the bottom 118 3. Power of attorney granted by Manuel Rodrigues de Spinoza and Joan de

Haro 118 4. From the book of the Gabay of the Bet Jahacob community (1618-1628) 118 5. Abraham and his maid-servant released from custody 119 6. Abraham administrator of the cemetery 119 7. Posts of honour held by Abraham 120 8. Abraham grants a power of attorney to his son-in-law Gabriel Alvares

d'Espinosa 120 9. From the Amsterdam rate-book for the 200th penny anno 1631 120

Remarks to II 121 III. Michael de Spinoza.

1. Michael's age 127 a. From the registers of notary Sijbrant Cornelisz in Amsterdam 127 b. From the registers of notary Daniel Bredan in Amsterdam 127 c. From the registers of notary Sijbrant Cornelisz in Amsterdam 128

2. Michael's house 128 a. From the registers of notary Daniel Bredan in Amsterdam 128 b. Abstract from the rate-book of the 8th penny, new town, anno

1650-1652 128

109



3. Protest of a bill of exchange by Gabriel Alvares p. 130 4. Posts of honour held by Michael 130

a. Parnas and Deputado of the Bet Jahacob community 130 b. Parnas of the united Talmud Tora community 131 c. Parnas of the educational institutions 131

5. Michael admitted as member of the Santa Companhia de Dotar Orphas e Donzellas 131

6. Michael asks for the admission of his nephew Jacob Espinoza to the Santa Companhia de Dotar Orphas e Donzellas 132

7. Michael accepts a bill of exchange 132 8. Michael discharged by Jacob d'Espinoza, who acts here as the heir of

money due to Abraham 133 9. Compromise between Michael and Jacob d'Espinoza 134 10. Arbiters gave their verdict in a controversy between Michael and Jacob

d'Espinoza 134 11. Michael marries for the third time 136

a. Notice of intended marriage; also of Michael's future sister-in-law . . . 136 b. Solemnization of the marriage . . . .

' 137 12. Marriage of Michael's daughter Mirjam 137 13. Michael appointed as administrator of the Jewish Pawnshop 137

Remarks to III 137 IV. Bento's Education.

1. The teachers at the Talmud Tora school in 1639 148 2. Lists of the names of the students at the higher Medrassim of the Talmud

T ora school of 1 65 1 1 48 3. Franciscus van den Enden 149

Remarks to IV 150 V. Bento's Life.

1. From the membership-roll of the Ets Haim society of the year 5397 157 2. JarichJelles I57 3. Bento serves a subpoena on a debtor 158 4. The debtor defaulted 158 5. Bento has his debtor imprisoned and is molested as a result I59 6. Bento made an agreement with his debtor 150 7. Statements of identity made by Isaac da Costa, Bento de Spinoza and

Manuel Lavello ^в' 8. Bento conveys a bill of exchange, also for his brother Gabriel 152 9. From a small book of offerings ^62

110



10. Orphan-masters of Amsterdam appoint a guardian for Bento p. 162 11. Measures taken by Bento's guardian 163 12. Ban pronounced against Bento 164

Remarks to V 164 VI. Bento's Heirs 171

Remarks to VI 171

111



SPINOZA MERCHANT & AUTO DID ACT CHARTERS AND OTHER AUTHENTIC DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE PHILOSOPHER'S YOUTH AND HIS

RELATIONS

BY A. M. VAZ DIAS AND W. G. VAN DER ТАК

I. The Portuguese-Israelitic cemetery at Ouderkerk aan de Amstel

A. Inscriptions of tombstones

21 February 1627; concerning the first wife of the philosopher's father.

SEPULTURA DE RACHEL DE ESPINOSA MULHER DE MICHAEL DE ESPINOSA QUE FALECEO

EM 5 DE ADAR DO ANO 5387 5 November 1638; concerning the philospher's mother.

Sa D HANA DEBORA D'ESPINOZA MULHER D MIKAEL D'ESPINOZA QUE A LEVOU

EL DIO Pa SY EN 28 D HESVAN 5399 AOS

24 September 1649; concerning a (half)brother of the philosopher.

Sa DE YSHAC DE MICAEL ESPINOZA F° 18 DE TISRI ANNO DE 5410

6 September 1651; concerning a sister of the philosopher.

Sa D MIRIAM DE CASSERES Mr DE SEMUEL D CASSERES F° EM 20 D ELUL 541 1

24 October 1653; concerning the philosopher's step-mother.

Sa D ESTER Mer D MICHAEL DE ESPINOZA F° EM 22 D HESVAN 5413

28 March 1654; concerning the philosopher's father.

Sa DO BEMAVENTURADO MICHAEL D ESPINOZA QUE F° EM 10 D NISAN A0 5414

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В. From the Livro de Bet Haim it appears that at Ouderkerk aan de Amstel were buried:

the 8th of May 1618 (13 Iyar 5378), Abraham Israel Vilha Lobos, next to his child.

the 28th of October 1621 (13 Kislev 5382), a child from the house of Isaac Espinoza.

the 29th of December 1622 (26 Tevet 5383), a grandchild of Abrah. de Espinoza.

the 3rd of December 1623 (10 Kislev 5384), a child of Micael Espinosa.

the 7th of January 1625 (9 Tevet 5385), Dona Sara Espinosa, sister of Abraham Espinosa de Nantes; row 8, nr. 9.

the 21st of February 1627 (5 Adar 5387), Rachel Espinosa, wife of Michael Espinoza, row 9, nr. 18.

the 9th of April 1627 (23 Nisan 5387), Isaac Espinoza, who came from Nantes to Rot- terdam, where he died; row 9, nr. 20.

Remarks to I. The Cemetery at Ouderkerk

Among the numerous Spinoza's belonging to the Amsterdam Sephardim (Spanish-Por- tuguese Jews) there are a few whose family relationship - if any - remain completely obscure. This is why this publication contains only documents concerning those whom are certain to be related to the philospher or those for whom there is an indication that they might be. To the first category in particular belong Michael, Benedictus's father, his three wives Rachel, Hanna Debora and Ester, his children Ishac and Mirjam and also Abraham de Spinoza. This Abraham, who was usually referred to as coming "from Nantes", to distinguish him from another Abraham de Spinoza living in Amsterdam in the same period, was Michael's uncle and father-in-law, as appears from the records printed under III. All we know of a sister of Abraham Spinoza de Nantes, Dona Sara, is the date of her funeral. The same applies to a certain Isaac Espinoza who died in Rotterdam. There is however, reason to assume that this Isaac was Michael's father. This assumption is partly based on the fact that Michael's eldest son would have been Ishac and that it is an old Jewish custom to name the firstborn son after his grandfather. Moreover, the Isaac who died in 1627 had come to these parts from Nantes which is also supposed to have been the case with Michael.

We have, admittedly, no indication that the philosopher's brother Gabriel and his half-sister Rebecca, who will be discussed in Chapter V and VI respectively, were buried at Ouderkerk. This is quite likely at least as far as this sister is concerned. Of course the only son of Abraham de Spinoza de Nantes, called Jacob, was not buried there; he had settled in the East as indicated in the records printed under III.

114



To A. The inscriptions on the tombstones mentioned here were first published by D. H. de Castro Mz. in the issue of the magazine "Oud Holland" of 1888.

In translation they read: "Grave of Rachel de Espinosa, wife of Michael de Espinosa, who died on the 5th of

Adar of the year 5387." "Grave of Hanna Debora d'Espinoza, wife of Michael d'Espinoza, taken up by God on

the 28th of Hesvan of the year 5399." "Grave of Yshac, (son) of Micael Espinoza, died the 18th of Tisri of the year 5410." "Grave of Miriam de Casseres, wife of Semuel de Casseres, died on the 20th of Elul

5411." "Grave of Ester, wife of Michael de Espinoza, died on the 22nd of Hesvan 5413." "Grave of Michael de Espinoza of blessed memory, who died on the 10th of Nisan of the

year 5414." The word "of' is usually represented on the stones by the intertwined letters D and E. As everywhere else the family-name of the Spinoza's has different spellings; the form

"de Espinosa" is however older than "de Spinoza".

To B. These remarks were taken from the Livro de Bet Haim (Book of the Cemetery) that was started by Daniel Tenorio, one of the earliest administrators and that was copied and continued by later administrators. (Archives of the Portuguese Israelitic Community in Amsterdam, P.I.G. nr. 1). Besides other information it contains, definitely incomplete, burialregisters of the years 1616-1630, which were incorporated in translation by D. H. de Castro Mz. in his book Keur van Grafstenen op de Nederl.-Portug. -Israel. Begraafplaats te Ouderkerk aan den Amstel , published by E. J. Brill in Leiden in 1883. Among the people with the name of Spinoza we found in other sources, who were buried at Ouderkerk, there is not one of whom the relationship to the philosopher was established; this with the

exception of those whose tombstone inscriptions were printed here under A. Of course the dates given under I, В are the dates of the funerals, not of the deaths. That

the same date is given for the burial and death of Rachel Espinoza, may be explained from the Jewish custom to bury on the day of death if possible.

According to the Livro de Bet Haim a child was buried from the house of Isaac

Espinoza and a grandchild of Abrah. de Espinoza in 1621 and 1622 respectively. Apart from the fact that the first mentioned child may be considered to have been born to an unmarried maid-servant on the grounds of an indication that we have, the lack of further

particulars makes it impossible to decide whether the said Isaac and Abraham were related to the philosopher. Abraham Israel Vilha Lobos who was buried on May 8, 1618 is the other Abraham de Spinoza we referred to above and who will be further discussed in the Remarks to Chapter II, in order to prevent confusion with his namesake who had come to Amsterdam from Nantes.

115



II. Abraham de Spinoza de Nantes

1. Emanuel Rodrigues Vega in Amsterdam grants a power of attorney to Abraham de

Spinoza in Nantes. [16 December 1596]

Today, the sixteenth of December, anno 1596, appeared before me, Jan Fransz.

Bruyningh, notary public residing in Amstelredamme, admitted to the Provincial Council of the Court of Holland (by prior nomination of the said city), in the presence of the witnesses mentioned hereafter, the honourable Emanuel Rodrigues Vega, merchant of the Portuguese nation, at present in Amsterdam, who is known to me, notary, and he declared that some time ago he shipped and loaded in the ship called "De Hope", large about seventy lasts, on which Jan Rutten is skipper, the following general merchandise belonging to the people mentioned hereafter

ď First a parcel Nr. 1 with 10 pieces of baize of which four are of 100 threads, three of 80 *P threads and three of 68 threads, solely belonging to the said deponent, all marked with the

/4^ first mark in the margin. Another parcel Nr. 1 with 12 pieces of baize, of which three are of 100 threads, three of

80 threads, three of 68 threads, two of 60 threads and one of 54 threads, also solely belonging to the said deponent, marked with the second mark or sign in the margin.

Jj Also a cask, also Nr. 1 with eight buffalo hides and two parcels Nr. 2/3 with one hundred and thirty-two pieces of shot of the ordinary kind, belonging to the said deponent

ßr' and his brother Gabriel Fernandes, living in Antwerp, all three marked with the third sign in the margin

/Г Also a parcel Nr. 4 with ten pieces of baize of 100 threads belonging to Luis Fernandes /f* of Antwerp and Manuel de Palachios of Lisbon, marked with the fourth sign in the margin

^ Also a parcel Nr. 6 containing 25 pieces of baize, namely five of 100 threads, five of 80 threads, five of 68 threads, five of 60 threads and five of 54 threads, belonging to Bartholomeus Sanches of Lisbon, marked with the fifth mark in the margin.

JL, Another parcel nr. 1 with 4 pieces of baize, one of 100 threads, 1/80 threads, 1/68

rQjTX threads and 1 of 60 threads, belonging to Symon Dandrade of Porto, marked with the sixth mark in the margin

^ Also a parcel Nr. 1 and a parcel Nr. 2, both marked with the seventh mark in the margin, ПП parcel Nr. 1 containing 12 pieces of baize, namely four of 100 threads, two of 80 threads, Jry. two of 60 threads and two of 54 threads and parcel Nr. 2 containing 5 pieces of Haarlem

cloth, both of which said parcels belong to Barholomeus Alveres Occorido, Portuguese merchant.

And since the said ship of Jan Rutten, that was destined for Viana in Portugal, was seized on its journey (according to the deponent's statement) with its cargo by the soldiers of. . . His Majesty of Spain, encamped at Blavet, and was taken there, the said deponent, acting for himself and as proxy of the people mentioned above, according to their shares in the cargo, therefore authorizes and gives a power of attorney to the honourable Emanuel Rodrigues Spinosa, residing in Nantes in Brittany, to prosecute and find in his,

116



the deponent's name, the said goods in the manner that will be best suited, and having recovered the said goods, to accept them, to give a receipt, to indemnify whomsoever

necessary from future claims, to present requests to whichever governors, colonels, cap- tains and other people in the service of his majesty as may be necessary, and also, if the case requires this, to institute legal proceedings before all lords, laws and courts whichever

necessary, to observe all paths and terms of law until the final verdict and the end of the case and in general further to do in this respect everything the deponent, if he were present himself, could or would be able to do, also if the case requires a more special power than is mentioned here and with the power to appoint in his stead one or more proxies, with the promise to uphold and have upheld everything as if it had been done by him in the said quality, under all contracts of law. Done within the afore-mentioned city at the house of me, notary, in the presence of Jacob van Tongerloo and Gerrit van der Laan, who were requested to act as witnesses.

2. Abraham has joined the Santa Companhia de Dotar Orphas e Donzellas in Amsterdam.

a. Deed of entry. [June 18, 1616]

Termo da entrada do companheiro abraham espinoza de nantez.

thamuz Em 3 de thamuz 5376 que são 18 Junho da era que se conta 1616. entrou por Jrmão

desta sancta compa abraham espinoza de nantes alias Manuel Roiz espinoza e pagou a mim thezoureiro a suma de Vinte Auros de grosos que faco boas no cabedal desta compa como parece nos liuros dela a f 2 do grande e о dito sr se obrigou por esta a comprir e guoardar em todo as Constituicoen's desta sancta compa por sy e por seus descendentes que ouuirem e guizarem о dito lugar seu de companhia delas e dito sr por ser passado о termo limitado em que podia entrar liuremente foi admitido por votos dos sete eleitos e por verdade asignou este termo comiguo thezoureiro - Abraham Jeserun despinoza. Mardochay franco, yacob: ysrael belmte. David: ysrael homen. Baruk osoryo. josseph Cohen.

117



b. The end of a membership roll of the society of the year 1616 with the signatures given at the bottom.

yoseph Cohen Raphael aboaf abraam yeserum Spinoza gabriel aboaf. abraham gaon. Raphael Jeserum

Moseeh montalto -

Abraham despinosa.

Abraham Jeserum despinoza denantes.

3. Power of attorney granted by Manuel Rodrigues de Spinoza and Joan de Haro.

[January 10, 1617]

Disemos nos os abaixo assinados mercadores portugueses en esta Ciudad de Amster- dame, que estamos Contente que manuel Aluarez mercador morador em Ruão Pode beneficiar as lans saluadas da nao de Pedro Iicardi que dio a Costa a São Vallerj / a saber que faca apreciar as tres sacas maes emdomajadas por quatro home's ordenados pella Justiça / E que das demaes faca no beneficio como milhor lhe parescer / Para hoqual lhe damos E Concedemos todos os poderes necessários Sem fraude oje em amsterdame a 10 de Janro de 1617 annos

Jhoan de haro. Mel1 Roiz despinoza.

4. From the book of the Gabay of the Bet Jahacob community (1618-1628) [p. 24; 1618]

Fintas Pelos Rendimento daue dana de Pesah

AB. Espinoza de Nantes e suo filho f 12.- [p. 56; . . .]

Offertas Abraham Espinoza f 1.- Michael Espinoza 3.-

[unpaginated; under letter A; 1625?] Fintas

Abraham d'Espinoza de Nantes f 6 -

[unpaginated; under letter M; 1625?] Fintas

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Michael ďEspinoza f 6.-

5. Abraham and his maid-servant released from custody [December 3, 1620]

Emanuel Rodrigues Spinosa, Portuguese, was released from custody by the judicial board with the solemn promise that whenever the Lord Sheriff summons him on the orders of the judicial board, he will again appear in court, this on the condition that he provides security. Dr. Francisco Lopez Rosa and Francisco Lopez Dias stand surety and promise herewith that they will produce the said Emanuel Rodrigues in court or else to comply with the verdict of the judicial board. Promised thus etc. Done on the 3rd of December 1610, in the presence of the honourable Frederick de Vrij, presiding mayor as sheriff, Jan Petersz. de With & Joris Jorisz., member of the judicial board. Toboda Ockema of Nantes, maid-servant of the said Emanuel Rodrigues, was released as above in all respects, done the 3rd of December 1620 in the presence as above.

6. Abraham administrator of the cemetery

According to the Livro de Bet Haim, drawn up by Daniel Tenorio, copied by Abraham Farrar and continued by him and the successive administrators, the following people were Administrador de Bet Haim

from 1619 till 1620 Jacob JehudaLeão ' from 1620 till 1621 Rehuël Jessurun ' from 1621 till 1622 Abraham Curiël I from 1622 till 1623 Abraham Espinosa J from 1623 till 1624 Abraham Mezurado i from 1624 till 1625 Abraham Farrar I from 1625 till 1626 Abraham Jessurun [ for the Bet jahacob from 1626 till 1627 Mozes Musaphi^ community from 1627 till 1628 Eleazar Jesurun Ribeiro from 1628 till 1629 Mozes da Fonseca from 1629 till 1630 Abraham da Fonseca Dias from 1630 till 1631 Abraham Mezurado I

/Daniel Tenorio ' successively during I Joseph Abendana 1 the period J David Pinto ( for the Neweh Salom 1619-1 630 j Isaäc de la Fay a i community

[ Abraham de la Faya j ' Samuel Abendana /

[ Jacob Baruch ' successively during 1 Aguilar I for the Bet Israel the period ' David Jesurun > community 1619-1 630 I Abraham Aboaf '

1 Mozes de la Faya I 119



7. Posts of honour held by Abraham From the Libro dos Ymposta da Nação, Principiado em 24 de Sebat 5382, it appears that in the year was a member of 5385 (1625) Senhores Quinze dos tres Mahamad Abraham Despinoza. 5388 (1627/'28) Senhores Quinze dos tres Mahamad Abraham Despinoza. 5388 (1627/'28) Senhores Deputados Abraham Despinoza. 5389 (1628/'29) Senhores Deputados Abraham Despinoza. 5389 (1629) Parnassim do Mahammad de Bet Jahacob Abraham Despinoza. 5390 (1630) Parnassim do Mahamad de Bet Jahacob Abraham Despinoza.

The following extract refers to the fourth entry: Em 11 de Tisri 5389 con que responde a 8 octobro 1628 sea juntarão os senhores

diputados em casa do senhor Abraham despinosa de Nantes. . . Abraham Despinoza. David Arari. Rafael Jesurun. Josua Serfarti. Samuel Abrabanel. Mel nhemias.

8. Abraham grants a power of attorney to his son-in-law Gabriel Alvares d'Espinosa. [December 1, 1625]

Today, the first of December sixteen twenty-five, in the presence of me, Sijbrant Cornelisz., notary public, residing in Amsterdam, admitted to the Court of Holland, and of the witnesses mentioned hereafter, appeared Sr Manuel Rodriges Dispinosa, Portu- guese merchant within the said city, who is known to me, notary, and who is ill in bed but in full control of his mind and speech as appeared from observance, declared to authorize and authorizes herewith in the best form and manner Gabriel Alvares Dispinosa, his son-in-law / bearer of this, giving the same full power and authority to act in the name of him, constituent, and represent him in the bank of this city and to write off from and add to his account there, to bring cash into the bank and to withdraw it and to do all that is required and to grant a power of attorney if necessary and do all in a proper manner as the constituent could and would do if he were present himself, even if a wider or more fully specified power were necessary than is stated here. He, the constituent, promises to uphold the power of attorney and its validity in all respects at all times and towards everyone, in particular towards the chief-commissioners and all others who have any administrative function in the bank, as if it had been done by him, the constituent, personally. This power of attorney will last and be effective until he, the constituent revokes it at the bank in the proper manner. For this he, the consituent, binds his person and goods according to the law and requests the notary to draw up the instrument in the proper form.Done within the said city of Amsterdam, at the house of the said constituent, in the presence of Michiel Lopes Homem and Saul Levi Mortera who were asked to act as witnesses.

9. From the Amsterdam rate-book for the 200th penny anno 163 1.

Rate-book of the quotas due by burghers and residents of the city of Amsterdam and

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the villages belonging to it, as well as of the cities of Naarden, Muiden and Weesp with

Weesperkarspel and the village of Gooiland, concerning those with an estate of 1000

guilders or more, who are to pay the 200th penny on this, according to the licence granted by the honourable Deputies of the States of Holland and West Frisia for the year 1631. The burghomasters and magistrates of the city of Amsterdam, commissioned hereto by the said Deputies of the States, based themselves on the rate-book of the last 200th penny, admitted and given in 1628.

[pp. 153v-154vh

Around the corner 42. Jan Corn Meulens heirs f 100.-.- 43. Steven Jansz Meulen 30.-.- 45. D' wede Dirck Lambertsz. . . 15.-.- 47. Francisco Vaes Ponto 30.-.- 49. Abraham Osorio 30.-.- 52. Moijlus Musquite 15.-.- 53. Gonsalves Dias Pota 100.-.- 54. Jan Pijls widow 25.-.- 55. Gerrit Lambertsz Goyer 10.-.- 56. Manuel Maudes 45.-.- 57. Manuel Rodrigues Spinosa 20.-.- 59. Jasper Baltesz and child 45.-.-

Remarks to II. Abraham De Spinoza

The Abraham de Spinoza who is meant here and whose relationship to the father of the philosopher will be demonstrated by the records printed under III, had the alias of Emanuel (Manuel) Rodrigues de Spinoza. The majority of the Marranos used such aliases. The reason that is usually given for this is that in a hostile Christian environment the Marranos in Spain and Portugal had to drop their real Jewish names and act in public under more familiar Christian names, perhaps those they had received at their forced

baptism. Although this explanation is not fully satisfactory it must suffice for the time

being with our limited knowledge of the Marranos; it should, however, be pointed out that the use of aliases was also quite common among the Christian population of Spain and

Portugal. Usually the alias also replaced the family-name; sometimes one person had several aliases. It was still in full use in the 17th century among the Sephardim (Spanish- Portuguese Jews) who had settled in Amsterdam; particularly in connection with the relations they maintained through their extensive foreign trade. It appears that the

Portuguese merchant Emanuel Rodrigues Spinoza who lived in Nantes in 1596 is the same Abraham de Spinoza whom we meet in Amsterdam in 1616. From then on he is usually referred to as Abraham de Spinoza de Nantes, probably to distinguish him from another Abraham de Spinoza, also living in Amsterdam at the same time and who was usually called Abraham de Spinosa de Villa Lobos. The latter' s alias was Gabriel Gomes Spinosa.

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They can also be distinguished because one wrote his name as Abraham Jesserum de

Spinoza (de Nantes) and the other as Abraham Israel Espinosa (de Villa Lobos); among the Sephardic Jews it was not uncommon to add a second name to their surname. The

signatures of both appear on the sheet with signatures below a membership roll of 1616 of the society "Santa Companhia de Dotar Orphas e Donzellas" [P.I. G. 1 141, p. 63] (cf. nr. 2). On the grounds of a similarity of handwriting it can be determined that the man who called himself Abraham de Spinosa here without further particulars, is the same Abraham de Spinosa who signed his name, together with his three sons Ysaque, David and Jacob to the ascamot (regulations) when these were confirmed at the foundation of the "Talmud Tora" society in 1616. These regulations were entered by hand in the oldest Termosbook (Decisions-book) of the society [P.I.G. 1051, fol. 3] (Cf. the remarks to IV).

According to the registers of people buried at Ouderkerk (cf. I, B) Abraham Israel Espinosa de Villa Lobos died in 1618. This entry is confirmed by the fact that after March (Purim) 1618 the name of this Abraham de Spinosa no longer appears in the Pautas (membership-rolls) of the society "de Dotar Oprhas e Donzellas" but from that time on his son's name Isak Espinoza appears with the reference "por seu pay" (instead of his father). The name of Abraham de Spinosa is also not to be found in the book of the Gabay (treasurer) of the community Bet Jahacob that begins in 1618 whereas it is known that this Abraham belonged to this community; shortly before had been its Parnas (Governor) (cf. Gedenkschrift Talmud Tora en Ets Haim by M. C. Paraira and J. S. da Silva Rosa; 1916).

After 1618, therefore, there can be no doubt of the identity of Abraham de Spinoza: this must certainly be the Abraham de Spinoza de Nantes. We find his name for the last time on the membership-roll of the society Ets Haim of the year 1637 [P.I.G. 1052, p. 5] (cf. V, nr. 1). In January 1638 his son is admitted in his place as a member of the "de Dotar" society [P.I.G. 1 142, p. 239] (cf. III, nr. 6). We may therefore assume that he died at the end of 1637.

Finally we must remark that the information given on page 261 of J. Freudenthal's Lebensgeschichte Spinoza's (1899), according to which an Abraham Michael Espinoza is mentioned in the Livro dos Acordos (A), referring to the year 1631, must certainly be based upon an error. Besides the fact that the Livro dos Acordos was started in 1639, repeated research in the archives of the Portuguese Jews in Amsterdam never produced the name Abraham Michael Espinoza.

To nr. 1. (Notarial Archives of Amsterdam, registers of notary Jan Fransz Bruyningh, register 76, fol. 3).

Emanuel Rodrigues Vega, here granting a power of attorney to Emanuel Rodrigues Spinosa in Nantes, was among the first Portuguese merchants who became burghers of Amsterdam; at the end of March 1597 he took his burghership's oath. Coming from Antwerp he had settled in Amsterdam around 1590 where he traded extensively with foreign countries; probably often on orders of Marranos who had settled elsewhere (cf. Izak Prins, De vestiging der Marranen in Noord-Nederland (Amsterdam 1927).

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To nr. 2. (Archives of the Santa Companhia de Dotar Orphas e Donzellas of Amsterdam [P.I.G. 1 141, p. 57]). The translation of the record printed under this number reads:

Deed of entry of the member Abraham Espinoza de Nantes. On the third of Thamus, being June 18 of the year 1616, Abraham Espinoza de Nantes,

alias Manuel Rodrigues Espinoza, joined this holy society as a brother and paid to me, treasurer, the sum of twenty pounds Flemish, which I add to the capital of this society, as

appears from its books on page 2 of the ledger; the said gentleman herewith took on the

obligation to fulfill and to adhere to all regulations of this holy society for himself and his heirs who will take over his place as a member and to have the advantages of it and the said gentleman, now that the stipulated term to join freely as a member has passed, was

accepted by the vote of the seven delegates (voting members) and he signed this deed as true with me, treasurer.

Concerning this translation it must be noted that Roiz is an abbreviation of Rodrigues, whereas "auros de grosos", called "livres de grossos" in the deed printed under III, 5, refers to the sum in pounds Flemish.

The following may serve as an illustration. In the year 1615 the "Santa Companhia de Dotar Orphas e Donzellas" (Holy society for

the matrimony of orphans and young girls) was founded. The aim of this society was to

provide young girls of the Sephardic community belonging to the family of the members with a dowry in cash. Since the girls were appointed by drawing lots, the society was called "Sortes" (lots). Founded by some twenty members, the society rapidly grew in size. An entrance-fee was demanded from new members. According to the deed of entry of Abraham Espinosa de Nantes - mentioned here with his alias Manuel Rodrigues Es- pinosa - it appears that this fee then amounted to twenty pounds Flemish (cf. Da Silva Rosa, Geschiedenis der Portugeesche Joden te Amsterdam 1925).

To nr. 3. (Notarial Archives of Amsterdam, registers of notary Nicolas Jacobs, register 380, fol. 6).

The translation of this deed that was signed by Abraham de Spinoza de Nantes with his alias Manuel Rodrigues de Spinoza, reads as follows:

We, the undersigned, Portuguese merchants in the city of Amsterdam, declare that it will be with our permission that Manuel Alvarez, merchant living in Rouen, will deal with the salvaged wool from the ship of Pedro Licardi that ran aground near the coast of Saint

Valéry, as follows: he will have the three most heavily damaged parcels appraised by four

people, appointed by the court and will sell them as he deems best, to which end we give him all necessary authority. Truly (done), today in Amsterdam on the 10th of January 1617.

On the same page of the above-mentioned register we find an identical deed in French in which Jacques de Bary grants a power of attorney; while on page 8 there is the

following, more explicit story. Pardevant moj Nicolas Jacobs. . . . Jacques de Bary, Jean de Aro et Manuel Rodrigues

d'Espinoza tous marchands en ceste ville, lequels come asseuradeurs ayant asseures à Jean

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Gonsalves sur quinze Sacqs de laines, sauves du navire, d'ont estoit Maitre Piere Lucardy / ont dit et declaré, que ils veulent et sont consents que Manuel Alveres marchand demeurant a Rouen, en presence de Francois Pettin aussi marchant au dit lieu, parent du d{ Bary, face priser et estimer les trois Sacqs, plus endomages des dittes laines, par quatre personnes lesquels pour cest effect seront requis et ordonnes par la Justice de ladte ville de Rouen / et que iceuse trois sacqs de laines seront et demeureront au dit Manuel alveres

pour le prys qu'il seront aussi estimez et prisez comme aussi les dits Comparants ont

consenty et accorde, que les dits quatre personnes, en presence comme dessus tauperont et seront estimation combien pourra estre et porter le dommage de sous les dte quinse Sacqs de laines, et tout ce le plus brief que sera possible, promessants les dts Comparants d'avoir et tenir jusques a jamais pour bon agreable et bien faict et besoigne, sans nullement y contrevenir Soubs obligation de leurs personnes et bien respectives S'assubjectans a tout

juges et justices sans fraude, et ont consenty de ce ettre faict et délivré acte en forme faict en la dl Ville d'Amsterdamme en presence de etc. . . .

To nr. 4. (Archives of the Portuguese Israelitic Community of Amsterdam) This book of the Gabay (treasurer) belongs to the oldest records of the Amsterdam

Sephardim. The entries taken from it here, concern the membership subscriptions (fintas) and offerings (offertas) of Abraham and his son (filho) and of Michael de Spinoza (cf. III). The membership subscriptions were paid bi-annually, namely at Passover (Pesah) and at the New Year's Feast (Ros Hasana). The first mentioned entry therefore occurs repeatedly. When further in the book we find Abraham mentioned without his son (Jacob), while the name of the son does not occur seperately, it is safe to assume that the latter had left Amsterdam. This is confirmed by the deeds printed under III. It also appears that Abraham and his son, as well as Michael de Spinoza, belonged to the community Bet Jahacob; before 1639 there were three Sephardic communities in Amsterdam (cf. the Remarks to II, nr. 7).

To nr. 5. (Judicial Archives of Amsterdam, Justitieboeken, R.A. 572, fo. 94). Since the confession-books of the year 1620 have been lost, we do not know why

Abraham de Spinoza, now exclusively referred to as Emanuel Rodrigues Spinosa, had been arrested. Because his maid-servant was released at the same time, one may assume that Abraham had been accused of having an affair with his maid-servant. The Sephardim in Amsterdam were accused of this repeatedly, even the rabbis. One must remember however, that among the Israelites who had come from the south there was a different set of moral values than among the strict Calvinists. In southern Spain the Sephardim had become acquainted with polygamous relationship between the master and his maid-servants, which by the way, does not only apply to the Jews, and they had sometimes adopted this.

To nr. 6. (Archives of the Portuguese-Israelitic Community of Amsterdam [P.I.G. 1]). The statements of the administrators of the cemetery were taken from the Livro de Bet Haim. They begin in the year 1619; before that time Parnassim (Governors) of the three

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communities probably kept the administration. We also have no statements for the years 1630-1639 (cf. De Castro, Keur van Grafstenen). Although the office of administrator of the cemetery is not listed among the honourary offices held by Abraham, it must be stated that this was an unpaid office.

To nr. 7. (Archives of the Portuguese-Israelitic Community of Amsterdam [P.I.G. 13]). Before 1639 there were three Portuguese communities in Amsterdam, called respectively Bet Jahacob (House of Jacob), Neweh Salom (Abode of Peace) and Bet Israel (House of Israel); each of these communities had its own synagogue and its own board of governors. This board was called the Mahamad and consisted of five Parnassim in each of the communities. Parnas is the general title of a board member; The heads of the educational societies were also called parnassim. Deputies (deputados) of the three communities regularly met to discuss common affairs; a meeting of all fifteen parnassim (Senhores Quinze) was rare. In this way the unity of the Nação (the Nation), which was the joint name of the Kehiloth (communities), was preserved. The decisions of the Deputados and of the Senhores Quinze were registered in the Livro dos Ymposta da Nação. The name of this register is derived from the fact that it contained the contributions of the members of the communities, which were levied by ways of taxation or impost on traded goods. Since the Libro dos Ymposta contains much more, the name only partially represents the contents. Ever since the União, that is the unification of the three communities in 1639, the unified community was called Talmud Tora and had chosen the enlarged synagogue of Bet Israel as its house of prayer. The decisions of the Mahamad, now consisting of seven parnassim, were registered in a Livro dos Acordos (Book of the United (communities)). Generally such a register was referred to as Termos-book; termo meaning decision or act. A termosbook of the community or of another institution or society contains the decisions that have been taken: regulations that were set up, board-appointments, entries of members and such; it does not contain actual minutes of meetings. The first time that the name Abraham de Spinoza de Nantes is found in the Libro dos Ymposta da Nação, is when he signs as one of the Senhores Quinze a "termo de Ijar 5385 a responde 11 May 1625". Both references finally printed here confirm that Abraham belonged to the Bet Jahacob community.

The translation of the extract mentioned at the end of II, nr. 7 reads:

On the 11th of Tisri 5389, which agrees with 8 October 1628, the deputies met at the house of Abraham de Spinoza de Nantes . . .

For the sake of completeness the aliases of the six names at the bottom follow: Abraham Despinoza alias Emanuel (Manuel) Rodrigues Spinoza Rafael Jesurun alias Juan de Haro Samuel Abarbanel alias Jeronimo Rodrigues de Sousa David Arari alias Dr Diego Telles Josua Serfati alias Thomas Nunes Pina Mel Nhemias alias Michael Crasto.

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To nr. 8 (Notarial Archives of Amsterdam; registers of notary Sijbrant Cornelisz. 646) From this deed we are informed of the name of one Abraham de Spinoza de Nantes's

sons-in-law, namely of Gabriel Alvares d'Espinosa (Dispinosa), who must have been living in Amsterdam in 1625 because he was given a power of attorney to act for Abraham at the Amsterdam Exchange Bank. On the strength of the documents printed under III we will argue in the Remarks belonging to them, that Gabriel Alvares d'Espinosa may have been an alias of Michael de Spinoza. Haham Saul Levi Morteire acted asd witness when this deed was passed; an indication that the rabbis were not only concerned with religious matters. They were, in fact, regularly involved in business affairs; the salary they received as preacher and teacher was quite inadequate. It may also be that Motreira's name under the deed points to a friendly relationship between the rabbi and Abraham.

To nr. 9. (Municipal Archives of Amsterdam; Thesaurieren Extra Ordinaris Catalogus Scheltema III, p. 47, nr. 20)

In 1631, when Abraham was taxed to pay f. 20 for the 200th penny, his fortune must have amounted to f 4000 - not a great fortune even in those days and particularly not for a Portuguese merchant. The time in which the very large fortunes of the Sephardic Jews were conveyed to Holland, had not yet come. In Abraham de Spinoza's time the trading connections of the Portuguese contributed strongly to the flourishing of Amsterdam and helped to make this city into a shipping centre. Compare the articles by A. M. Vaz Dias about the financial position of the Amsterdam Jews in the 17th and 18th centuries in De Vrijdagavond , Vol. 8, 1 (1931).

Finally it must be noted that the reference occurring in the ratebook "Om den hoek" (around the corner), refers to the Houtgracht and that the names "Ponto", "Musquite" and "Pota" should be read as: "Pino", "Mesquita" and "Pato".

Besides the documents reproduced in extenso, we can also dispose of the following information regarding Abraham de Spinoza:

Two deeds occurring in the registers of notary Nicolaes Jacobs in Amsterdam. (Notarial Archives of Amsterdam, register 380, p. 752 and register 383, p. 76) a. The first, dated December 15, 1617, contains a request to Manuel Rodrigues Spinosa and seven others to refund the insurance of merchandise loaded in the ship "Fortuijne" that was seized by pirates. b. In another deed, dated March 9, 1620, Manuel Rodrigues Spinosa and five other Portuguese merchants are appointed as arbiters in a dispute about a bill of exchange drawn on Marid.

Both deeds are in Dutch. c. A deed in Portuguese of September 3, 1625, occurring in the registers of notary Sybrant Cornelisz. in Amsterdam. (Notarial Archives of Amsterdam, register 646), in which Manuel Rodrigues Spinosa and Antonio Martines Viega agree to trade in almonds together. d. Another deed passed before the same notary, dated March 1 1, 1630 (Notarial Archives of Amsterdam, register 638, p. 77) containing a power of attorney given to Lopo Ramires, alias David Curiel, to effect the sale and conveyance at the office of the townclerk of the

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city of Amsterdam, of a house named "Antwerpen" on the Houtgracht, in which house the

synagogue of the Bet Jahacob community was held. This deed is signed by five parnassim of Bet Jahacob: Jacob Baruch, Abraham da Costa, Abraham d'Espinosa, Joseph Cohen and Samuel Israel Dias and by the thirty-nine elders of the community, one of whom was Michael d'Espinoza.

Finally some remarks occurring in the administration of the Amsterdam Bank of

Exchange. Most of the records of this institution (City Archives of Amsterdam) have been lost. Some indexes, balance-books and a few ledgers have been preserved. According to the indexes of the years 1625 and 1628 Manuel Rodrigues Spinosa had an account with the Bank of Exchange. The oldest balance-book (1628), an extract of which is printed here, mentions Rodrigues Spinosa under the heading "Creditors".

Balance of Book W Creditors f°.16

253 Manuel Rodrigues Spinosa 1925 f 1305- 18

In the index of 1631 we find mention of Manuel Rodrigues Spinosa as well as of Michael d'Espinoza; the ledger and balance of that year have been lost.

M R and M E Manuel Rodrigues Spinoza f° 56 Michiel d'Espinoza f° 78

IIIã Michael de Spinoza

1. Michael's age.

a. From the registers of notary Sijbrant Cornelisz. in Amsterdam: (October 8, 1627)

Today, the eighth of October sixteen twenty-seven, appeared &c in the presence of &c Mendo Lopes, about 50 years old, Michiel Despinosa, about 38 years old and Jorge Fernandes Cañero, about 31 years old, all of the Portuguese nation, living within the said

city: known to me, notary, . . .

b. From the registers of notary Daniel Bredan in Amsterdam: (February 10, 1633)

Today, the tenth of February of the year thousand sixhundred thirty-three, appeared before me, Daniel Bredan &c Michael d'espinosa, Portuguese merchant, about 45 years old, and Mendo Lopes, Portguese, about 55 years old, both known to me notary, and in true words . . .

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с. From the registers of notary Sijbrant Cornelisz. in Amsterdam:

(November 2, 1634) Today, the second of November, anno 1634, appeared before me, Sijbrant Cornelisz.,

notary public, in the presence &c, Sr. Michael dispinosa, about 46 years and Manuel Pinto, about 50 years old, both of the Portuguese nation, living within the said city: known to me, notary, who, in true words according to their conscience instead of a solemn oath, . . .

2. Michael's house

a. From the registers of notary Daniel Bredan in Amsterdam:

(December 2, 1633) Today, the second of December 1633, 1, Daniel Bredan, notary public admitted to the

Court of Holland, residing within Amsterdam, went, at the request of Sr Michel despinosa, Portuguese merchant of this city, to his house on Vlooyenburgh here, and there the latter declared that he . . .

b. Abstract from the rate-book of the 8th penny, new town, anno 1650-1652. New Town 159. 161. Huijssitten Steech fol. 161 ....

New Town 1 16v. 1 15v. behind the Bree straet, in the direction of the old town.

2-12 Gerrit Lambertsz goijer 100 12 10 -

2-12 Jacob Jansz pijl 130 16 5-

2-12 Jacob Baratso 162 20 5-

2-12 Gonsalvo dias pato 170 21 5 -

2-12 Willem kick for Michiel Spinosa 130 16 5- 1650 July 19, 1651 for spinosa 16.5. - 165 1 June 7, 1652 for id 16.5.-

Í 16 5'~ 1652 ' July 3, 1653 for Dito 1/2 ) { 8.2.8 1652 f

{

2-12 Matheus Lopes for Davidt Tores 200 25 -

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2-12 Manuel Rodrigo Monsanto 320 40 -

2-12 (Jan dircxsz Mostermans, his widow, for) Cor- nelis Jansz 128 16 -

fol. 162

2-12 í Elias van keulen 2 lots for Cornelis Jansz 167 20 178

3- ( Idem, 4 lots, in the blind alley 60 7 10- 2-12 i Anthonij de Pas, his Widow 150 18 15-

2-12 i Anthonij de Pas, a warehouse 120 15 -

2-12 Bento Osorio 100 12 10-

2-12 Claes pietersz Italiaen finished before 1645 .... 250 21 5 -

n n n. 82 2-12 / The Jewish Community for Jsack de prado .... 152 19 -

1650 Í May 25 1651 for Samuel de pas 165 1 ' April 17, for Louiz rodrigo de sousa 94.5.-

1652 { ( May У 13, 1653 for ysaacq J Bueno í94-5~

1652 I j May У ysaacq J

147.2.8 from f New Taxation 82 8-4 ' Idem the Jewish Synagogue 602 75 5- 2-12 Dirck Hendrixsz 110 13 15 -

2-12 Jan pietersz Jtaliaen for Christoffel hamersteen 1 10 13 15-

from New Taxation 82 2-12 Salomon d' acosta finished before 1635 100 12 10- A 1650 / 12.10.-

September F 3, 1653 for Salomon d'acosta ) 12.10. 1652 F

) 12.10.- 1652 ( 1/2 6. 5.-

beyond the alley. 2-12 Dr Josepho Bueno 150 18 15-

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3. Protest of a bill of exchange by Gabriel Alvares. [August 15, 1633]

15 d'Aoust.

Ce jourdhuy quinziesme d'Aoust l'An Mil Six Cents Trentetrois, je Daniel Bredan Notaire et Tabellion publiq en ceste Ville de Amsterdam admis et estably par la Court de Hollande, me suis avec les tesmoings bas nominez transporté au Domicile du Sieur Jerosme Grison Marchand en ceste Ville susdite, pour au nom et de part du Sieur Gabriel Alvares Espinosa Marchand Portugais en ceste mesme Ville, luy demander acceptation d'une lettre de change de la somme de cent soixante six escuz %, tiree par Magnus Arndes a Bordeaux sur ledit Jerosme Grison, nomine appart par la copie de ladite lettre inseree icy bas. Mais ledit Jerosme Grison ayant respondu que il ne avoit aucun ordre de accepter ladite lettre, ainsi qu'il la faloit attendre de Hambourg, et que il ne la vouloit accepter sans que premièrement il en eust rendu advis, Je Notaire au nom et de part du dit Gabriel Alvares Espinosa ay protesté expressement contre ledit Jerosme Grison de teile faulte et refuz de acceptation et jointement de tous fraix despens dommages et jnterests qu'il en pourroit souffrir, pour le tout avoir et recouvrir de ceux qu'en par raison appartiendra. Ainsi faict et passé en ceste Ville de Amsterdam en presence de Lucas Coerten et Dirick Croock Clercs comme temoings a ce requirez.

S'ensuit la teneur de ladite lettre de change. Laus DEO adi 27 Julii 1633 A Bordeux Cr. 166 2/з а 1 19 d. Thirty days after sight your honour will please pay this my first bill of exchange to

Anselmo Cocquel, banker in Paris or to his order the sum of 166 crowns at 1 19 groats a crown, the value received here from Francois van den Bergh, make good payment and put it on the account as advised, and be recommended to God, from your obedient servant / / signed / / Magnus Arndes / / superscription / / To the honourable Jeronymo Gruson, merchant in Amsterdam / /

On the back was also written / / Anselmo de Cocquel Nicolay.

4. Posts of honour held by Michael.

a. Parnas and Deputado of the Bet Jahacob community. From the Libro dos Ymposta da Nação, Principiado em 24 de Sebat 5382,

it appears that in the year was a member of

5393 (1633) Senhores Quinze Michael Despinoza.

5393 (1633) Senhores Deputados Michael despinoza with Josef Cohen; David Hergo, Mansel Frango; Baruk Osorio and Abraham Salom.

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5394(1634) Senhores Deputados michael despinoza.

5398 (1637/'38) Parnassim of the congregation Bet Jahacob michael despinoza with

abraham da Costa, Dor Jacob Bueno, Samuel

d'Almydij and . . .

5398 (1638) Senhores Quinze michael d'Espinoza.

b. Parnas of the united Talmud Tora community. From the Livro dos Acordos (A)

it appears that the following people were chosen as

[1649/1650] Parnasim do Mahamad em Ros Asanna de Ano 5410: Isaack Jesurun, Micaël Espinoza, Enriquez Faro.

c. Parnas of the educational institutions [1635/'36]

Parnassim de Talmud Tora en 5395: David Is. de Oliveyra. Josuah Jesurun Rodrigues. Joseph Naar. Jehudah Coen. Jahacob Barrassa. Michael de Espinoza.

[1642/'43] Parnassim de Talmud Tora e Tezoureiro de Es Haïm en 5403:

Michael d'Espinosa. Aharon Maestro. Ishac Senior Coronel. Dr. Semuel de Mercado. Jahacob de Palacios. Abraham da Costa (Tez0).

5. Michael admitted as member of the Santa Companhia de Dotar Orphas e Donzellas. [July 24, 1637]

5397 120 Em 3 De AB disse Migeel despinoza que ser haber desta Sa Conp* e estando juntos os

sete elejtos no K.K. de neue selon foy Balotado por Brischo e balas: Por todos sahio Admetido por jrmão della elege Lansara misiuera nas tres K.K. o sabat seginte e Pagou As

vinte liures de grossos e se obrigou A Conprir As obrigasões desta Sa Conpa.

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Michael despinoza Abraham Salom. Selomo ABas David Curiel. Abram Cohen Her. Rafael Penso. Jahacob de palacios.

Baruh osorio.

6. Michael asks for the admission of his nephew Jacob Espinoza to the Santa Companhia de Dotar Orphas e Donzellas.

[December 22, 1637] 5398 121

Aos 5. de Res Codes tebet se juntarem os sss sete e Vista A petisão Ďe Migel despinoza por ser Admitido seu primo Jacob Espinoza en lugar de seu Paj Abrão despinoza de nantes e Votado por todos sete como f° unico seu legitimo foy Admetido no lugar do dito seu paj.

Abraham Salom. Selemo ABas Dauid Hergas. Jahacob de palacios. Dauid Curiel Josef abenacar. Selomo Arary.

7. Michael accepts a bill of exchange. [June 30, 1638]

Today, the thirtieth of June, anno 1638, 1 &c in the presence &c and at the request of Sr Antonio Francisco de Crasto, Portuguese merchant within this city, went to the house of

mourning of the late Pedro Henriques, during his life also Portuguese merchant within this same city, and asked from the widow of the latter, mistress Ester Steven, payment of a bill of exchange that I showed there, addressed to the said Pedro Henriques, accepted by him and copied below word by word, of which the due date has expired. The said widow answered that she could not pay. Therefore I, the notary, without prejudice to the acceptance and in conformity with the protests, made the above request to the widow with the same witnesses.

the contents of the bill of exchange follow Laus Deo Hamburgo A 6 março Estilo nouo 1638 D 900: a 34 pl. D

A dezasete somanas data pagara vm: por Esta pra de Cambio 17/7 A o sr R°. Alurez de Crasto ou sua orden daldes noue sentos. A placas trinta e quatro p D. Valor de dito sr e os Asentara como Avizo

Onderstont Pagara vm: como dis. gheteeckent Loppo nunez. ter sijden stondt Aseito Enriques. Super scriptio Luijde A о sr Pedro Anrriques qde D's En Amsterdam - op de rugge stondt noch O Conteúdo nesta letra pagara vm: a Antonio franco de Crasto. Hamburgo 12/22 de Junho 1638. And was signed Rodrigo Alurez de Crasto -

After this on the first of July of the said year, appeared before me, notary and the witnesses mentioned above, Michael Despinosa, Portuguese merchant within this city, known to me, notary. He declared that he would accept and pay the above bill of exchange in honour of the letter for the account of the drawer and its subscriber and for nobody else, maintaining his rights, definitely under protest. Done as above.

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espinosa J. Volkaertsz. oli Abaham Hendricsz.

Not. Pubi. Jacob goutsbloem

8. Michael discharged by Jacob d'Espinoza, who acts here as the heir of money due to Abraham.

[January 14, 1639] Today, the fourteenth of January anno 1639, appeared before me, Jan Volkaertsz. Oli,

notary public, residing in Amsterdam, admitted to the Court of Holland, in the presence of the witnesses mentioned below, Sr Jacob Espinosa, living in Grancairo in Palestine, presently in Amsterdam, as son and legal heir of the late Manuel Rodriges Espinosa, alias Abraham Espinosa, his father. The said deponent declared to have received for himself and his heirs, from Michael despinosa, Portuguese merchant here in this city, the sum of 220 carolus guilders, six stivers and eight pennies as the remainder and final settlement of accounts. These concern the money that was partially recovered for his, the deponent's, deceased father from the partnership in trade that the latter had with the said Michael Despinosa to Salle in Barbary, as well as the goods from this partnership that were delivered by the said Michael Despinosa to him, the deponent, in his afore-mentioned capacity. Therefore he, the deponent acknowledges to have been paid to his full satisfaction from the last penny to the first by the above-mentioned party for what issued from the said trading-partnership to Salle and all rights and claims in any way due to him, the deponent or his said deceased father, with all effects and appurtenances belonging to them. Therefore he, the deponent in his aforesaid capacity, thanks the said Michael Despinosa for his good payment as above and for his settlement of the accounts and receipts which Michael Despinosa finally rendered to him in the presence of Joseph Cohen and Joseph Boeno, who checked them and which were approved by him, the

deponent. He fully receipts Michael Despinosa and his heirs and descendants for everything regarding the above matter and promises that neither he, personally, nor others

through him, will make any claims, demands on the said Michael Despinosa or his heirs, either now, or later, directly or indirectly, by means of law or otherwise in any way, but on the contrary to fully indemnify, protect against possible damage and to compensate the said Michael Despinosa and his heirs from all subsequent claims from whatever party in the above-mentioned matter, binding himself and renouncing his rights. Done without fraud within the said city of Amsterdam, at the residence of me, notary, in the presence of Abraham Aukes and Jacob Goutsbloem, witnesses requested hereto.

jaco Despinoza In my knowledge Abraham Auckesz. J. Volkaertz. oli Jacob Goutsbloem

Not. Pubi.

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9. Compromise between Michael and Jacob d'Espinoza. [January 26, 1639]

Today, the twenty-sixth of January anno 1639, appeared before me, Jan Volkaertsz. Oli, notary public, residing in Amsterdam, admitted to the Court of Holland, in the presence of the witnesses mentioned below, Sr Michael Despinosa, Portuguese merchant within this

city, on the one side and Jacob Espinosa, living in Grancairo in Palestine, sojourning in this city, as son and legal heir of the late Manuel Rodriges Espinosa, alias Abraham

Espinosa, his father, on the other side. They declared that, since between them a matter and controversy had arisen because of a certain inheritance claimed by the said Jacob

Espinosa in his aforesaid capacity from the said Michael Despinosa, they took counsel together in order to prevent a lawsuit, trouble and costs and agreed to submit and herewith submit all matters and differences concerning the mentioned inheritance as well as all other matters, differences and claims with everything that belongs to his matter, that each of them could in any way have on the other of whatever nature, none in this world

excepted, and agree to adhere to the verdict and pronouncement of Doctor Jacob Bueno, Matthatias Aboaf and Joseph Cohen, also Portuguese merchants within the same city, chosen as arbiters by both parties to make an end to their differences, either by way of sentence or agreement which ever and in whatever way they, the arbiters, will find reasonable and fair. The aforesaid parties promise to uphold faithfully as honest men that which will be pronounced or declared by the said arbiters, refraining from action by themselves or others, directly or indirectly, within the law or outside the law in any way. To this end both parties consciously forgo all means of redress, reduction or appeal and other subsidiaries of the law and of reprieve which they could possibly apply against the contents of this instrument or the verdict that will follow it; and in particular not to validate to his own profit the regulation that dictates a general renunciation.

It was also specifically stipulated that if one of the said parties takes any action to the

contrary, not heeding the said promise, he will forfeit to the benefit of the poor and will have to pay immediately the sum of four hundred guilders in current money, one half of which will be used for the poor of this city and the other half for the poor of the Jewish nation. To assure their compliance to what has been mentioned before, the parties bind their respective persons and goods, submitting them to the authority and execution of all laws and judges. (In testimony of the truth this was signed and confirmed by the said parties in the register and in the presence of me, Jan Volkaertsz. Oli, notary public residing in Amsterdam, admitted to the Court of Holland, done in Amsterdam on the day and year as above.) Done without fraud within the said city of Amsterdam, at the house of me, notary, in the presence of Abraham Auckes and Jacob Goutsbloem, witnesses requested hereto.

10. Arbiters gave their verdict in a controversy between Michael and Jacob d'Espinoza. [March 21, 1639]

According to the compromise dated January 26 of this present year 1639, passed before notary Jan Volkaertsz. Oli and certain witnesses within Amsterdam, Michael d'Espinosa on the one side and Jacob Espinoza as son and legal heir of the late Manuel Rodriges

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Espinosa, alias Abraham Espinosa, his father, on the other side, submitted to the verdict and pronouncement of Doctor Jacob Buoeno, Mattathias Aboaff and Joseph Cohen, Portuguese merchants in this city, who were chosen as arbiters by both of them, the disputes and differences that had arisen between them about a certain inheritance claimed by the said Jacob Espinosa in his aforesaid capacity from the said Michael d'Espinosa and also in general all other disputes, differences and claim with all effects and appurtenances which they and each of them could in any way claim from other, of whatever nature, none in this world excepted; thus the same arbiters, after various meetings concerning the said matter, having heard both parties extensively, having examined the documents submitted to them and having paid attention to all that was relevant to the matter, finally effected an amicable agreement and compromise between the same parties, who admit to have agreed and accorded through the intermediary of the said arbiters in the following way:

Namely, that the said Michael d'Espinosa will pay in cash to the said Jacob Espinosa in his aforesaid capacity, the sum of 640 carolus guilders of twenty stivers a piece, which sum the said Jacob Espinosa herewith also acknowledges was paid out and received by him in the presence of me, the undersigned notary, to his full satisfaction and contentment and for which he thanks the said Michael d'Espinosa for his good payment. On the other hand the said Michael D'Espinosa will again enjoy and keep for himself and for his heirs, forever and hereditarily all such remainders, debts, shares and credit, none excepted, as could be collected from whatever place or whatever person or persons, either issuing from the joint trading venture he had with the father of the said Jacob d'Espinosa or from other matters in whatever way of the said Jacob d'Espinosa or from other matters in whatever

way or from whatever matter there might be. All this may be recovered, received and kept by the said Michael Despinosa as his free and unencumbered own property, without him

having to pay anything to the said Jacob Espinosa or his relatives. He, Jacob Espinosa, will not in any way come back to this but herewith fully and absolutely renounces his claims for himself and his heirs to the benefit of the said Michael Despinosa. Herewith the said

parties acknowledge for themselves and their heirs, for now, always and eternally, to have come to an agreement and compromise together and separately to their full satisfaction and they promise to remain in agreement regarding all above-mentioned disputes and differences, as well as all other matters that they had in the past, present and in the future, both the said Jacob Despinosa in his capacity as son and heir of his said father, as well as

personally, and the said Michael Despinosa, as having been married to the sister of the same; both promise, in any other capacity in which both and each of them could or would like to act, to refrain from all claims they could have had or will have with all effects and

appurtenances belonging to them, none in this world excepted. They therefore herewith thank each other for the good and satisfactory settlement, liquidation, agreement and

payment of everything, promising not to make any demands or claims or to molest the other or each other's heirs and descendants, not now and not ever, from whatever cause, action or pretences, premeditated or not, neither directly nor indirectly, within the law or outside the law, in any way or under whatever title or pretext that could be thought of. On the contrary, they promise to indemnify, to free, to discharge, to guarantee, to keep free of

charges and damages each other and each other's heirs and descendants now and always,

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against whomsoever and from whatever claims or molestation. To what was mentioned above the said parties bind their respective persons and goods that they now have or will have in the future, none excepted, submitting them to the authority and execution of all laws, and justices and consciously renouncing all benefits, exceptions, relief, reduction or other means and subsidiary means by which the contents of his compromise could in any way be hindered or opposed and in particular the rights saying not to validate a general renunciation. All declared and agreed in good faith between the said parties through the mediation of the said arbiters who signed this deed with them equally in testimony of the truth and confirmed it in the register in the presence of me, notary Jan Volkaertsz. Oli, notary public residing in Amsterdam, admitted to the Court of Holland and of Abraham Auckes and Jacob Goutsbloem, witnesses requested hereto, in order that from this instrument one or more copies can be made and given in the proper form.

Done in Amsterdam on March 21st, 1639. D°rjacob Bueno. Josseph Cohen Michael despinoza. Matatiah Aboaff jaco Despinoza. Abraham Auckes

In my knowledge Jacob goutsbloem. J. Volkaertsz. oli,

Nots Pubi.

11. Michael marries for the third time. a. Notice of intended marriage; also of Michael's future sister-in-law.

The 11th of April 1641 Before commissioners Reynst and Spiegel appeared Emanuel de Tovar from Faro in

Algarve, 32 years old, with parents living in Brazil, living on Uylenburg and Margrieta Fernand from Lisbon, 30 years old, with no parents alive, assisted by her cousin Abraham Ferar, living as above asked for the bans to be published on three Sundays , after which they will solemnize and duly perform the said marriage insofar as there will be no legal impediment . And since they truthfully declared that they were free people and not related in blood through which a Christian marriage could be prevented , their requests were granted.

Manuel de Touar.

T

Appeared as above Michael de Espinose from Vidiger, widower of Debora despinosa, living on Vloyenburgh and Hester de spinose from Lisbon, about 40 years old, with no parents alive, assisted by Margrieta Fernand, her sister, living as above asked for the bans to be published on three Sundays, after which they will solemnize and duly perform the said marriage insofar as there will be no legal impediment. And since they truthfully declared that they were free people and not related in blood through which a Christian marriage could be prevented , their requests were granted

Michael despinoza. ester despinoza.

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b. Somemnization of the marriage. On the 28 th of April 1641 were confirmed in matrimony

Michael de Espinosa from Vidiger, widower of Debora Despinosa and Hester de Espinosa from Lisbon, both living on Vloyenburch.

12. Marriage of Michael's daughter Mirjam. June 2. 1650 j~

Appeared as above Samuel de Caseres from A, 22 years old, with no parents alive, student, Michel de living in the Batavierstraet and Marian Spinosa from A, 21 years old, with a father alive, Spinose, the

living as above, assisted by her step-mother Ester Spinosa Ы^соп^пГ asked for the bans to be published on three Sundays , after which they will solemnize and duly t ^ perform the said marriage insofar as there will be no legal impediment. And since they marriage. truthfully declared that they were free people and not related in blood through which a Christian marriage could be prevented, their requests were granted. New Church

semuel De Casseres. Л/

13. Michael appointed as adminstrator of the Jewish Pawnshop. [December 2, 1650]

Termo de nouo administrador da misvah do Empréstimo em Lugar de Jacob del Soto que não aceyteie a misebarah.

Em 8 de Kislef estando juntos os senhores do Mahamad se praticou de elegar administrador da Misvah do emprestimo em lugar de Jacob del Soto que foy eleito em dita Misuah e por não querer aseytar a misebarah que se lhe deitou se elego denovo a о Sr Micael Espinoza por servir esto ano de que se lhe deitou misebarah que le seja Be- simantob.

Jacob de mercado. abraham Pharar. Jahacob Senior. Abraham Vaz. Jacob atias. Isaque del Sotto. Semuel Salom. Abraham Henriques Faro.

Remarks to III. Michael De Spinoza

In "De Navorscher" of 1857 (page 217) Isaac da Costa wrote about the philosopher's parentage: "... his father Michael and the latter's brother Jacob were sons of Abraham

d'Espinoza, the first of this family to settle in Amsterdam (from or via Nantes in France) at the end of the sixteenth century". Seeing by whom this remark was made it deserved serious consideration. By Abraham d'Espinoza must be meant Abraham de Spinoza de

Nantes, of whom it appears from the documents printed under III that he had only one

son, called Jacob. So far Da Costa's remark is correct. We find however, that Abraham

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was not Michael's father but his uncle and father-in-law; Jacob was the cousin of Michael and the latter married Jacob's sister. Michael had three wives, all of whom seem to have had the same family-name of Spinoza: Rachel, Hanna Debora and Ester; the second was the philosopher's mother. The question is: which one of these was the daughter of Abraham? We can establish immediately that this cannot have been Ester, for the deed (III, nr. 10) in which Jacob and Michael are referred to as brothers-in-law, is of 1639, that is before Ester's marriage. That both Rachel and Hanna Debora were Abraham's

daughters is very unlikely because the last mentioned deed refers to Michael "als desselffs Suster getrout gehadt hebbende" [as having married the sister of the same], from which we

may conclude that there was only one sister. The question remains: was Rachel perhaps the mother of Bento and Hanna Debora the daughter of Abraham? We have reason to look at this question in connection with another one.

In 1625 Abraham grants a power of attorney to his son-in-law Gabriel Alvares

d'Espinosa (II, nr. 8) whose name we will meet again in a deed of 1633 (III, nr. 3), without our being able to determine his identity. After Abraham's death there is trouble about the settlement of the estate between Michael, son-in-law and business-partner of the deceased, and Jacob, the only son of Abraham. In the notarial registers (III, nrs 8, 9, 10) there is no mention of any other heir or interested party whatsoever; contrary to our expectations there is no mention of a son-in-law Gabriel Alvares d'Espinosa, or - should he be deceased - of his heirs. The suggestion occurs that Gabriel Alvares d'Espinosa was no more than the alias of Michael. In that case his first wife Rachel, who was still alive in 1625, must have been Abraham's daughter. If we further assume that at the time of Abraham's death in 1638 no children of Rachel's were alive - which is possible - this would explain the fact that the deeds that deal with the settlement of the estate, only refer to Michael as a bussiness-partner and nowhere as co-heir. We are therefore, inclined to consider Rachel as the daughter of Abraham who was in that case not the philosopher's grandfather. We must however, observe that there is no other indication that Michael used an alias, though he had a first name that was both Christian and Jewish - even if it did not occur frequently - while we cannot be certain that Abraham had only one daughter.

As to Michael's place of origin it is certain that he was born in Vidigere in Portugal (cf. III, nrs 11 and 12), which does not mean that he cannot have lived in Nantes before he settled in Amsterdam. His relationship to Abraham and the fact that Isaac Espinoza who died in Rotterdam in 1627 and whom we wish to consider as Michael's father (cf. Remarks to I), had come there from Nantes, seem to point in that direction.

To nr. 1. (Notarial Archives of Amsterdam, register 635, fol. 24; register 942; register 641, fol.71).

A short summary of the contents of these deeds from which we can conclude that Michael de Spinoza was born in 1587 or 1588: a. The deponents declare that they know a Diego da Silva, Portuguese merchant in Glückstadt on the river Elbe, sojourning in Amsterdam since April 1626 in connection with a lawsuit before the Supreme Council in Holland.

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In those days Glückstadt had a small Portuguese-Israelitic community. b. The deponents declare at the request of Juan Rodrigues Portalegre that on January 6, 7 and 8, 1633 the rate of exchange from Rouen to Amsterdam was 1 16 groats a crown. c. At the request of Henrico de Solio the deponents declare that Juan de Haro was in the

city of Amsterdam in December 1633 and that he went to the stock-market there.

To nr. 2a. (Notarial Archives of Amsterdam, register 942).

In this deed we are told that a shipment of fifty small casks of raisins which Michael should have received from Malaga according to the bill of charge, did not arrive in good order. Besides learning that Michael must have traded in dried citrus fruit, we also hear that he was living on Vlooienburg in 1633. In the marriage registration of 1641 when Michael married his third wife, Ester, his address is also given as Vlooienburg (cf. III nrs 11 and 12). As we know and as can be proved by the extract printed under b of this number, he lived on the Burgwal (also called Houtgracht, today Waterlooplein) in 1651, most biographers of the philosopher have assumed that Vlooienburg was a certain street in the quarter of the town where the Portuguese merchants preferred to live and that Michael, after having first lived in this street, moved to the Burgwal when he became more

prosperous. The name Vlooienburg (Fleeborough) was also associated with flees that could be found there in great numbers due to the fact there were refusedumps in the

neighbourhood. Philips van Zesen gives such an etymological explanation in his

Description of the city of Amsterdam of 1664. Both explanations are based on an erroneous premise. Vlooienburg was not the name of one particular street but of the whole

group of houses that is encompassed by the Breedestraat (originally called St.

Anthoniedijk), Leprozengracht, the river Amstel and the Zwanenburgwal. The Burgwal therefore is part of Vlooienburg and on the map of the city of Balthazar Florensz. van Berckenrode of 1625, we definitely read along the Burgwal the word "Vloonburch", whereas the street connecting the Burgwal with the Breestraat, is referred to as "Vloonburchsteech". The old spelling Vloonburch or Vloenburch has more connection with the origin of the name, which is derived from the fact that the piece of land in

question, before it was annexed and built on during the extension of the city in 1593, formed a bridge or levation against flooding or inundation of the river Amstel, as is confirmed by "Memoriën en adviezen van Cornelis Pieterszoon Hooft" (p. 113; Werken van het Historisch Genootschap te Utrecht, Nieuwe Reeks, no. 16; 1871). We can therefore assume that it is not only possible but even likely that Michael de Spinosa was

living on the Burgwal as early as in 1633 or earlier and that his son Baruch was born there; there is no indication that points elsewhere.

To nr. 2,b (Municipal Archives of Amsterdam; Thes. Extr. 281, folio 161)*

In his "Korte dog waaragtige Levensbeschrijving" of the philosopher of 1705 Joh. Colerus remarked that the parents of the philosopher lived in a splendid merchant's house

* Cf. also the article by A. M. Vaz Dias, "Did Spinoza live in 4 Opregte TappeythuysT', printed hereafter.

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on the Houtgracht (or Burgwal) next to the old Portuguese church. By the old Portuguese church he cannot have meant anything else but the synagogue that was in use before the

inauguration of the new synagogue that still exists today, in 1675. The remark left no doubt and Joh. Monnikhoff could add to it that it was given a new housefront with a stone, calling it "T Opregte Tappeyt Huys" in 1743. It now appears that Colerus was mistaken. From the extract of the rate-book printed here, we can conclude that in between the said synagogue and the house rented by Michael de Spinoza from the owner Willem Kick, there were eight houses (including the house next to the synagogue), a warehouse and a blind alley. Michael therefore never lived in what was later called Oprechte Tapijthuis (today [i.e. 1932] Waterlooplein 41). His real house no longer exists; in 1734 it belonged to the Catholic priest Johannes Rademaker but it was later demolished to make place for the Moses and Aaron Church.

In the period under discussion there were three Portuguese communities, each with its own synagogue. The location of two of these synagogues is known: the synagogue of Bet Israel is the one that remained in use as a house of prayer after its extension at the União, that is the synagogue next to the Oprechte Tapijthuis; the synagogue of Bet Jahacob was situated in the house called "Antwerpen" on the Houtgracht. So far it has not been possible to determine where the third synagogue of Neweh Salom was situated. From the

following it may now appear that it was situated in the house mentioned in the extract of the rate-book published here, as inhabited by Manuel Rodrigo Monsanto. Between this house and the house of Michael de Spinoza there was only one other house, that of David Torres. In 1630 Anna Corn. Ruys c.s. sells for / 8000 to Aron Cohen, Abr. Franco Mendes, Judo

Touro and Abraham Franco, who act for the Portuguese nation, a house and land on the Oudezijds Houtgracht, behind the westside of the Breestraat, in front of which house there is a wooden raft and of which the adjoining grounds to the south, north and backside belong to Casper Nunes, Jan Dircks Santman and Marcus van Valckenburg respectively (Register van Quijtscheldingen, N. f° 183).

Since the premises in which the synagogues of the communities of Bet Jahacob and Bet Israel were housed are known to us - the former had bought the house called "Ant- werpen" on January 22, 1630 and the latter was to buy the house next to the later Oprechte Tapijthuis on May 24, 1633 (register of notary Sijbrant Cornelisz; 640, p. 86) - the house of Anna Corn. Ruys must have been bought for the Neweh Salom community. It is likely that the synagogue of this community had already been housed there for some years. The book of the Gabay of Neweh Salom contains the following passage:

"Casa de Esnoga ... 1616. "/ 307.1 1 que por resto dos f 625, - do alugar deste ano da Casa Esnoga e de f 100, -

da Casa de Ets Haim; pague pr dita casa a Jacob de Vitra . . . G'par Ruiz". [P.I.G. 6, p. 177].

In 1616 the synagogue was therefore situated in a house that was inhabited by Jacob de Vitra (all the earliest synagogues were situated in houses inhabited by private persons), that was owned by Gaspar Ruys. The agreement between the owners of 1616 and 1630 may however, be coincidental. It must be noted that "Ets Haim" cannot refer to the society

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of that name that was founded in 1637 and still exists today; it will have been one of the Jewish schools that existed before the Talmud Тога school.

In the registers of notary Venturin (register 1780) we find a testament drawn up on October 21, 1643, of Mozes Moreno Monsanto, alias Manuel Rodrigues Monsanto, in which there is mention of "his house and land next to the Jewish church (of course the deed here refers to the synagogue next to the later Oprechte Tapijthuis, that was the only synagogue in use at that time) here in this city where the former Jewish church used to be situated, neighbours of which are Casper Nunes, Jan Dirckx Santman, to the back of Marcus van Valkenburg". Although this provides sufficient evidence to state that the house of Monsanto was the former synagogue of Neweh Salom, this is further corra- borated by the indication that it stood next to a house with a mustard jar in its gable. If we look at the information given by the extract of the copy-books here below, we see that the house that adjoined Monsanto's house on the south-side, which used to be owned by Jan Dirckxsz Santman, is referred to as the former property of the widow of Jan Dirckxsz Mostertmans; the note placed between brackets in the extract printed here, was crossed out in the original rate-book. Apparently this Mostertmans is the same person as Santman, who acts under a different name here due to the stone in the façade of the house. In any case we have here an indication which house was the one with the mustard-jar.

Finally the register of "Quijtscheldingen" (execution sales; R.A. 2171 f° 212) mentions that on January 30, 1676 Isak Abarbanel buys from Bernard Coornhardt a house on the

Oudezijds Houtgracht "next to the mustard-jar" near the old Jewish church. (Since in the

year mentioned the present-day synagogue was already in use, this old Jewish church must have been the one next to the Oprechte Tapijhuis.) The house that was bought by Isak Abarbanel was the old house of Monsanto and the former synagogue of Neweh Salom; this because the register of "Quijtscheldingen" (M f° 32) of the year 1767 contains the

following record: "Jacob Abendana Namias, as proxy of David Abendana Namias, who has married Sara Abarbanel to whom the house mentioned hereafter was donated by Simcha Mendes da Costa, widow of Abraham Abarbanel on December 21, 1701, sold

privately, transferred and remitted to the governors of the Board of the High German Jewish Nation, called Eshaym in Jewish, a house and land consisting of two houses under one roof, called Neve Salom, situated within this city on the Oude Zijds Houtgracht next to the Mustard-jar near the old Jewish church, this adjoining to etc."

Another indication from a different side may complete the picture; there is a reference in the burial-register of the Zuiderkerk and its adjoining cemetery (Weeskamerarchief)- On September 30, 1628 this register records the funeral of Stijntgen Matheus "at the

Portuguese church next to the Mustard-man" ("bij de Portegijsen Kerk naeste Mos-

terman"). Curiously enough the old name Neweh Salom appears again in 1767. The house

referred to here, in which the synagogue Neweh Salom was held at that time, still exists

today [i.e. 1932]. It is next to the Church of Moses and Aaron and has a stone with a Hebrew inscription in its façade.* * This situation still existed in 1932. During the period of reconstruction after 1945 the Tappeythuys' was pulled down with the adjoining buildings.

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To nr. 3. (Notarial Archives of Amsterdam, registers of notary Daniel Bredan, register 942).

Gabriel Alvares Espinosa was the son-in-law and partner of Abraham de Spinoza de Nantes (cf. II, nr. 8). We have remarked above that Gabriel Alvares Espinosa may have been an alias of Michael de Spinoza.

To nr. 4, a and b. (Archives of the Portuguese-Israelitic Community in Amsterdam [P.I.G. 13, p. 93, 95, 105, 139/140; P.I.G. 19, p. 273]). After the União of the three Portuguese communities in 1639 the board (Mahamad) of the united community "Talmud Tora" consisted of seven parnassim, of whom three resigned every year at the New Year's Feast (Ros Asanna) and four at Passover (Pesah). After the election mentioned under b here, at Ros Asanna, of Isack Jesurun, Michael Espinoza and Abraham Enriquez Faro, the full board consisted besides these three of Joseph da Costa, Gabriel de Rivas Altas, Isaac Belmonte and Abraham Franco (Mendes); the latter was the gabay.

Originally Michael belonged to the Bet Jahacob community as we saw from the register of the Gabay of that community (cf. II, nr. 4).

To nr. 4,c. (Archives of the Seminary Ets Haim in Amsterdam [P.I.G. 1 151, f. 16 and f. 23]). As regards the societies "Talmud Tora" and "Ets Haim" we refer to the Remarks to IV.

Besides from the archives of Ets Haim we also learn the names of the Parnassim that were mentioned for the year 5403, from the Livro dos Acordos of that community, this as a result of the chance occurrence that in this year a 'termo', drawn up in a meeting of the Parnassim do Mahamad and the Parnassim of the Talmud Tora e Ets Haim, was signed by the members of both boards. Michael de Spinoza's signature can be found among those of the last mentioned Parnassim.

To nrs. 5 and 6 (Archives of the Santa Companhia de Dotar Orphas e Donzellas of Amsterdam [P.I.G. 1 142, p. 239 and p. 241]).

The translation of the termos printed here reads as follows: On the 3rd of Ab Michael de Spinoza said that he wanted to become a member of this

holy society and the seven electees (voting members), being together, a ballot was taken with 'bisco' and 'balas' (box with small balls): accepted by all, he was elected as a brother of this pious society and ordained in the three holy communities on the next sabbath, paid the twenty pounds Flemish and bound himself to fulfill all duties of this holy society.

On the 5th in the beginning of the month of Tevet the board of seven assembled and upon the petition of Michael Spinoza to allow his cousin Jacob Espinoza to take the place of his father Abraham de Spinoza de Nantes, he was accepted by all seven as the only legal son in the place of his said father.

According to the regulation of the society someone who wanted to be admitted in the place of a deceased relative, could be nominated by one of the members.

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On the grounds of the second record we can determine the relationship between Abraham and Michael de Spinoza: Abraham's son was Michael's cousin; he himself therefore his uncle. Portuguese "primo" means first cousin.

As to the translation of both termos we may remark that K.K. means holy community(ies). The Hebrew word for meeting or community is Kahal (masculine) or Kehila (feminine); holy community is then Kahal Kadosh or Kehila Kedusha, but the Sephardim only use the first form. In the plural however both the Sephardim and the Ashkenasim (German Jews) only use the form of the feminine Kehila, which is Kehilot and not of Kahal, which is Kehalim. K.K. in the plural should then be read as Kehilot Kedushot. Further the meaning of "lansana misivera", better spelled as "lançara misebarah" is: "a misebarah was made (read out) for him". For the sense of the word misebarah we refer to the Remark to nr. 13 of this chapter; the verb lancar is Portuguese. The reference "por Brischo e balas" is not connected with "brisca", the name of a

card-game, but refers to a box with small balls used at a ballot. Finally we remark that "Res Codes" must be an error in spelling; "Ros Hodes" must have been meant, meaning: the beginning of the month.

To nr. 7 (Notarial Archives of Amsterdam; notary Jan Volkaertsz. Oli, register 1497). This deed which Michael did not sign with his usual signature, refers to the bankrupt

estate of Pedro Henriques in which Michael was involved for quite some time.

To nrs 8, 9 and 10 (Notarial Archives of Amsterdam, notary Jan Volkaertsz. Oli, register 1498).

These deeds deal with the settlement of the estate of Abraham de Spinoza de Nantes and the problems that arose out of this between Jacob and Michael. Michael was a partner in Abraham's business or only a participant. Apparently Jacob came to Amsterdam in connection with his father's death; he lived in Grancairo in Palestine, which place can

hardly have been another than Cairo in Egypt; possibly the name Palestine refers to Pelusium. The last of the three deeds mentions that Michael had been married to Jacob's sister.

To nr. 11 (Municipal Archives of Amsterdam). On the same page (folio 18) of the Puyeboek A0 1641, D.T.&B. nr. 676 (register of

intended marriages) we find on April 11, 1641 one below the other, the registration of the intended marriages of Margrieta Fernand from Lisbon to Manuel de Tovar and of her sister Ester de Spinoza from Lisbon to Michael de Spinoza. Although it is not impossible that both sisters had a different family-name - this also happened with full sisters - it is reasonable to surmise that Michael's third wife was called Ester Fernand and prematurely registers in this deed as Ester de Spinoza.

Apparently Margrieta was illiterate; she signed with a type of cross. Notwithstanding the relatively high level of literacy and education of the Sephardic Jews, the education of their women left much to be desired; several of them remained illiterate. The actual

marriage-registration was taken from the Trouwboek, D. T. & B. nr. 944.

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The parts of the records with a different type of character were printed in the registers of intended marriages with a rather small space in between for the registration of the intended marriage and the signatures. Since the contents refer to a Christian marriage they need not be discussed here. Nevertheless the aforementioned three publications of the bans took place and the fees were paid through the sexton of the Reformed Church, here the Nieuwe Kerk.

To nr. 12 (Municipal Archives of Amsterdam; Register van de Puij, D. T. & B. 680, fol. 121).

When he married Semuel de Casseres was still a student in the higher classes of the Talmud Tora school. Some years later he was connected to the rabbinate and also traded (cf. the deed mentioned under s at the end of the Remarks to this chapter). Apparently Bento's sister Mirjam was illiterate.

To nr. 13 (Archives of the Portuguese-Israelitic Community in Amsterdam [P.I.G. 19, p. 300]).

The translation of the decision of the Mahamad printed here, which was also signed by the secretary besides the seven parnassim, reads as follows:

Decision (to the appointment) of a new administrator of the Misvah do Emprestino in the place of Jacob del Soto who did not accept the misebarah.

On the 8th of Kislev the gentlemen of the Mahamad, convened in a meeting, dealt with the election of an administrator of the Misvah do Emprestino (Pawnshop) in the place of Jacob del Soto who had been elected (appointed) for the Misvah and who had not been willing to accept the Misebarah and re-elected Michael de Spinoza to serve this year for which a Misebarah was made for him. That it may be to his benefit!

We may explain that the Hebrew "misvah" literally means commandment. The Misvah do Emprestino as the Jewish Pawnshop was called, actually means: the fulfilment of the commandment to give loans and the institution was founded with this purpose. Further the word "misebarah" means : he who has blessed. This is the first word of the benediction that was spoken over someone who has been appointed to any function in the community. Here the word is used as an official announcement of the appointment. A deed passed before notary Jan Volkaertsz. Oli on January 10, 1645 (Notarial Archives of Amsterdam 1503) gives a picture of the way in which this institution worked. Two deponents declare at the request of Lopo Rodrigues Pereira (alias Abraham Pereira) that almost two years previously the latter had loaned at their request to the two daughters of Abraham Montezinos, Rachel and Ester, one of whom was ill, a sum of twenty guilders. As he did not have the money ready at that time and wanted to help them, he pawned his own silver cup with Manuel Martines Dormido, who then administrated the Portuguese pawnshop. A year later Pereira wanted to redeem his silver cup but the sisters Rachel and Ester declared that they were not able to repay the twenty guilders they had borrowed. Pereira then kept the two bed-curtains he had received from them as surety.

Besides the deeds and extracts transcribed here we also have the following data con-

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cerning Michael de Spinoza, all to be found in the notarial archives of Amsterdam. a. A deed dated July 15, 1631, passed before notary Daniel Bredan (register 941), con-

taining the statement of two porters that on May 27 and June 18 of that year they, acting upon the request of the curriers of Amsterdam and of sheriff Hendrik Hudde respectively, carried goods to the Weighing-house from a certain warehouse on the Prinsengracht in which miscellaneous merchandise was stored, such as sugar, brazil-wood and candied

ginger, of which warehouse Philips Pelt and Michael d'Espinosa kept the keys. This deed shows us Michael to be a trustworthy man.

b. A deed passed before notary Bredan on June 29, 1634 (register 942) in which David Palache, Portuguese merchant, transfers in order to reduce his debts, to Pieter and

Wijnant Woltrincx and to Michael d'Espinosa the ship "Coningh David" with all its loaded merchandise, which ship is on its way home to Amsterdam from Salé in Barbary. c. A statement of Michael d'Espinosa recorded in the registers of notary Benedict Baddel on June 3, 1636 (register 949), in which the former acknowledges to have received from Jacob Codde the insurance on a parcel of merchandise (serge) that had been lost in a

shipwreck. d. A notice, appearing in the registers of notary Joost v.d. Ven (register 1048, folio 11), dated January 10, 1637, served by several Portuguese merchants, among whom Michael

Despinoza, upon the skipper of the ship "Fonteyn" because the latter had stored merchandise and salt that had arrived from Salé on his own authority. e. A deed, dated September 8, 1737, also passed before notary Joost v.d. Ven (register 1049, folio 106), in which Migael d'Espinosa and Abraham da Fonseca, also a Portuguese merchant, of their own free will stand surety with their persons and goods for Abraham de Mercado, doctor of medicine, who was released from prison. f. A deed passed before notary Jan Volkaertsz. Oli on April 25, 1638 (register 1497), containing a protest of a bill of exchange served upon the house of mourning of the late Pedro Henriques in connection with rumoured bankruptcy; further a statement of Michael d'Espinoza that he will accept this bill of excange. The deed is practically identical to the one printed in extenso under nr. 7 of Chapter III.

g. A deed of June 8, 1638, also appearing in the registers of notary Baddel (register 953) from which it appears that Michael d'Espinosa and Ruy Gomes Frontera, alias Dr. Josef Bueno, were appointed as trustees of the bankrupt estate of the late Pedro Henriques by the judicial authorities of the city instead of Diego Cardozo Nunes who had been

appointed first. This appointment which can also be found in the archives of the Chamber of Desolate

Estates of Amsterdam in register 179, folio 74 (Municipal Archives), as well as the deed

just mentioned under f, can be connected to the contents of the documents printed under III, nr. 7 and V, nr. 11. In all these records, there is mention of the estate of Pedro

Henriques. h. A deed dated January 26, 1639, passed before notary Jan Volkaertsz. Oli (register 1498), in which Michael d'Espinoza and Ruy Gomes Frontera, as trustees of the estate of the late Pedro Henriques, grant a power of attorney to Jan Nunes to collect several debts to this estate (cf. the deed referred to above under g).

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The preceding deeds were all in Dutch; we now continue with two French deeds passed before notary Baddel. i. The first, dated January 31, 1639 (register 955) contains a power of attorney granted by Michael d'Espinoza to Pedro de Faria, merchant in Nantes, to arrest all goods and properties of Gaspar Lopes Henriques from Hamburg, that may be in Nantes, k. In the second one (register 955), dated March 1, 1639, Michael d'Espinosa only acts as a witness. The deed contains the statement that Alfonso de Mello received from his cousin Henriques Mello, doctor of medicine in Nantes, the inheritance that was due to him from his uncle and aunt Eduard Mello and Leonora Mendes, both deceased in Nantes.

Again we see a relationship between Sephardim in Nantes and in Amsterdam. The registers of notary Jan Volkaertsz Oli further contain these two deeds:

1. Surety-ship given on February 1 1, 1639 by Eleazar de Solis, alias Henrico de Solis, to the benefit of Jacob d'Espinosa for Michael d'Espinoza; this in connection with the agreement between these two, printed under III, nr. 9. m. A similar surety given on February 23, 1639 by David Senior to the benefit of Michael for Jacob d'Espinoza. n. A deed passed before notary Benedict Baddel on April 25, 1644 (register 962) in Portuguese about the making of an agreement concerning various trading matter between Francisco Lopes d'Azevedo, alias Abraham Farat on the one side and Michael d'Espinoza on the other. In these matters Antonio Fernandes Carvejal, merchant in London, was also involved.

Although England was still closed for Jews - it was only in 1656 that Menasseh ben Israel and some others filed a "humble petition" with the Lord Protector to reopen England for the Jews - the Portuguese Jew Carvejal had apparently already settled in London. He later became the founder of the oldest synagogue there.

We now give two other deeds in French, passed before notary Benedict Baddel. o. In the first, passed on July 20, 1651 (register 967, folio 302), Michael d'Espinosa grants a power of attorney to Jacob Boeve, merchant in London, to institute legal proceedings to regain possession of goods, belonging to him, that had been seized by the English Admiralty as coming from Portugal. The goods consisted of pipes and small casks of Algerian oil. p. The second (register 967, folio 304), passed on the same day, contains a power of attorney granted by Michael to Antonio Fernandes Carvejal, merchant in London, with the same purpose.

The registers of notary Baddel mention two more deeds in Dutch (registers 964 and 970). q. The first, passed on November 27, 1651, contains a statement by Simon Rodrigues Nunes at the request of Michael d'Espinoza, that at the house of Julian Lanson, also merchant in Amsterdam, he requested payment of the latter's share in the expenses made in the reclamation of the ship "Prince" that was seized by the English on its way from the Canary Islands to Amsterdam; the expenses referred to had been advanced by Antonio Fernandes Carvejal in London. r. The second, dated October 10, 1653, is a protest of a bill of exchange; at the request of

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Michael d'Espinosa the notary protested of non-payment of a bill of exchange on Claude Surmondt. s. A deed passed on August 3, 1652 before notary Jan Volkaertsz Oli in Amsterdam (register 1510), in which it is stated that Michael d'Espinoza, who fitted out the frigate "Estrella" of skipper Jan Janssen Bosschaer together with Joseph Villa Real, received on bottomry conditions from Samuel de Casseres, also merchant in Amsterdam, the sum of 600 guilders at twenty stivers (therewith abandoning to Samuel de Casseres the financial proceeds and all that would come to his profit because of the sea) with all risks of bottomry through the sea, fire, pirates or otherwise. We see here that Michael's son-in-law Samuel de Casseres, until very recently a student with rabbi Morteira (cf. III, nr. 12 and IV, nr. 2) has now become a merchant. De Casseres was then a merchant and a rabbi at the same time. t. A Dutch deed, passed before notary Benedict Baddel on December 10, 1653 (register 970), containing two protests of bills of exchange served on the request of Michael

d'Espinosa; they concern a bill of exchange on Francisco and Antonio Dagurre, alias Abraham and Isak Pereira and a bill of exchange on Fernando Alveres and Antonio Correa de Mesquita, alias Henrico and Alberto van der Starre.

We end with some notes concerning Michael de Spinoza, derived from the archives of the Amsterdam Bank of Exchange (Municipal Archives of Amsterdam).

The ledger of 1641 mentions Michael as a creditor with an account that ran to more than

/ 28052,88 in five months. Part of the relevant page reads as follows:

518 Credit Michael D'Espinosa

Francisco Mendes Chillon / 400 -

Jan de Pas / 1271 -

Abrh da Fonseca / 486 -

Denis Jennes J 1598 -

Lopo Ramirez J 1 108 -

Isak Coronel / 464 -

Willem Paecock /1195 -

Further an extract from the balance-book of 1642 (February 1): Credit balance Michael D'Espinosa / 1323,1 1

The ledger of 1651 mentions the names of 48 firms or merchants with whom Michael

d'Espinosa did business. His total account from August 21, 1651 till January 28, 1652 ran to /61883,18. For the sake of completeness we here refer to the end of the Remarks to Chapter II.

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IV Bento's Education.

1. The teachers at the Talmud Тога school in 1639.

Art. 22. Os cargos que os presentes officiais havrão de exzercitar e servir são a saber: Mordochay de Crasto emsinara a todos os meninos a lisão de Aleph Beth e ajuntar, e

tera de salario cada anno fi. 150. Joseph de Faro emsinara a 1er por sima e principio de Parasah, e tera de salario cada

anno fi. 250. Yacob Gometz emsinara a parasa em ebraigo com tahamim, e tera de salario duzentos

e sincoenta fi. em cada ano. Abrm Baruch fara о officio de Hazan, emsinara a Parassa em Ladino, e tera de salario fi.

350 e fi. 40 pada caza, que são juntos cada anno fi. 390. Salom ben Yosseph emsinara as Liconis de porfetas e Ressij com seus argumentos, e

sera de salario fi. 350 e fi. 40 para caza, que são o todo 390 fi. О Hah. Ishac Aboab emsinara a Gramatica e primeira lisão de Guemara, e fara os

Darasjoth de noite, e sera de Salario fi. 450. О Hah. Menaseh com obrigação de darsjar em cada mez hum Sabah, e leverà de Salario

cada anno fi. 150. O Hah. Morteira emsinara lisão grande de Guemara, e fara 3 Darasioth cada mez, como

atras fica declarada, e leverà cada anno de salario fi. 600 e 100 sestos de turva.

2. Lists of the names of the students at the higher Medrassim of the Talmud Tora school of 1651.

541 1 Era Nota das Pessoas por quer se Reparte a Hespacha desta sa Jrmandade de Hes a haim Esethe Continuarão asen

No medras de HaHam Saul Leuy Mortera. As tardes somente Mozeh zacuto en fi. 9.- falta 7!/2pls.

Benyamin dias Pato .... fl. 7.- falta 6 pls. AbraHam cohén pimtel . . fl. 7.- falta 6 pls.

Mehan E tardes Efraim abarbanel fl. 10.- falta 8 pls. Semuel de Caseres fl. 10.- falta 8 pls. Semuel salom fl. 10.- falta 8 pls. Jsack gomes fl. 1 - falta 6 pls. Semuel Ramires fl. 7.- falta 6 pls. Eliau de Leão fl. 6.- falta 5 pls. Semuel pinto fl. 6.- falta 5 pls. Dauid abarbanel fl. 6.- falta 5 pls. Abraham semah fl. 6.- falta 5 pls. Semuel frango prasa .... fl. 6.- falta 5 pls. Abram Leuy chimenes . . fl. 6.- falta 5 pls.

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No medras de R Jacob Judah Leão e Jsack abarbanel fi. 3:10 falta 3 pls.

AbraHamAboab Jacob Belmonte fi. 3:10 dito. Dainiel dagillare fi. 3:10 dito. Eleazar del canho fi. 3:10 dito. Jsack atias fi. 3:10 dito. Jsack de faro fi. 3:10 dito. Dauid gomes fi. 3: 0 dito. Jsack frango Pachego . . fi. 3: 0 dito.

No medras de Ri Salom ben Joseph. Jacob Lusena fi. 2: 10.- Abram dandrade fi. 2: 10.

Jacob Lusena fi. 2: 10.- Abram dandrade . . fi. 2: 10. Eliau abarbanel fi. 2: 10.- Mozeh goan fi. 2: 10. Eliau de leão fi. 2: 10.- Jsack marchena ... fi. 2: 10. Jzack de nauaro fi. 2: 10.- Jacob nauaro fi. 2: 10. Jacob frango pachego . . . fi. 2: 10.- Mozeh machoro ... fi. 2: 10. Efraim gaon fl.2:10.- Monta fi. 27 : 10: -

En 4 de Siuan o firmarão os parnassim a suma fi. 1 57 : 10: -

3. Franciscus van den Enden.

[1619-1621] dimissus

Ego Franciscus Van den Enden Antverpiensis natus anno 1602 mensis Februarii die 9, Examinatus ex legitimo thoro patre Joê Van den Enden, matre Barbara Janssens ambobus super- sum et omnia

stitibus, manuum labore victitantibus; gramma ticae et humanioribus operam dedi Ant- aPPr°bayi , . . . , A o t:c 3 Decembns verpiae per sexennium, partim apud

, patres augustinianos,

. . partim

. apud

, patres

A boctls; o t:c Anno 16J9

admissus sum in Soctem a R. P. Carolo Scribanio, eiusdem Soctis per Flandrobelgiam 28 jUnii 1620 provinciali Antverpiae anno 1619. 23 Decembiis

Examinatus sum a R. P. Rolando de Potter socio magistři novitiorum etc. iuxta examen 1620

generale eiusdem Soctis diplomata apostolica instituti, duas etiam constitutiones eiusdem 26 Junii 1621

instituti confirmatrices Gregorii 13 et Gregorii 14; constitionesque osbervare desidero et

propono, et nominatim quae ad obedientiam animique promptitudinem ubique et in

gravis re pertinent. Item quae ad indifferentiam, ad quemvis gradum Soctatls et ad reddendam rationem conscientiae, manifestationemque meorum defectuum spectant, conventusque sum, ut res quae in me notata observataque fuerint superioribus per quemvis qui eas extra confessionem acceperint manifestentur. Paratus quoque sum ad aliorum correctionem juvare, aliosque manifestare juxta praescriptionem voluntatemque superiorum ad majorem Dei gloriam, пес non ad omnia officia Soctls, quae a superiobus

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mihi injugentur me indifferentem offero, etiam ad litteras perpetuo docendum. Promitto

quoque me relicturum bona omnia post elapsum ab ingressu meo annum quandocumque a superiore id mihi injungetur.

In quorum fidem haec mea manu subscripsi et subsignavi: Actum Mechliniae in domo probationis Soctis Jesu mense Septembri 7 die anno 1619.

Ita est: Franciscus van den Enden.

Remarks to IV. Bent o's Education

The Jews have always been greatly concerned with the religious education of their young people. This contained the knowledge of Holy Scripture and the prayers - both in Hebrew - and the study of the Law and the Talmud. This was a necessary condition if they wanted to preserve their culture that was so closely linked with religion. In the communities where they had settled they therefore encouraged and supported regular meetings of the suitable youngsters under supervision of the teachers of the synagogue. This kind of secundary education was to produce new teachers and preachers.

Shortly after the Sephardic community had settled in Amsterdam, it was especially the "Talmud Tora" society that took care of the basic schooling necessary for all, what we would call primary education today, as well as of the higher religious education, the actual study of the Tora and Talmud. The school founded by this society, the so-called Talmud Tora school, soon became excellent in its kind, in particular in regards to the systematic division of the subject-matters and the gradual transition from elementary to higher education. In his book Wawé ha-amudim published in Amsterdam in 1649 rabbi Sabattai Scheftel Hurwitz writes:

"Als ich von Frankfurt nach Posen reiste, wählte ich den Seeweg und kam durch Amsterdam. Da fand ich viele angesehene und gelehrte Männer. Auch besuchte ich die dortigen Schulen, die sämtlich in besonderen Räumlichkeiten sich befinden. Ich sah, dass die Kleinen den Pentateuch von den Anfangs- bis zu den Endworten erlernen, sodann die übrigen vierundzwanzig Bücher der Bibel, sodann die ganze Mischna. Und erst wenn sie erwachsen sind, beginnen sie die Gemara zu lernen mit der Erklärung [Raschi's] und den Tosafot. So wachsen und gedeihen sie und bringen Früchte. Und ich weinte hierüber [und sprach], warum geschieht das nicht auch in unsrem Lande? Möchte doch diese Lehrweise über alle Gemeinden Israel's sich ausbreiten; denn was schadet es, wenn der Schüler zuerst Bibel und Mischna bis zum dreizehnten Jahre gründlich erlernt und dann erst mit dem Studium des Talmuds beginnt? Sicherlich würde er alsdann in einem Jahre zu einem hohen Ziele und zu scharfsinniger Erfassung des Talmuds gelangen, was bei unsrer Lehrweise in vielen Jahren nicht erreicht wird". (Translation from the Hebrew by Freudenthal, Lebensgeschichte Spinoza's (1899), p. 291. For the meaning of the various subjects of Jewish theological scholarship we refer to J. L. Palache, Inleiding in den Talmoed (Haarlem, 1922; reprinted Haarlem 1954, Amstelveen 1980). From the description given here it appears that students could not start their higher

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education and in particular the actual study of the Talmud in Amsterdam before they were grown up, at least not before they were thirteen years old. From 1620 onwards the Talmud Tora school was accomodated in a rented house next to the synagogue of the Bet Jahacob community on the Houtgracht. Tuition was free for the children of the rich and poor alike. Considering the level of intellectual development of the Portuguese Jews that had settled in Amsterdam, we may assume that in the first half of the 17th century almost all sons of the members of the Sephardic communities went to the school for their elementary education. The number of students that went on to the higher studies of the Tora and Talmud was of course much smaller. To provide more opportunities for these studies, some gifted students were given scholarships. These scholarships were provided by the society "Ets Haim" (Tree of Life), founded in 1637, that had as its aim the promotion of education in general. The Talmud Tora society soon became a permanent part of "Ets Haim". Later "Ets Haim" concerned itself primarily with the training of rabbis. For further particulars we re' - to M. C. Paraira and J. S. da Silva Rosa, Gedenkschrift uitgegeven ter gelegenheid van het 300-jarig bestaan der onderwijsinrich- tingen Talmud Tora en Ets Haim bij de Portug. Israel. Gemeente te Amsterdam ([Amsterdam 1916], reprinted in J. Meijer, Encyclopaedia Sephardica Neerlandica , Vol. 2 (Amsterdam 1951), p. 65-112).

To nr. 1. (Archives of the Portuguese-Israelitic Community in Amsterdam [P.I.G. 122, p. 7]). At the union of the three Amsterdam Sephardic communities into the "Talmud Tora" community, the necessity arose to define the duties and the remuneration of the rabbis who were already in service. Article 22 of the rules and regulations of the united community gives a description of the duties of the Hahamim (the chief rabbis: preachers as well as teachers), of the Hazan (precentor, clerk) and of the Rubbissim(teachers). These stipulations mainly referred to their teaching. The translation of this article, extracted from the regulations laid down in the Livro dos Acordos, reads as follows:

Art. 22. The duty which the present functionaries have to perform and carry out is as follows:

Mordochai de Castro will teach all children the (Hebrew) alphabeth and spelling and will receive an annual salary of / 150. Joseph de Faro will also teach reading and the beginning of the section of the week and receive an annual salary of f 250. Jacob Gomes will teach the section of the week in Hebrew with the accents and will receive a salary of two hundred and fifty guilders a year. Abraham Baruch will perform the duties of a

precentor and instruct in translating the section of the week in the Roman language and will enjoy a salary of / 350 plus f 40 for the rent of a house, which makes the sum of f 390 a year. Salom ben Joseph will instruct in the Prophetic Books and Rashi with the

interpretations and receive a salary of f 350 plus f 40 for the rent of a house, which makes

f 390 a year. Haham Isaac Aboab will teach (Hebrew) grammar and give primary instruction in the Gemara; he will preach in the evening and receive a salary of f 450. Haham Menasse (Ben Israel) has to give a sabbath sermon once a month and will enjoy an annual salary of f 150. Haham Morteira will teach the advanced class in the Gemara and

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hold three sermons a month, as was explained before, and will enjoy a remuneration of

J 600 a year plus 100 baskets of peat. We could relate this regulation to the descriptions of the Talmud Tora school given by

Sabbatai Bass and Daniel Levi de Barrios. The first, contained in the preface (p. 8) of "Sifté Yeshanim" that appeared in Amsterdam in 1680, reads:

"Neben der Synagoge hat man sechs Klassen für den Unterricht in der Lehre gebaut. . . Und in jeder Klasse ist ein Lehrer, auch wenn die zahl der Schüler auf Hunderte wachsen sollte. In der ersten Klasse werden die kleinen Kinder unterrichtet, bis dass sie die Gebete zu lesen verstehen. Dann bringt man sie in die zweite Klasse, wo sie die Heilige Schrift mit den Tonzeichen erlernen, bis dass sie die fünf Bücher Mosis vom Anfange bis zum Ende verstehen. Dann gelangen sie in die dritte Klasse, wo sie die heilige Schrift so erlernen, dass sie im Stande sind, sie in ihre Sprache zu übersetzen. Auch lernen sie in jeder Woche den Kommentar Raschi's zu dem jedesmaligen Wochenabschnitte. Dann kommen sie in die vierte Klasse, in der sie die Propheten und Hagiographen der Ordnung nach mit den Tonzeichen erlernen. Ein Knabe liest immer einen Vers in der heiligen Sprache und übersetzt ihn dann in die fremde Sprache und die übrigen Knaben hören zu; alsdann liest ein zweiter und so alle. Dann gelangen die Knaben in die fünfte Klasse. Da gewöhnt man sie, die Halacha selbständig zu lesen, bis sie zu vollem Verständnisse derselben gelangen. Hier sprechen sie nur die heilige Sprache; jedoch die Halacha übersetzen sie in die fremde

Sprache. Auch lernen sie hier gründlich die Wissenschaft der Grammatik. Ferner lernen sie jeden Tag einen Abschitt des gesetzlichen Teiles der Gemara. Bei dem Herannahen eines Festtages aber lernen sämtliche Schüler den betreffenden Abschnitt des Schulchan Aruch; so die Bestimmungen über das Osterfest vor Ostern, über das Laubhüttenfest vor diesem Feste, bis dass sie die gesetzlichen Vorschriften gründlich kennen. Dann kommen sie in die sechste Klasse, das Lehrhaus des Chacham und Vorsitzenden des Rabbinats-

kollegiums. Da sitzen und lernen sie jeden Tag einen Abschnitt des Talmuds mit der

Erklärung Raschi's und den Tosafot, und sie disputieren über die Bestimmungen des Maimonides, Tur, Beth Joseph und der übrigen Dezisoren. - Im Lehrhause befindet sich eine Bibliothek mit vielen Büchern, welche, solange die Schüler im Lehrhause sind, geöffnet ist. Wer nun etwas Besonderes lernen will, dem leiht man, was er haben will, doch ausserhalb des Lehrhauses nur gegen Erlegung eines hohen Pfandes.

Die Zeit des Unterrichtes ist für alle Rabbiner und Lehrer dieselbe. Wenn die Glocke 8 schlägt, kommen alle Lehrer und Schüler, ein jeder in seine Klasse, und der Unterricht währt 3 Stunden, bis es 11 schlägt; dann gehen alle zusammen fort. Und nachmittags, wenn es 2 schlägt, kommen alle wieder und lernen, bis es 5 schlägt; in Winterszeit aber, bis man zum Gebete in die Synagoge geht. Für die Zeit, da die Knaben zu Hause sind, hält jeder Hausvater einen Lehrer, der das Schreiben der fremden und der heiligen Sprache lehrt, das Gelernte repetiert, im Anfertigen von Gedichten und Reimen Unterweisung giebt, die Erziehung leitet und einen jeden das lehrt, wozu er Neigung hat.

Die genannten Rabbiner und Lehrer sind von der Gemeinde erwählt und bestellt und erhalten aus der Kasse der Heil. Brüderschaft Talmud Tora je nach Wert, Bedürfnis und Lehrthätigkeit ein bestimmtes jährliches Gehalt. So brauchen die Lehrer keinem Men- schen zu schmeichlen und können alle Schüler gleichmässig unterrichten, er sei arm oder

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reich". (Translation from the Hebrew by Freudenthal, Lebensgeschichte Spinoza's ( 1899). An English translation of this text was published by Jacob R. Marcus in his The Jew in the Medieval world. A source book 315-1791. Cincinnati 1938, p. 378-380.)

The other description of the Talmud Tora school that we referred to appears in De Barrios's "Arbol de las Vidas" (Tree of Life), which was probably printed in 1684 (p. 63). It reads:

"Ordenaron la enseftança de las Sacras letras en siete escuelas: la primera del Rabi Mordojay de Castro para en señar el Alfabeto, Cartilla y puntos Hebraycos; la Segunda del Rabi Joseph Pharo para instrucis a léer las Parasiot o Capitulos del Pentateuco con accentos pausantes y harmónicos; la tercera del Rabi Jacob Gomez con el officio de hazen construir les Parasiot Mosaycas de Hebro en Español; la quarta del Jazan Abraham Barux, Maestro de las, con Construyciones Propheticas de Israelitico en Castellano; la quinta del Rabi Selomoh Salom con el exercício de guiar a los estudiantes en las lecciones de Rassis. La Sexta del Jaxam Ishac Aboab con los Aprendedores de Guemara, de Gramatica y composicion de Rethorica y Poësia Hebrayca. Y la Septima del Jaxam Saul Levi Mortera, Preceptor de la Guemara, con Tosaphot o acrecentamientos Rabínicos en la Instrucion Talmudistica".

The translation of this reads as follows: Instruction in the Holy Writ was divided into seven classes. In the first, the class of rabbi

Mordochai de Castro, the alphabeth, the reading primer and the Hebrew characters were taught; in the second, the class of rabbi Joseph Pharo, reading the Parashiot or chapters of the Pentateuch and the accents indicating pause and sound. The third was the class of rabbi Jacob Gomes in which the chapters of the books of Mozes had to be translated from Hebrew into Spanish. The forth, the class of the Hazan Abraham Baruch, teacher of this class, (was occupied with) the translation of the Prophets into Castillian; the fifth, the class of rabbi Salomo Salom, with exercises of the students introducing them to the explanations of Rashi; the sixth, the class of the Haham Isaac Aboab, with the Gemara scholars, grammar and rhethorical and poetical Hebrew writings; the seventh, the class of the Haham Saul Levi Morteira, the teacher of the Gemara, with the Tosafot or the rabbinal additions to the study of the Talmud.

Because of these descriptions given here, the majority of Spinoza's biographers, erroneously assuming that one class of the school would last one year at the most, have come to the mistaken conclusion that following the six or seven classes of the Talmud Tora school would take as many years and that students would have finished the most complicated Talmud studies at the age of thirteen. Anyone even slightly familiar with the contents and extent of the Talmudic writings, can see how erroneous this assumption is. Because of this the idea was formed that the Talmud Tora school trained for the rabbinate, which is only partly true. The lower classes, teaching that which was supposed to be the religious and literary background of the cultured Jew - the Hebrew language, prayers, the Bible and something of the Mishna - were followed from the age of seven till fourteen by all pupils. The higher classes, that studied the actual Talmud, were followed by a limited number of students, whose studies, if they continued into the highest classes, would certainly not be finished before they were twenty. Some of these students would

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become rabbis. Following each of the various classes would therefore take much more than one year.

To nr. 2 (Archives of the Ets Haim Seminary in Amsterdam [P.I.G. 1052, f. 46vh). In connection with the remarks just made, it must be clear that the matter of whether Baruch de Spinoza was trained to be a rabbi - which is assumed by almost all his biographers with the exception of Prof. Dr. J. P. N. Land from Leiden (cf. his "Wijsbegeerte in de Nederlanden" of 1899, p. 181) - is not determined by the question of whether he went to the Talmud Tora school or not, but whether he finished the higher classes of this school. A class as we have discussed was called "medras". A medras would more specifically be referred to by the name of the teacher (Rubi) or preacher (Haham) who gave the lessons. In this way one talked of the Medras of Haham Isaac Aboab, the Medras of Rubi Mordochai de Crasto etc. In the later years the word medras came to be used particularly for the higher education in which a distinction was made between the large and the small medras. The first constituted the training of a rabbi, the second prepared students for a lower theological degree.

In Spinoza's days the highest Talmud instruction was given in the medras of Haham Saul Levi Morteira. Generally it has been assumed that Spinoza was a pupil of Morteira. As long as seventy years ago Mr. Jb van Raphael Jessurum Cardozo informed Prof. Dr. Joh. van Vloten that he thought "it could be doubted whether Spinoza ever was among R. Morteira's audience and attended his lectures since his name is not to be found in the accurate registers of the students". Notwithstanding this statement Spinoza continued to be considered as Morteira's pupil. There is no doubt that Bento went to the Talmud Tora school until he was thirteen or fourteen years old, even if this cannot be proved due to the lack of registers of students of the lower classes; the lower classes were attended by all sons of the Portuguese Israelites in Amsterdam. The registers of the students of the higher medrassim have been preserved; this may be due to the fact that these students received grants from Ets Haim, a circumstance that would call for accurate registration. A recent re-examination confirmed Mr. Cardozo's information: the name Baruch de Spinoza cannot be found in the relevant registers. If he followed the higher classes of the Talmud Tora school, his name would undoubtedly have appeared on the lists of students of the highest medrassim of the year 165 1, printed here; behind the names we see the sums of the monthly grants (aspacha) and the fines (falta) for non-attendance. Bento de Spinoza was then eighteen years old. Samuel de Casseres, then already twenty-two or twenty-three years old and recently married to Bento's sister Mirjam (cf. III, nr. 12), belonged to Morteira's Medras. Mozes ben Mordochai Zacuto, another student of the highest medras, was also more than twenty years old. Eighteen year old Spinoza should have appeared on the lists of students of 1651, had he been destined for the rabbinate; this is not the case and his name does also not appear in such registers of the preceding or following years. The obvious conclusion that Bento de Spinoza was never trained to be a rabbi and was never a pupil of Morteira's can only be confirmed by the documents printed under V, in which we meet him as an Amsterdam merchant.

In relation to this we may perhaps be allowed to speculate a bit. In the beginning of the

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Remarks to this chapter we pointed out how essential the study of the Tora and all that is connected with it, has been to the Jews and how they organized the maintaining of an institution for the education of rabbis. But this was not all. For the healthy growth of Jewish culture it was imperative that theology and ethics should remain a living possession of the

community. This is why they promoted regular - for example weekly - meetings of the members of the community to study the Bible, Talmud and the later philosophic-religious Hebrew literature. Such a society was called "Jesiba"; it was led by a rabbi or hazan just as the actual schools were. The meaning of Jesiba is closely related to that of Medras; a Jesiba could also have the character of a school but it usually consisted only of a limited number of people whereas a medras was open to all. About a few Jesibot that existed in this country we are quite well informed: one was set up by Abraham de Pinto in Rotterdam around 1650, another by Jacob Pereyra in Amsterdam in the beginning of the 18th century. These were, however, foundations with the aim to provide students with a

regular grant and thus enable them to continue and finish their theological studies. The number of members was stipulated in the charter of foundation of these Jesibot and they were expected to meet regularly either to be taught by the head (Ros) or to read and discuss among themselves. The members of the Amsterdam Jesiba were only expected to meet once a week since they were students of the great medras; in Rotterdam, which did not have a school like Talmud Tora, the function of the Jesiba was more like that of a school and student members met almost every day. The Jesibot we referred to here are not the kind that we have in mind. We mean religious-literary meetings of adults, that is of

people no longer attending school but with an interest in matters concerning Jewish culture and scholarship. Such Jesibot were in existence, also in Amsterdam, long before Jacob Pereyra set up his Jesiba. We know of the one founded by Haham Morteira in 1629, called "Reshit Hokhma" (Beginning of Scholarship); further of "Keter Tora", found in

1643, whose members showed great enthusiasm in 1665 for the pseudo-messiah Sabbatai Zebi, a cabbalist born in Smyrna in 1626 and especially the "Tora Or" (The Law is Light), founded in 1656 by Ephraim Bueno and Abraham Pereira, of which Haham Aboab became the head. This latter society was not only engaged in religious studies but also in

Spanish literature and poetry. We think it is not impossible and even likely that Bento de

Spinoza, spurred on by a desire for knowledge about the theological-philosophical writ-

ings of his people, belonged to one of these Jesibot, that is, before he began to feel

estranged from Judaism. Usually "Jesiba" is translated by "Academy" which implies too much. With such societies regular and systematical studies were of course out of the

question, but it could have made them extremely suitable for a man like Bento de Spinoza whose activities as a merchant prevented him from following the higher medrassim but with sufficiently spare time to devote himself to scholarly work as an autodidact. Finally a

quotation from Daniel Levi (or Miguel) de Barrios's "Corona de la Ley" that probably appeared in 1683. In connection with the activities of the Jesiba "Keter Tora" or "Corona de la Ley" he writes:

"La Corona de la Ley, desde el Año de su feliz fundación, nunca ha dexado de arder en la çarça Académica, con las doctrinales hojas que escrivió el Sapientissimo Saul Levi

Mortera, entregando su intelecto al dictamen de la Sabiduría, y su pluma à la mano de la

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Especulación, contra el Atheismo, defensa de la Religion. Espinos son los que en Prados de impiedad, dessean luzir con el fuego que los consume; y llama es el zelo de Moriera que arde en la çarça de la religion por no apagarse."

The translation reads: Ever since the year of its fortunate foundation the "Crown of the Law" never ceased to

shed its light on the academic errors. The instructions written by professor Saul Levi Morteira in which he surrendered his intellect to Divine Wisdom and his pen to religious reflection, aided to defend religion against atheism. Thorns are they who wish to radiate with a fire that is consuming them in the meadows of godlesness and the flame it is Morteira's industry that burns unquenchably in the wilderness of religion.

It may be clear that these words that were italicized by De Barrios himself, refer to Bento de Spinoza and Dr. Juan (Daniel) de Prado, both of whom were excommunicated for heresy in 1656; since their names were mentioned explicitly in connection with the "Corona de la Ley" it is not impossible that they were members of this Jesiba. Whereas Isaac Aboab da Fonseca was rector of the "Tora Or", Saul Levi Morteira was the Ros of "Keter Tora" and as such the latter haham may have directed young Bento's studies in some way. We repeat, however, that a Jesiba as we mean here, is not a real school but a center for adult studies. The Ashkenazim (German Jews) call this kind of centre a "Hebra" or "Hewre"; while the Portuguese call it "Siwa".

To nr. 3 (Archives of the Jesuit College at Drongen in Belgium). With a view to the several untrue stories circulating about Bento's Latin teacher, Franciscus van den Enden, at least as regards his life before he settled in Amsterdam, - stories for which we can hold the poet Antonides van der Goes largely responsible - it seemed useful to supply a single authentic document about him. From the novice-statement printed here, that can be found in the Album novitiorum that is kept in Drongen and that was first published by Dr J. M. F. Sterck in the monthly magazine "De Beiaard" (1922) - we learn in which year Van den Enden was born. Van den Enden later latinized his name to Affinius. This statement does not differ from the one normally used at a novice's entry into the Società? Jesu. The word "dismissus" seems to have been added after Van den Enden's resignation from the Order. About the time he spent in the Order we were informed by Is. Vogels S. J. who published Van den Enden's service record as a Jesuit in "Studien op Godsdienstig, Wetenschappelijk en Letterkundig gebied" of 1897.

We must call to mind that there are no authentic documents referring to the relationship between Spinoza and Van den Enden, which does not mean that we doubt that Bento was thoroughly instructed in Latin by Van den Enden after having received some preliminary instruction from a German student. We think, however, that Colerus's information "that he was boarded out for his education" with Van den Enden gives us no grounds tc conclude that Bento went to his school for a shorter or longer period of time; this in connection with the data concerning Bento's early life that we assembled in Chapter V. The study of Latin was not so rare among the Sephardim, even among those not studying for the rabbinate or studying medicine. True to their tradition they tried to develop their

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standard of education, without confining themselves within the limits of strict orthodoxy.*

V. Bento's Life

1. From the membership-roll of the Ets Haim society of the year 5397. [1637]

Jshac Espinosa f° de michael espinoza Baruch Espinosa f° do dito

Michael Espinosa Abraham Espinosa

2. Jarich Jelles.

[February 15, 1655] Today, the fifteenth day of the month of February of the year sixteen hundred fifty-five,

appeared in person before me, Benedict Baddel, admitted to the Court of Holland, notary public residing in Amsterdam and the witnesses mentioned hereafter, the honourable Willem van Erpecum, about forty years old and Jarich Jelles, thirty-five years old, both merchants within this said city, well known to me, the said notary. At the request of Simon Rodrigues Nunes, also merchant within the same city, they attested, testified and declared in true Christian words, according to their conscience and with the promise that they will take a solemn oath should this be requested, that it is true that on the eighteenth day of the month of September of the year sixteen hundred fifty-four, they, witnesses, made the following purchases and received from the requisitionist, namely the said Van Erpecum, five casks of long raisins at twenty-eight guilders a hundred, and the said Jarich Jelles twenty seven casks also of long raisins at twenty-seven guilders a hundred, all this in cash, this being the common price at that time and which said casks were marked as in the margin:

The said Jelles further declared that on the sixteenth of October of the said year sixteen hundred and fifty-four he also bought from the said requisitionist eight casks of long raisins marked as above at twenty- two guilders; with which they, witnesses, end their respective declarations, confirmed the truth of them, consented etc. Done thus within the said city of Amsterdam, at the house and office of me. * Cf. the article by W. G. van der Так, "Van den Enden and Kerckerinck", printed below. Recently, a biographical study on Van den Enden has been published: J. V. Meininger and G. van Suchtelen, Lieve t met wercken als met woorden. De levensreis van doctor Franciscus van den Enden: leermeester van Spinoza, complotteur tegen Lodewijk de Veertiende. (Weesp 1980).

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the aforesaid notary, in the presence of Manuel Lavello and Hector Friesma as witnesses. Willem van Erpecom

Manuel Lavelllo, Jarich Jelles Testis.

Hector Friesma, Testis 1655 2 19

3. Bento serves a subpoena on a debtor. [April 20, 1655]

Today, on the twentieth day of the month of April of the year sixteen hundred and fifty-five, I, Benedict Baddel, admitted to the Court of Holland, notary public residing in Amsterdam, with the witnesses mentioned hereafter, acting on the request of Anthonij Alvares, merchant, went to the house of Bento d'Espinosa and in his absence I addressed myself to the maid-servant and summoned and notified her that upon the return home oí the said Espinoza she should tell him that I had come because of the requisitionist to notify him that he should send to Antwerp a certain bill of exchange of five hundred guilders, that he owned chargeable to the requisitionist and drawn upon him to be paid within Antwerp to Manuel Duarte or his order, who had endorsed the bill to be paid to the said d'Espinoza and that it would be paid there by Pedro de Palma Carillo, with the offer to supply surety; upon this the said maid-servant said that she would tell her said master upon his return home.

Later on that same day the said Bento d'Espinoza personally came to my office. When he had been informed of the contents of the said notice, he answered that for that same reason he had subpoenaed the said Anthonij Alvares to appear before the Lords Commissioners and that he would await the verdict in this matter.

Thus done within the said city of Amsterdam in the presence of Francois de la Tombe and Martin Clijever as witnesses.

F. de la Tombe, Maerten Cly ver, Testis. Testis.

4. The debtor defaulted. [May 4, 1655]

Today, the fourth of May of the year 1655, appeared before me, Adriaen Lock, notary &c in the presence of the witnesses mentioned hereafter, Manuel Duarte, about 23 years old and Manuel Levij, about 24 years old, both of the Portuguese nation, living within this city. At the request of Bento de Spinoza they solemnly testified, declared and attested in true words instead of but offering to swear the oath, that it is true and known to them, witnesses, that he, the witness Manuel Duarte, had a bill of exchange of five hundred guilders, chargeable to Anthonij Alvares, drawn by the same Anthonij Alvares on himself

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on the 25th of November of the year 1654, to be paid to him, the witness Duarte, or to his order three months after that date and that the said Duarte endorsed the same bill oí

exchange, to be paid to the requisitionist or his order. They, the witnesses, further declare that on the day the said bill of exchange was due and during a considerable period of time afterwards, the said Anthonij Alvares was present in this city and that they, the witnesses, on the order and on behalf of the requisitionist, often and repeatedly asked the said

Anthonij Alvares for payment after the said bill of exchange had become due and that the same Anthonij Alvares postponed payment every time, saying that he would pay within two or three days or a week; then, when this did not happen, the said Anthonij Alvares

gave the requisitionist, towards the account of the said five hundred guilders, a draft oí two hundred guilders on his brother Gabriel Alveres, with the promise that he would also

pay the rest; then, since the said Gabriel did not want to pay the mentioned draft, the

requisitionist returned this draft to him and when the said Anthonij Alveres again made

daily promises to pay the said bill of exchange and postponed payment, he, the witness

Levij, and the requisitionist, as he, Le vij alone declares, summoned him to give money or to hand over jewelry as surety but that the same Anthonij Alveres failed to do so till now.

They, the witnesses give as reason for their knowledge that at the request of the

requisitionist they often asked the said Anthonij Alveres for payment of the said bill oí

exchange and that they saw and had in their hands several times the draft which the said

Anthonij Alveres had passed in this matter on his brother Gabriel Alveres and that they heard the said Anthonij Alveres promise several times to pay the said bill of exchange here and that is why they know of it. All done in good faith in Amsterdam in the presence of Vincent Swaenenburch, also notary public here and Hendrijck Jaspersen as witnesses & c.

Manuel Leuij do Salem. Manuel Duarte. Vin1 swanenburch nots

H: Iaspers. Anno 1665

Quod attestor rogatus A: Lock Nots Pubi.

5. Bento has his debtor imprisoned and is molested as a result. [May 7, 1655]

Today, the 7th of May, 1655, appeared before me, Adriaen Lock, notary &c, in the

presence of the witnesses mentioned hereafter, Hendrick Fransen, about 35 years old and Jan Lodwijcxsen, about 32 years old, both in the service of the honourable Cornelis de

Vlamingh from Outshooren, chief-sheriff of this city, and in true words instead of and

offering to take the oath, they solemnly testified, declared and attested at the request oí Bento Despinose, merchant here, that it is true that about a week and a half ago, without

remembering the exact day, they arrested at the request of the requisitionist, the person oí

Anthonij Alveres for debt and that they took him to the inn De Vier Hollanders in the Nes

here, to obtain payment of a certain bill of exchange of five hundred guilders that the

requisitionist owned, chargeable to him and that said Anthonij Alveres then asked the

requisitionist to come to the inn to reach an agreement with him; that when the

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requisitionist arrived there, the said Anthonij Alveres hit the requisitionist on the head with his fist without there having been spoken a word in return and without the requisitionist doing anything. Further the witness Hendrick Fransen alone declares that when the requisitionist had come to an agreement in this aforesaid matter with the said Anthonij Alveres and his brother Isaack Alveres, he, the witness, went out with the requisitionist to fetch money for the expenses made because of the arrest and that upon their return to the said inn Gabriel Alveres, also a brother of the said Anthonij Alveres. was standing in front of the inn and hit the plaintiff on the head with his fist without any cause, so that his hat fell off and that the said Gabriel Alveres took the requisitionisťs hat and threw it in the gutter and stepped on it. All done in good faith in Amsterdam in the presence of Vincent Swaenenburch, also notary public here and Hendrick Jaspersen as witnesses &c.

H: Iaspers Hendryk Fransen A° 1655 Jan Lodewijcksen

Vin1 swanenburch Nots Quod attestor rogatus

A: Lock Nots Pubi.

1655

6. Bento made an agreement with his debtor. [May 7, 1655]

Today, the 7th of May 1655, appeared before me, Adriaen Lock, notary &c, in the presence of the witnesses mentioned hereafter, Hendrick Fransen, about 35 years old and Jan Lodewijcxsen, about 32 years old, both in the service of the honourable Cornelis de Vlamingh from Outshooren, chief-sheriff of this city, and in true words instead of and offering to take the oath, they solemnly testified, declared and attested at the request of Bento Despinose, merchant here, that it is true that about a week and a half ago, without remembering the exact day, they arrested at the request of the requisitionist, the person oí Anthonij Alveres for debt and that they took him to the inn De Vier Hollanders in the Nes here, to obtain payment of a certain bill of exchange of five hundred guilders that the requisitionist owned, chargeable to him and that when the said Anthonij Alveres had provided surety for the capital sum of five hundred guilders, Isaack Alveres, brother of the said Anthonij Alveres, asked the requisitionist, both of whom were also in the said inn, it he would pay the expenses of the arrest, which the requisitionist refused; the said Isaack Alveres then again asked the requisitionist if he would advance and pay the same expenses on commission, with the promise that he would not only pay these expenses back but that he would also pay him the damages and interests suffered by the requisitionist as a result of the default of payment and his not having the said money back, besides a certain hat that Gabriel Alveres, also a brother of the said Anthonij Alveres had thrown into the gutter and spoiled, all that the requisitionist would in fact claim from him, Isaack Alveres. Upon this promise and pledge the requisitionist paid the expenses of the said arrest to the chief-sheriff and them, the witnesses, and the inn-keeper. They, the witnesses, give as

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reason for their knowledge that they were present when the aforesaid took place, that they heard and understood the same and therefore know this. All done in good faith in Amsterdam in the presence of Vincent Swaenenburch, also notary public here and Hendrick Jaspersen as witnesses &c.

Hendry ck Fransen Jan lodewijcksen Vin1 Swanenburch nots H: Iaspers Anno 1655 Quod attestor rogatus A: Lock

Nots Pubi. 1655

7. Statements of identity made by Isaac da Costa, Bento de Spinoza and Manuel Lavello. [May 21, 1655]

Saibão quantos esta carta de justificasão virem [. . . em] 21 dias do mes de majo de 1656 annos diante mjm [Bento] badelo notario publico pela Jlustrisima Corte de Olanda nesta cidade de Amsterdam[e] das testas notante . . . parescão presentas en suas mesmas pessoas a saber v/a[o Srh

Jaques de Costa mercador morador nesta dita cidade de Edade que dise ser de 44 annos, o Sr bento de Spinoza de Edade de vinte E dois anos, o Sr mel lávelo de Edade de 40 anos pouco mais ou menosX X pessoas de as quaes a requerimento de Senhor Elias de Pas alias Simão barbosa 0[men] mi[m] tabelia

л • . j , bem conheci me asseverarao por sua consciensia edisata л • . verdade j , das

inponende juramento juram me dixerão E atestarão conhecer bem lo dito requerente o qual se serve destes tres nomes a saber elias de pas e Simão barbosa Omen e simón de Dias Nunes não são mais que duma mesma . . . duma mesma pessoa que do dito requerente atestantes conhecer por . . . estes tres nomes sue pes- soam dando por verdade saber . . . . . . conhecides do dito senhor requerente E unidade . . . asseverão . . . ratificarão consentendo . . . que asinaron en registradas em amsterdam en prensença de Hector Friesma e Jan Emp testemunhas.

Jshac da Costa Manuel Lavello. Bento despinoza.

Joannes Kemp, Testis. H. Friesma,

Testigo 1655.

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8. Bento conveys a bill of exchange, also for his brother Gabriel. [November 17, 1655]

f f f Today, the 17th of November anno 1655, appeared before me, Adriaen Lock, notary & c, in the presence of the witnesses mentioned hereafter, Sr Bento de Espinosa, Portuguese merchant within the same city, for himself as well as for Gabriel de Espinosa, his brother and partner, and conveyed, ceded and commisioned in free possession, as he conveys, cedes and commissions herewith, to Joseph Francis, also Portuguese merchant here, a bill of exchange of 876 crusados at 79 groats a crusado, drawn from Lisbon on August 20, last, at usance, by Guilhermo van Belhem, of which he, the deponent and his said brother are the holders and which is chargeable to Jean van Ottesen, living in Hoorn. The deponent acknowledges, for himself and his said brother, to have been satisfied and paid by the said Joseph Francis from the first to the last penny for the contents of the said bill of exchange - [in the margin: which the deponent handed over to the said sr Josep Francis with this deed.] He therefore places the said Joseph Francis, instead of himself and his said brother, in full ownership, actual and real possession of the said bill of exchange, so that, from this own authority, he can collect, claim and receive the contents form the drawer as well as from all other who might be bound or obliged to do so and to deal with it 'tanquam procurator in rem propriam' according to his free will and wishes, for he, the deponent, declares for himself and for his brother, that he no longer has any rights to or ownership of the said bill of exchange, nor reserves such rights in any way; therefore fully renouncing it to the benefit of the said Joseph Francis. Since the said Joseph Francis was not present when this deed was passed, I, notary, accepted and accept herewith this conveyance in preservation of its validity. All done in good faith in Amsterdam in the presence of Hendrick Jaspersen & Chiprianus Noorthof as witnesses &c.

Bento y gabriel despinoza. H: Iaspers: Chiprianus Noorthooff.

Quod attestor rogatus A: Lock Nots Pubi.

9. From a small book of offerings [December 5, 1655]

_| 5415 Baruch Espinosa deve en 5 dez™ sabat de hanucah - f - 6 -

10. Orphan-masters of Amsterdam appoint a guardian for Bento. [March 16, 1656]

Michael ď On the 16th of March 1656 the Lords Orphan-masters appointed and ordained as Espinosa, guardian of Bento d'Espinosa, son of Michael d'Espinosa, begotten from Anna

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d'Espinosa, Louis Craeijer, to represent, to promote and to account for the rights of Bento

d'Espinosa and further to regulate and administrate his goods to their best allowable use and profit, which guardianship and administration was accepted by the said Louis

Craeijer, who appeared at the Orphan-chamber and promised to acquit himself of this

duty properly. Present were all orphan-masters with the exception of Spiegel.

11. Measures taken by Bento's guardian. [March 1656]

fiat mandate of idemnity with instructions to the Court of Amsterdam. To the High Magistrates Done in the Supreme Council in Holland, this 23rd of March 1656.

J. Coenen

Louis Crayer, appointed by the Orphan-masters of the city of Amsterdam as guardian of Bento d Spinosa, minor son of the late Michael de Spinosa, in his life merchant in the aforementioned city, respectfully brings to your notice that to the same Bento de Spinosa a considerable sum is due from the estate left by his mother from the abovementioned Michael de Spinosa, without having received to his contentment anything from the fruits of this in his father's lifetime. And although the said Bento de Spinosa should have acted as a privileged creditor with preference to others jure legalis hypothecae, he, however, aetatis lubrico circumductus, took it upon himself to pay a few debts of the said estate so that afterwards he could more easily (if this could be done with little expense) act as heir of his said father. But since it now appears that the said inheritance is encumbered with many arrears to the extent that the said inheritance would be extremely detrimental to the said Bento de Spinosa, the suppliant in his said quality, has come to the conclusion that it is best to abstain from it in all respects, since he is afraid that after the strictest application of the law the judicial allocation of the claim could be an encumbrance to him, which could be used against him by the creditors. Therefore he turns to the High Magistrates and

respectfully requests Your Lordships to allow him a mandate on the strength of which the said Bento de Spinosa could, if necessary, be discharged from any such act committed as heir as he, in any way, could have committed regarding the inheritance from his said father and from all omissions and failures he could have brought about in any way; that the said Bento de Spinosa, with his claim on his mother's goods, will be given preference above all other creditors and in particular above Duarte Rodrigues, Lamego Anthonio, Rodrigues de Morajs and the curators of the estate of Pedro Henriques with regards to the

goods of the said Michael de Spinosa, with the expenses made to this end; that in case of

opposition they may summon the opposing party or parties before the court of the said

city to give their reasons and to hear any such claim and conclusion as the suppliant wishes to make, whether pleading indemnity or preference and to answer this and further to

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institute legal proceedings according to the law with instructions to the said court of Amsterdam, all in communi forma. Doing this &c.

P. Burgersdyck. 1656

12. Ban pronounced against Bento [July 27, 1656]

5416 Notta do Herem que se publicou da Theba em 6 de Ab, contra Baruch espinoza

OS SSres do Mahamad fazem saber a vm's: como ha diaz que tendo noticia das ma's opinioins e obras de Baruch de espinoza procurarão por différentes caminhos e promessas, Retiralo de seus ma'os caminhos, e não Podendo remedialo, antes pello contrario, tendo cada dia mayores noticias das horrendas heregias que praticaua & ensinaua, e ynormes obras que obraua, tendo disto muitas testemunhas fidedignas que depugerão e testemunharão tudo em Prezensa de ditto Espinoza deque ficou conuensido, o qual tudo examinado em prezensa dos ssres Hahamim, delibrarão com seu paracer que ditto espinoza seja enhermado e apartado da naçao de Jsrael como actualmente o poin em herem, com o Herem seguinte, Com sentença dos Anjos com ditto dos santos nos Emhermanos apartamos e maldisoamos e praguejamos a Baruch de espinoza con con- sentimt0 dei D: B: e consentimi de todo este К: К: diante dos santos sepharim estes, com os seis centos e treze preceitos que estão escrittos nelles, com o herem que enheremou Jehosuah a Yeriho, com a maldissão que maldixe Elisah a os mossos, e com todas as maldisois que estão escrittas na Ley, malditto seja de dia e malditto seja de noute, malditto seja em seu deytar, e malditto seja em seu leuantar, malditto elle em seu sayr, e malditto elle em seu entrar, não querara A: perdoar a elle, que entonces fumeara o furor de A: e seu zelo neste homen, e у azera nelle todas as maldisois as escrittas no libro desta Ley; E arrematara A: a seu nome debaixo dos ceos, E apartaloa A: para mal de todos os tribus de Ysrael, com todas as maldisois do firmamento as escritas no Libro da Ley esta, E vos os apagados com A: voso Ds viuos todos vos oje.

Aduirtindo que ningem lhe pode fallar Bocalmte nem por escritto nem dar lhe nenhum fauer, nem debaixo de tecto estar com elle, nem junto de quatro couados, nem leer Papel algum feito oa escritto por elle.

Remarks to V. Bento's Life

In agreement with the opinion that Bento de Spinoza was not trained for the rabbinate, the documents collected in this chapter supply evidence that he was a merchant until his

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excommunication. In the 17th century being a scholar was not always incompatible with

being a merchant, particularly among the Sephardim - all Amsterdam rabbis were involved in business affairs. After he had finished his studies at the Talmud Tora school Bento's brother-in-law Semuel de Casseres, is referred to as a merchant (cf. the end of the Remarks to III under s). Since there is no evidence that Bento also studied in the higher medrassim of this school, it is far more plausible to assume that he left the Jewish school to start in his father's business when he was thirteen or fourteen years old. Though we admit that Bento's love of study would have predestined him for the rabbinate, he was set upon a different course before the age of sixteen. In September 1649 his brother or half-brother Ishac, who was probably older, died and this may have caused Michael de Spinoza to take Bento into his business as an assistant and partner.

When we first encountered the deeds published here, referring to Bento's activities as a

merchant, we, of course, asked ourselves: Is the Bento de Spinoza who figures in these deeds the same person as the later philosopher Baruch de Spinoza, who then called himself Benedictus de Spinoza? We are fully convinced that the answer to this question must be affirmative on the following grounds.

After the publication by the late Dr. W. Meijer of the request of Louis Craeyer, printed here under nr. 1 1 of this Chapter, it had been established that the name the philosopher used in his youth was "Bento", the Portuguese form of the Hebrew "Baruch", the name that had been given at circumcision. This was also an indication that Portuguese was the

language used in his Jewish circle rather than Spanish as some of his biographers believe. These ideas were expressed by W. G. Van der Так in the title of his book "Bento de

Spinoza", published by Martinus Nijhoff in 1928. There is also no indication that there was another Bento de Spinoza then living in Amsterdam. The strongest evidence that the deeds printed here refer to the philosopher, is given by the agreement between the

signature placed by Bento underneath the notarial records of May 21 and November 17, 1655 and the signature at the bottom of the oldest preserved letters of the philosopher, written in 1662 and 1663. These letters were addressed to Heinrich Oldenburg, secretary of the Royal Society in London and Dr. Lodewijk Meijer in Amsterdam respectively.

To nr. 1 (Archives of the Ets Haim Seminary in Amsterdam [P.I.G. 1052, p. 5]). The oldest reference to the philosopher appears in the membership-roll of the Ets Haim

society of 1637 (cf. the Remarks to IV). Abraham de Spinoza de Nantes and Michael and his two sons(f°= filho = son) joined

the society at its foundation in that year. They therefore are among the first Irmãos

(brothers) of this society; Baruch was not yet five years old. Michael paid an admission-fee of J 18 for himself and his two children and according to the Termosbook of the society he also donated a "promesa" of J 52 on its foundation-day. (cf. Gedenkschrift Talmud Tora en Ets Haim by Paraira and Da Silva Rosa; 1916). Baruch's name was later crossed out;

apparently with the intent to render it illegible. This will have been due to the ban

pronounced against him. Another erasure of his resignation of his membership is done with a lighter stroke. The order in which the names Ishac and Baruch are mentioned has led to the assumption that the first was the elder. This is quite possible although there is

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not much sign of any ordering as to age or alphabeth, since the name of Abraham de Spinoza is mentioned later.

To nr. 2 (Notarial Archives of Amsterdam; registers of notary Benedict Baddel, 975). This deed, below which the signature of Spinoza's good friend Jarich Jelles is found,

may shed some light on the relation between the philosopher and the Collegiants. Since the majority of the Collegiants were Baptists and as such excluded from various professions, most of them were merchants. Jelles dealt in spices and according to the deed he did business with Portuguese Jews from whom he bought raisins. Michael de Spinoza also traded in dried fruits. Through this trade Bento may have come into contact with Jelles and other Mennonites. Their place of meeting is therefore more likely to have been the Amsterdam Exchange than the house of Franciscus van den Enden as has been suggested. The mental outlook of the libertine Van den Enden had little in common with the strict-mindedness of the Collegiants who must have been appreciative of Bento's biblical knowledge. It must be noted that both Bento de Spinoza and Jarich Jelles made use of the same notary Baddel, whose managing-clerk Manuel Lavello knew Portuguese.

To nr. 3-6 (Notarial Archives of Amsterdam; registers of notary Benedict Baddel, 976B and of notary Adriaen Lock, 2198).

The order in which the facts mentioned in these deeds, which give a picture of Bento de Spinoza as an active merchant, took place, was somewhat different from the one suggested by the dates of the deeds. The events to whkii the statements of the officers of the chief-sheriff refer (Nrs 5 and 6) took place before the deed of May 4, 1655 was drawn up (nr. 4); summarized the contents of the documents are as follows:

Bento de Spinoza was the holder of a bill of exchange of f 500 on Anthony Alveres who kept delaying payment and who, after repeated summons, tried to satisfy Spinoza with an order for payment of f 200 on his brother Gabriel Alveres. When this order appears to be as little encashable as the bill of exchange itself, Spinoza returns it and is also not satisfied with an offer to accept jewels as collateral. No longer satisfied with empty promises Spinoza finally brings the matter to court. In the meantime Anthony Alveres tries to bring forward the excuse that the bill is only payable in Antwerp on the grounds of which he requests to offer it to Pedro Palma Carillo in that city. Apparently Spinoza's claim is acknowledged and he is given authority to arrest Alveres for debt, which authority he uses by keeping his debtor in custody in the inn "De vier Hollanders" on the Nes. Anthony Alveres now quickly requests Spinoza to come and see him so that they can come to an agreement. When Spinoza complied with this request he was molested, to which the not completely clear statements of the officers of the chief-sheriff refer. Notwithstanding this event an agreement was reached in which Anthony Alveres was released on bail and Spinoza advanced the expenses of the arrest for debt. We do not know if he was ever paid back for the main sum, interest and expenses.

The Alveres brothers, alias Israel Nunes, dealt in jewels and came from Paris around 1641 to settle on Uilenburg in Amsterdam in the house called "de Vergulde Valck". Their bùsiness was of doubtful solidity, also in other respects. Through Gabriel Alveres they

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were related to the Duartes, to which family also belonged Francisca Duarte, known as the French Nightingale who was well acquainted with Pieter Cornelisz. Hooft and is considered a member of the so-called 'Muider-circle'.

The circumstance that not only the Alveres brother but alos the witnesses Manuel Duarte and Manuel Levy traded in jewels, leads us to wonder if Spinoza was also involved in this trade.

To nr. 7 (Notarial Archives of Amsterdam; registers of notary Benedict Baddel, 977c). The significance of this deed stands in no relation to the effort it demands to decipher

the bad handwriting. In the end it appears to contain a statement about the identity of a certain Elias de Pas who had two aliases. Statements of that nature are frequently found in the notarial registers of those days. Below the document we find Bento de Spinoza's signature which, as we noted in the beginning of the Remarks to this chapter, provides the evidence that this is the same person as the later philosopher. The following tries to render the contents of the deed as faithfully as the missing and illegible parts permit.

All who will see this evidence may know that on May 21, 1655, appeared in person before me, Benedict Baddel, notary public at the Illustrious Court of Holland in this city of Amsterdam and the witnesses mentioned below, Isaac da Costa, merchant, inhabitant of the said city, according to his own statement 44 years old, Bento de Spinoza, twenty-two years old and Manuel Lavello, about 40 years old, who at the request of Elias de Pas, alias Simon Barbossa Omen (Homen), assured me, stating to be telling the truth according to their conscience and to be willing to confirm this by oath if required, that they are well

acquainted with the principal who uses the following three names, namely Elias de Pas, Simon Barbossa Omen and Simon de Dias Nunes and that these three names are merely the names of one and the same person, whom they, the deponents, know by these three names, which they confirm by consenting to sign this statement in my register. Done in Amsterdam in the presence of Hector Friesma and Jan Kemp, witnesses.

It must be noted that though we think we can read the year 1656 above the statement, it seems to have been passed on May 21, 1655. Witness Friesma puts 1655 in the loops of his

signature and this year agrees with the age given by Bento de Spinoza.

To nr. 8 (Notarial Archives of Amsterdam, registers of notary Adriaen Lock, 2199).* In this deed we meet a brother of Bento's, called Gabriel de Spinoza. From the

signature in which Bento first mentions himself, it may be deduced with a reasonable amount of certainty that Gabriel was the younger of the two, which is also confirmed by the fact that Bento acts for him. Gabriel is, however, called Bento's partner and esquire. Had Gabriel been a child from Michael's third marriage, he could hardly have been referred to by that title; he would then have been fourteen years old at the most. This leads to the suggestion that Bento and Gabriel were full brothers. This Gabriel is not mentioned

anywhere else, neither when a guardian is appointed for Bento after the death of his father

* Cf. also the study by A. M. Vaz Dias and W. G. van der Так, "The firm of Bento у Gabriel de Spinoza", printed below.

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Michael (cf. V, nr. 10), nor at the death of Bento himself (cf. VI). Gabriel may have died before Bento or may have left the country. The fact that after Michael's death the

Orphan-masters did not appoint a guardian for him may be explained, besides from his

possible settlement abroad, by the arguments set out in our Remarks to nr. 10 of this

chapter.

To nr. 9 (Book of offerings; previously in private hands, now in the archives of the

Portuguese-Israelitic Community in Amsterdam [P.I.G. 294, fol. 12]). This little book from which the note published here was taken, has on its cover a title

consisting of a mixture of Hebrew and Portuguese that is hard to translate:

Da misuah, da Bodat ahe zd: e de bet. - ahaim, e da Gebrah

etan bem da Jesibah de Hemilut Hazadim, eda dta misuah do

que se Pagou Pelas Bosoquao.

From the handwriting it appears that someone else later made an addition to this title in the middle of the third line. The offerings made in the synagogue to the benefit of the societies that were concerned with everything connected with the care of the dead

(cleansing, funeral etc.) were recorded in this book. It also contains records of general offerings which were made in the Portuguese synagogue with a certain purpose according to the custom that still exists today: at passover for the Vesteria (clothes for poor schoolchildren), at Feast of Weeks for the Talmud Tora school, on the Day of Atonement for the Sedaka (the poor in general) and so on. The extract mentioning Baruch de Spinoza printed here, refers to a general offering called nedabah (voluntary offering) which was made at Sabath Hanukah of 1655 to the benefit of various activities. On that same day we find a large number of offerings mentioned. It seems likely that on the Sabath Hanukah meant here, Baruch went to the synagogue, although we cannot be certain on the grounds of this reference only. At such a nedabah it is customary for the hazan (officer, cantor) to read out the names of those who had indicated that they were willing to make a donation; their presence, however, was not required. Personal attendance would have been required if the offering had something to do with performing a part in the religious service; Baruch would then have been called to come forward from the congregation and perform his part, after which the hazan would pronounce his blessing and mention the amount of the offering that ha¿i been pledged. The pledges were recorded because no money is given or collected in the synagogue; the amounts pledged were therefore later collected at the house of the person concerned. Although we cannot be certain that Bento attended the synagogue on December 5, 1655, it seems that he was still active in the Jewish community at that date.* * Cf. also the article by W. G. van der Так on Spinoza's payments to the Portuguese-Israelitic community, printed below.

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To nr. 10 and 1 1 (Municipal Archives of Amsterdam; Archives of the Orphanchamber; Register of guardianship C, folio 136 and General State Archives.).

Michael de Spinoza died in March 1654 and exactly two years later a guardian is

appointed by the Orphan-masters of Amsterdam for his son Bento, then not yet twenty- five years old and therefore still a minor. This raises several questions. Is not the

appointment of a guardian in contradiction to the fact that Bento was acting as a merchant on his own initiative? Why is a guardian appointed for him and not for his brother Gabriel? And why did this happen such a long time after his father's death? We would like to find a reasonably satisfactory answer to these questions. In itself being a minor did not mean that one could not act as a merchant or accept an inheritance. In several of the notarial records mentioned in this collection we see minors acting as indépendant merchants, whereas it appears from the request made by Louis Crayer that a judicial verdict was required to make it possible for Bento to reject his father's inheritance after he had in fact accepted it by paying some of the debts. One gets the impression that the

minority is brought forward by way of an exception and that this legal instrument is used because difficulties have arisen. These certainly concern Bento because it is he and not Gabriel who will have taken action. Their partnership must have been based upon their

relationship as brothers rather than on a formal contract. We imagine that the two brothers, after having first been employed in their father's firm, continued this firm under their own names, without having gone into a formal partnership. As the elder Bento will have acted for the two of them.

Therefore it is he who gets into trouble particularly through the circumstance that his father was trustee of the bankrupt estate of Pedro Henriques (cf. III, nr. 7). One will remark that if Gabriel was a full brother of Bento's, it would also have been in his interest if a guardian could have put him forward as a priviliged creditor concerning his mother's inheritance; now this is only done for Bento. It seems to us that Louis Crâyer put in this

request mainly to give strength to his other request to be allowed to reject the inheritance left by Michael, in the full knowledge that where no benefits were due to the children, nothing else was to be expected. A similar request for Gabriel would have made little sense. In these circumstances it becomes clear why as late as two years after Michael's death a guardian is appointed for Bento and for him only; it may have been done on Bento's own request when he saw himself no longer able to meet the demands of all his father's creditors. We should bear in mind that all this happened a few months before Bento's excommunication which he may have anticipated. At that time banishment from the Jewish community meant the end of a merchant's career. Realizing therefore that he would never be able to settle his father's estate to the satisfaction of everybody concerned, Bento will have thought it necessary to dispossess himself of this estate and will have called in the aid of a guardian appointed by the Orphan-masters to indemnify himself

against prosecution resulting from the debts left by his father.

To nr. 12 (Archives of the Portuguese-Israelitic Community in Amsterdam [P.I.G. 19, p. 408]).

A circumstance that was not stressed before is that Bento de Spinoza was not ex-

169



communicated by the Hahamim or the board of rabbis, but by the Parnassim (Senhores do Mahamad). Only the latter had the power to excommunicate on the strength of an authority given to them by the municipal government. In connection with this compare the relative by-law of 1670 that appears on page 474 of Noordkerk (Handvesten van Amsterdam), Part II, in which the authority meant here is referred to as "existing of old". It would be an exception if the rabbis pronounced an excommunication and it would be of quite a different nature. It would concern a teacher or colleague with dissenting views in some theological matter.

The English translation* of the document printed here, that was probably read out by the hazan in the synagogue, reads as follows:

The Senhores of the Mahamad make it known that they have long since been cognizant of the wrong opinions and behavior of Baruch d'Espinoza, and tried various means and promises to dissuade him from his evil ways. But as they effected no improvement, obtaining on the contrary more information every day of the horrible heresies which he practised and taught, and of the monstruous actions which he performed, and as they had many trustworthy witnesses who in the presence of the same Espinoza reported and testified against him and convicted him; and after all this had been investigated in the presence of the rabbis, they decided with the consent of these that the same Espinoza should be excommunited and separated from the people of Israel, as they now excommunicate him with the following ban:

After the judgment of the Angels, and with that of the Saints, we excommunicate, expel and curse and damn Baruch d'Espinoza with the consent of God, Blessed be He, and with the consent of this holy congregation [Kahal Kados] in front of the holy Scrolls with the 613 precepts which are written therein, with the anathema with which Joshua banned Jericho, with the curse with which Elisha cursed the youths, and with all the curses which are written in the Law. Cursed be he by day, and cursed be he by night; cursed be he when he lies down, and cursed be he when he rises up; cursed be he when he goes out, and cursed be he when he comes in. The Lord will not pardon him; the anger and wrath of the Lord will rage against this man, and bring him all the curses which are written in the Book of the Law, and the Lord will destroy his name from under the Heavens, and the Lord will separate him, to his injury from all the tribes of Israel with all the curses of the firmament, which are written in the Book of the Law. But you who cleave to the Lord your God are blessed.

We order that nobody should communicate with him orally or in writing, or show him any favor, or stay with him under the same roof, or come within four ells of him, or read anything composed or written by him.

* Translation by R. Mendes-Flohr, published in The Jew in the modern world. A documentary history. Edited by Paul R. Mendes-Flohr and Jehuda Reinharz. (New York-Oxford 1980), p. 50.

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171

VI. Bento' s Heirs [1677]

fiat public letters of benfit of

inventory with the clauses of in-

demnity and instructions to the J. v. Nierop court of The Hague. Done in the To the Supreme Council in Holland

Supreme Council in Holland, the 7th of May 1677

J. Coenen.

Rebecca Espinosa and Daniel Carceris, son of Miriam Espinosa, begotten by Samuel de

Carceris, living in Amsterdam, respectfully bring to your notice that the goods left by Baruch Espinosa, brother and uncle of the suppliants who died in February of the year 1677, have fallen to the suppliants. Fearing that the estate of the said Baruch Espinosa may be encumbered by many debts, to such an extent that the simple acceptance of it may be detrimental and harmful to the suppliants, the suppliants do not think it wise to accept the said estate unless under benefit of inventory; therefore they, the suppliants, are

compelled to turn to Your Lordships; requesting Your Lordships respect fully for letters of benefit of inventory with instructions to the court of The Hague, with the clause of

indemnity insofar as necessary, doing this in communiforma etc. Pieter Swartendijckvt 1677. 5. 30

13.

Remarks to VI. Bento's Heirs

(Algemeen Rijksarchief). The petition given here, which does not concern the period to which the other documents in this collection refer, is printed because it mentions Bento's sister or half-sister Rebecca, of whom we have no other authentic document. There is no mention of Bento's brother Gabriel in this petition.



DID SPINOZA LIVE IN "T OPREGTE TAPPEYTHUYS"?

BY A. M. VAZ DIAS*

All biographies of the ph^osopher Baruch d'Espinosa, none excepted, tell us that the house on the Waterlooplein (nr. 41), called "'t Opregte Tappeythuys",1 was the house in which the philosopher lived in his youth with his father Michael d'Espinosa.

During research done in connection with a different subject for which I was looking at the owners and inhabitants of the houses on the Houtgracht (present-day Waterlooplein) at the time in which Spinoza was among those living in this section of town that played such an important part in the history of the Amsterdam Jews, I came upon some particulars that made me doubt if Michael d'Espinosa ever lived in this particular house. I did further research to try to take away this doubt.

There seems to be a tradition saying that Spinoza lived on the Houtgracht. Spinoza's earliest biographer Colerus tells us "It is certain that his parents were well-

to-do Portuguese Jews who lived in a fashionable merchant's house on the Burgwal next to the old Portuguese church".

Johannes Monnikhoff further identifies the house. "Amsterdam was the city where he was born on November 24, 1632 from wealthy Portuguese Jews who lived in this city on the Houtgracht next to the old Portuguese church in a fashionable merchant's house, which house received a new façade in 1743 with a stone saying 't Oprechte Tapijthuis". Although Monnikhoff explicitly states that the house got the name" 't Oprechte Tapijthuis' only in 1743, later authors always tell us: "Spinoza lived in 't Oprechte Tapijhuis"

It may be useful to prove that this name dates from one hundred years later. The stone in the façade of the house bore the legend: "'t Opregte Tappeythuys 1743". Apparently the stone was not placed before the year 1743 and served as a sign-stone of the carpet-shop that was housed there. There is evidence for this: in the newspaper the "Amsterdamse Courant" of May 14, 1743 we see the advertisement: "In Amsterdam at Jacob Senior Coronel's in 't Oprechte Tapijthuys on the Jewish Groenmarkt next to the former Jewish church, are to be had genuine floorcarpets from Smyrna in all lengths and widths to proportion, table-rugs, extra double carpets, new merchandise recently arrived and un-

1 This situation still existed in 1931 when the author checked the situation. During the period of recon- stuction after 1945 the "Tappeythuys" (Waterlooplein 41) was pulled down with the adjoining buildings. Vlooienburg is a corruption of Vloenburg, an area that was flooded at high water in the river Amstel. * From: De Vrijdagavond. Joodsch weekblad. Vol. 8 (Part 15), Nr 6. (Amsterdam, May 8, 1931), p. 87-89. Cf. also Spinoza, Merchant & Autodidact, Remarks to chapter III, Nr 2b.

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loaded from overseas, and also remarkable Spanish and Turkish floor-mats with the latest

patterns ever seen in this country; also remarkable small carpets for sloops and cabins". Since we also see from a deed of Remission in the municipal archives of Amsterdam

(Quytscheldingsakte, AA 2177, fo. 24) that this house was bought by David Senior Coronel Jr. on April 21, 1742, there is no doubt that the house was given the name "'t

Opregte Tappeythuys" in 1743 because of the carpet-shop that was run in it. In order to find out whether Spinoza lived in this particular house I began to trace the

owners of the house. I found the following:

1 . In the deed of remission referred to above that David Senior bought this house on April 21, 6742 from the heirs of Abraham de Miranda (alias Manuel Fernandes).

2. In the registers of remission AAA, fo. 82 a deed of remission from which it appears that this Abraham de Miranda bought the house from Abraham van Juda Touro (alias Gasper Fernandes Vega) on September 15, 1682.

3. In the register V.V. fo. 109 a deed saying that on November 13, 1676 Abraham van Juda Touro bought from Isak Mendes d'Aguire a house and ground on the Houtgracht next to the former Portuguese Jewish church and eytended over the corridor of the former Portuguese school.

4. In register SS fo. 118 a deed saying that on May 2, 1672 Isak Mendes d'Aguire bought the house from the Parnassim of the Portuguese Jewish Community.

5. In register V fo. 28 that Isak Coronel bought for the account of the Community of Jews of the Portuguese nation on May 26, from Loys Trip a house and yard on the

Houtgracht, called "de Vossekuil" next to the synagogue and to Claes Pietersz Italiaen with the stipulation that the house may not be used to extend the synagogue or school.2

6. In register R.A. 2167, fo. 30, the oldest remission-deed that I could find concerning this house, it appears that on January 14, 1637 Louys Trip bought from the estate of the late Willem Sweerts a house and yard on the Houtgracht, called "de Vossekuil".

We not only learn that Michael d'Espinosa never owned the house but also from the two earliest deeds that the house used to be called "de Vossekuil". This proves once more that the name "4 Opregte Tappeythuys" is of a later date.

2 Although from the description in the Quytschelding 3 "extended over the corridor of the former Portuguese school", it is clear these remissions concern the so-called Tappeythuys, the reference 'next to the synagogue' demands a further description of the situation. There was another house in between the former synagogue and the Tappeythuys. Since this house also belonged to the Portuguese Community and was used as a school-house and for other purposes, it was seen as belonging to the synagogue and not as a separate house. This is why we read in Quytschelding 5: next to the Synagogue and Claes Pieterszoon Italiaen", whereas it ought to read: "next to the Portuguese Community or Jewish school and Claes Pietersz. Italiaen". The stipulation that this house could not be used as a synagogue or school, makes it clear that this cannot have been the house next to the synagogue that already housed a school. Claes Pietersz. Italiaen and his brother Jan Pietersz. Italiaen were Portuguese Jews, whose real names were Jacob de Jehuda Leon and Isak Jehuda Leon. I found Jan Pietersz. Italiaen mentioned as a dealer in tobacco. According to the rate-book of the 8^ penny 1650-52 they owned a great number of houses in the Vlooyenburg section.

173



Of course the fact that Spinoza's father never owned the house does not mean that it is

impossible that he lived there. I think, however, that I am able to demonstrate that this was not the case. It is certain that Spinoza lived on the Houtgracht. The tradition about this is confirmed

by documentary evidence because in the register of intended marriages (D.T.&B. 676, fo.

18) when Michael d'Espinosa registers his intended marriage with his third wife Hester de

Spinosa on April 11, 1641, he states that he "was living on Vlooyenburg". Some readers may find it strange that the reference "living on Vlooyenburg" is seen as a

confirmation of the tradition that he lived on the Houtgracht. It may therefore be useful to

explain this. There never was a street or canal called Vlooyenburg. The Lange and the Korte

Houtstraat are popularly called Vlooyenburg. The name Vlooyenburg (Vloedenburg) used to be the offical name of the whole block of houses encompassed by Breestraat, Zwanenburgwal, Binnen Amstel and Leprozengracht. This includes the Houtgracht on both sides. If someone was living within this block we usually find the reference "living on

Vlooienburg" and not the street or canal in question. It is because of this that the reference in the register of intended marriages confirms the tradition.

There is even clearer evidence. The theory uttered by several authors that the reference "living on Vlooyenburg"

means that Spinoza first lived in one of the Houtstraten in a poorer neighbourhood and later moved to the more fashionable Houtgracht, was refuted by Dr. Carl Gebhardt in Chronicon Spinozanum II in an article: Das Geburtshaus Spinosa's. In this article this scholar proved with the aid of the rate-book of the 8th penny of 1650-1652 (tax on houses and land) that Michael d'Espinosa did live on the Houtgracht, namely in a house be-

longing to Willem Kiek. We hope that this puts an end to speculations based on the name Vlooyenburg rather

than on topographical knowledge of Amsterdam. It is, however, hard to understand how Dr. Gebhardt could come to the conclusion that

the house inhabited by Michael d'Espinosa and belonging to Willem Kiek arccording to the rate-book, would be the same house as the one mentioned by Monnikhoff, namely the so-called "Tappeythuys". The text reads:

"Weiter lässt sich die Lage der Wohnung Spinosa's bestimmen, denn die Steuereintra- gung steht im 77e Wijck , dem eigentlichen Judenviertel, zwischen dem Huyssittensteech und der Joodsche Synagoge , und bei genauer Berechnung kommt man mit so gut wie

völliger Sicherheit auf das bisher ja durch Monnikhoff als Spinosa's Haus bezeugte Opregte Tappijthuys".

I must disagree here. From the remission-deeds it appears that the house pointed out by Monnikhoff (the

so-called Tappijthuis) was owned by the Portuguese Community from 1644-1672. Spinoza cannot have lived here since the house inhabited by Michael d'Espinosa was owned by Willem Kiek. The rate-book further shows that between the synagogue and Willem Kiek's house there were seven houses and a dead-end alley, whereas the so-called Tappijthuis that belonged to the Portuguese Community was situated next to the Jewish school (in the

174



rate -book under the same number with the synagogue). Moreover it was inhabited by Isak de Prado in 1650. A copy of the part of rate-book mentioning the owners of all houses between Huiszittensteeg (Lazarussteeg) and the synagogue, may serve as an illustration.

Rate-book 8th penny (tax on houses and land) new town ao. 1650-52.

Municipal Archives of Amsterdam (Thes: Extra 33. C.a.) fol. 161. IIe wijk. achter de Breestraat пае d'oude Stadt begint hoek Huiszittensteeg (Lazarussteeg).

9. st. (guilders and stivers) 2- 1 2 Gerrit Lambertsz. Goyer 12-10 2-12 Jacob Jansz. Pijl 16-5 2-12 Jacob Baratso 20- 5 2-12 Gonsalvo dias Patto 21-5 2-123 Willem Kick. p. Michiel Espinosa 16-5 2-12 Matheus Lopes, p. Davidt Tores 25- 2-12 Manuel Rodrigos Monsanto 40- 2-12 Cornelis Jansz 16- 2-12 Elias van Heulen, p. Cornelis Jansz 20- 7 3- Idem 4 ptijen in 4 Slopgen 7-10 2-12 Anthony de Pas 18-5 2- 1 2 Bento Osorio 12-10 2-12 Claes Pietersz. Italiaen 31 5 2-124 De Jootsche Gemeente p. Izak de Prado 19- 8- 4 Idem de Jootsche Synagogue 75-5

Where two names are mentioned to a house, the second name is the name of the inhabitant who pays the tax.

I believe that this supplies sufficient evidence that Michael d'Espinosa did not live in the house that was given the name "Opregte Tappeythuys" in 1743, but in another house on the Houtgraeht, a bit further towards the Lazarussteeg.

In the hope to be able to point out one of the old houses still standing on Waterlooplein as the real Spinoza-house, I also examined data of a later period concerning Willem Kick's house. I regret to say that the house no longer exists. Part of the Church of Moses and Aaron now stands in its place. In 1743 it belonged to Johannes Rademaker, a priest of the Roman church.

3 The house in which Spinoza lived. 4 The later "Tapijthuis".

175



VAN DEN ENDEN AND KERCKRINCK

BY W. G. VAN DER ТАК*

Since Meinsma's account of the life of Franciscus van den Enden that was based on

partly authentic data {Spinoza en zijn kring , 1896), several other particulars about this remarkable man came to light. Is. Vogels S. J. published his service record as a Jesuit (Studien op godsdienstig, wetenschappelijk en letterkundig gebied; 1897), which was used by his confrère Graf von Dunin Borkowski with other information in his extensive work on Spinoza's youth (Der Junge de Spinoza ; 1910). J. M. F. Sterck published the statement given and signed by Van den Enden when he joined the Societas Jesu as a novice in the monthly periodical De Beiaard of August 1922. Shortly before this publication N. Japikse supplied the text of three letters in Chronicon Spinozanum I in which Doctor Affinius tries to interest State-Pensionnary Johan de Witt in a maritime invention.

Research by A. M. Vaz Dias in the notarial archieves of Amsterdam has now yielded another few documents. In the registers of notary H. Outgers (register 3204) Vaz Dias found two documents (folio 92 and 371), both signed by F. van den Enden. According to the record dated July 24, 1670, Van den Enden acted as witness when his maid-servant Aelttie Lucas authorized a Nicolaes Witma to claim for her the sum of 90 carolus guilders for rent due to her from Jan Lievens, her former employer.

This document may be of little interest; it seems, however, useful to give the contents of the other deed in extenso. It reads: 13 September 1670.

Appeared Franciscus van den Enden, doctor medicine here in this city, well known to me, notary, and declared herewith to convey, cede and hand over to the benefit of Theodore Kerckring a bond of twelve hundred and sixty-six guilders, chargeable to Joan Spilberg, in the name of him, cessor, dated December 12, 1661: all according to the general contents of the bond, the original of which he, cessor, hands over with all rights belonging to it, without him, cessor, keeping or reserving any claims, to do with it as he would himself and to deal with it as he pleases. He acknowledges to have been fully paid by the said Kerckring for the capital and the due unpaid interest of the bond from the first penny to the last. He not only receipts him but also promises to adhere to this conveyance and to consider all that will be done because of it as good and valid; binding and submitting according to law. This was thus passed within Amsterdam in the presence of Stephanus Pelgrom and Pieter de Wit as witnesses.

* From: 37ste Jaarverslag, 1933-1934, (van de) Vereniging Het Spinozahuis, Leiden 1934, p. 31-35. Cf. also Spinoza , Merchant & Autodidact, Remarks to chapter IV, Nr 3.

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Franciscus vanden Enden

Stephanus Pelgrom H. Outgers, P.F. nots

From this deeds it appears that on September 13, 1670 Van den Enden conveys to Dirck Kerckrinck an IOU of f 1266 and receives for it the capital sum plus the unpaid interest. It was an IOU to be paid by Joan Spilberg. If we are not mistaken this was the painter Johannes Spilberg, born in 1629, a pupil of Govert Flinck, who later returned to Dussel- dorf where he was born, but who was still living in Amsterdam in 1670.

The 17th century painters were often not very solid financially. If one had an almost nine year old claim on a painter who never paid the interest due on it, there would be little reason to expect payment. It is likely that Kerckrinck, when he took over a claim that was

probably hard to collect at the full sum, wanted to be of service to Franciscus van den Enden. The latter may have been planning for his departure for Paris and the old schoolmaster may have needed some cash for this. This would be even more likely if the

plans for the marriage between Clara Maria van den Enden and Kerckrinck that took

place in February 1671, had already been fixed; Kerckrinck would then have considered Doctor Affinius his future father-in-law. This, however, is to be doubted. A third record from the registers of notary Outgers (3204, folio 299) discovered by A. M. Vaz Dias, seems to show us that in September 1670 Kerckrinck was not seriously considering marriage to Clara Maria. The record reads:

In the year thousand sixhundred seventy on the fourth of September appeared before

me, Heinrick Outgers, notary, in person, Dirck Kerckring and Pieter Hauthum, both

young men of age, known to me, notary and declared that voluntarily and consciously, being of sound mind and body, they donate, the one to the other reciprocally, the one who dies first to the survivor of them, and to give under the title of donatio causa mortis and to donate the sum of six thousand Carolus guilders, which sum will be drawn from the estate of the one who dies first and enjoyed by the survivor; this in case the one who dies first dies a bachelor, not having married; this donation will be annulled and revoked if the one who dies first did marry; this donation will not be changed if the survivor would be married at the time of the death of the one who dies first; in that case this gift will be valid, permanent and fully effective if the one who dies first is a bachelor. They accept this gift reciprocally and promise to carry it out, binding themselves according to law. Done in Amsterdam in the presence of Jan van Santen and Eduard de Witte as witnesses.

D. Kerckrinck P. Hauthum

Here we see that on September 4, 1670 Dirck Kerkckrinck and Pieter Hauthum - unknown to us - make a mutual gift when they die. This gift will become invalid when the one who dies first was married. From this stipulation we can conclude that when they made this promise neither of the young men was thinking of marriage. Since we know that

precisely five months later Kerckrinck married Clara Maria van den Enden, we may assume that this marriage came about quite suddenly.

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THE FIRM OF BENTO Y GABRIEL DE SPINOZA

BY A. M. VAZ DIAS AND W. G. VAN DER ТАК*

One of the most remarkalbe results produced by research in the archives concerning the life of Benedictus de Spinoza may lie in the fact that we now have clear indications that shortly before his banishment from the Jewish community, he was not only involved in

trading, but was personally active as a merchant. In May 1655 the later philosopher, whom the notarial records refer to as Portuguese merchant in Amsterdam, was authorized by the

magistrates to arrest a certain Anthonij Alvares because of the latter's failure to pay a bill of exchange of 500 guilders and detained him in the inn De Vier Hollanders. In November of the same year, also acting for his partner and brother Gabriel de Espinoza, he conveys a bill of exchange of 876 crusados to Joseph Francis, also a merchant of the Portuguese nation in Amsterdam.1 It is from the record of this latter transaction that we learn of a brother of Bento's of whose existence we had been unaware so far. It should be noted that the philosopher who is known as Benedictus de Spinoza in the history of philosophy, is always referred to by the name of Bento in the various records from the years preceding his excommunication; the exception occurs in a membership-roll of the Ets Haim society and a book of offerings in which the name of Baruch, the sacral form of Bento, appears, as well as in the formulary of the ban pronounced over him.2 Since this Gabriel we referred to, is mentioned as the second person in the signature Bento у Gabriel despinoza below the deed of conveyance, we can assume that this was Bento's younger brother. From two archival documents that were recently found we learn of a few particulars about him and from a third notarial instrument that had not been discovered so far, we can conclude that this must have been a full brother of the philosopher. We would first like to pay attention to this latter document, the last will and testament of Bento's step-mother, that is also of interest in other respects. In connection with this it may be useful to give a short account of the family to which Bento and Gabriel belonged.

The father, Michael de Spinoza, born in Vidigere in Portugal around 1588, settled in Amsterdam before 1623, where he died on March 28, 1654; he was married three times, respecively to Rachel de Spinoza who died on February 21, 1627, to Hanna Debora de Spinoza who died on November 5, 1638 and to Ester de Spinoza, born in Lisbon, who died on October 14, 1653. The third marriage took place on April 28, 1641. On December 3, 1623 a child from the first wife died and on April 29, 1624 a prematurely-born child was

1 Cf. Vaz Dias & Van der Так, Spinoza Merchant & Autodidact. V. 3-6. 8. 2 Cf. op. cit. V, 1,9, 12. * Originally published in Dutch as first volume of Mededeelingen van wege H et Spinozahuis (Leiden 1934).

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buried in the Portuguese-Israelitic cemetery at Ouderkerk aan de Amstel. A daughter Miriam, born in 1629 and Bento (Baruch), born on November 24, 1632, must have been children from Michael's second marriage. Miriam who married the twenty-two year old student Samuel de Casseres in June 1650, died the following year, having given birth to a son, Daniel de Casseres. Besides these children we also learn of a son of Michael, called Isaac, of a daughter Rebecca and finally of a son Gabriel. About Isaac who died on

September 24, 1649 there is an indication that he was Bento's older brother; his name was written before Baruch's name in the mentioned membership-roll of the Ets Haim society of 1637. It has not been possible to determine whether Isaac was a son of Rachel or of Hanna Debora. Of Rebecca we only know that she and her nephew Daniel de Casseres later made claims on the estate of Bento after his death in The Hague on February 21, 1677; in her request to the Supreme Court she calls herself his sister, not his step-sister.3 On the grounds of the last will and testament of Ester de Spinoza we can conclude that neither Rebecca nor Gabriel was a child from Michael's last marriage. The translation of this testament that was drawn up in Portuguese, reads as follows:

In the name of the Blessed Lord. Amen. All those who will see this public testamentary instrument, may know that in the year

thousand sixhundred fifty-two, on the twenty-third day of the month of October of the said year, at three o'clock in the afternoon, appeared before me, Jan Volkaertsz. Oli,

notary public, residing in this city of Amsterdam, admitted by the Court of Holland, in the

presence of the witnesses mentioned below, Senhora Giomar de Soliz, alias Hester d'Espinoza, wife of Michael d'Espinoza, living in

this said city, known to me, notary, who, lying ill in bed but in possession of the wits,

speech and reason, as could be clearly noticed, considering the frailty of human life, that

nothing is more certain than death, that only the hour of death is uncertain, wished to come forward with her last will and testament and therefore in the best form possible, from her own free will and without any constraint or coercion, made this her will and

testament, as she makes as follows: First she commends her soul to the immeasurable goodness and charity of the Almighty

God and Creator and requests an honest burial for her body; [Next] making void and

revoking all testaments and other last wills, whatever, made or passed before this date, She declared, disposing anew, to instate and to appoint, as she instates and appoints

herewith, as her universal heir of all her movable and immovable possessions and all the rest she will leave at her death, nothing excepted, the said Senhor Michael d'Espinoza, her

husband, so that he will possess all and enjoy all, for ever, as he does his own goods, without contradiction from anyone;

And herewith she said to have made her testament wishing that after her death it will have consequence, be valid and operative as testament or as codicil, as gift among the

living or concerning death, or else as will be valid at law, disregarding the fact that not all formalities required by ordinances and customs were observed;

3 Cf. op. cit., in which the evidence relating to the facts mentioned in this paragraph are thus clearly presented that it seems superfluous to repeat them here.

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Requesting me, notary, for an instrument in forma, which was duly passed without fraud within the said city of Amsterdam, at the house of the above mentioned testatrix, in the presence of Senhor Licentiate David Israel d'Oliveira and Jahacob Barraza, witnesses requested and invited hereto, who also signed the instrument (with the testratrix and me, notary), which remains in my custody.

David isr. d'Olieveira. The testatrix, not being able to sign because of weakness, requested us to

Jahacob Barraza. confirm for her. In witness of the truth

J. Volk. Oli, Not. Pubi.4 The first thing we notice when reading this deed is undoubtedly the testatrix who was registered in the books of intended marriages and in the marriage -registers of Amsterdam as Ester de Spinoza and who signed the registration of her intended marriage with this name5 appears to have the name of Giomar de Soliz with the alias of Ester de Spinoza. Because of this it may be useful to make a few remarks about the use of aliases among the Sephardim in Amsterdam in the first half of the 17th century. Although there is no satisfactory explanation for their custom to make use of two, sometimes three names that were often mentioned one after the other, linked by the word alias, it is clear that when Jews in Spain and Portugal became Christians, voluntarily or by coercion, they chose other names; family names as well as first names insofar as their own names were specifically Jewish. Children of these baptised Jews were of course given only Christian first names and in the third generation the original Jewish family name had often been half- forgotten. When the immigrant Marranos revived the religious and national institutions of their fore-fathers, they began to use their old Jewish name, after which they would put their Christian name as a alias. Among the Portuguese Jews in Amsterdam in the first half of the 17th century we find a Thomas Fernandes, a Francisco Nunes Homem and a Thomas Nunes Pina, who, keeping these names as an alias, called themselves Ephraim Abarbanel, David Abendana and Josua Sarfati respectively. Others who no longer remembered their former Jewish family name, chose a new name like Israel or Jessurun, or, if they knew to which tribe of priests they belonged, the name of Cohen or Levy. In cases where the original family name of before the conversion to Christianity was not specifically Jewish, there was no reason to chose a new family name when they reverted to Judaism or to revive an old name. This may have been the case with the Spinoza's; we see that Michael de Spinoza's uncle and father-in-law Emanuel Rodrigues Spinoza from Nantes called himself Abraham Jeserum de Spinoza after he joined the Sephardic community in Amsterdam;6 for Michael himself there was no reason to chose a different first name; the name Michael is used among Jews and Christians alike, though it

4 The words in between ( ) were crossed out in the original, whereas the word in between [ ] does not appear in te original. 0 Cf. op. cit. Ill, 1 1, a,b. 6 Cf. op. cit. II, 2, a.

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is less frequent as a Jewish name. Attempts have been made to explain the use of aliases in

general from a desire of those involved to make the identity of the person uncertain with an eye to their trade-relations and in particular to prevent confiscation of merchandise or

capital that had remained in Spain or Portugal. This effect could only be obtained by the use of an alias that would not remind the servants and accomplices of the Inquisition of

any name they knew. We see that several of the Portuguese merchants in Holland chose a

purely Dutch alias, sometimes a translation of their foreign name. Thus we find a Jacob Moreno, alias Jacob Bruin, a Juda de Leon, alias Jochem de Leeuw and a Luis de Mercado, alias Louis van der Markt besides others who use a purely fictituous name as an alias like João Gonsalves alias Albert Wichman. This however, does not fully explain why these people kept using a name different from the one they were known by within the

Portuguese Jewish community. Perhaps we should see it only as a continuation of a habit formed in their country of origin.

When the use of aliases that continued far into the 18th century, gradually diminished, some of them were permanently added to the actual names. Thus we get family names like Cohen Paraira, Levy Montezinos, Da Silva Abenator, Jessurun d'Oliveira. Not all double

family names that are in use among the Portuguese Jews came about in this way; it is also due to the habit to continue the family name of the mother. Since a combined Portu-

guese-Dutch name is not very natural, the names of the Dutch aliases were generally not maintained. Around 1850 however, there were still purely Portuguese Jewish families

using good Dutch names like De Leeuw, Swart, Keyzer, Der Kinderen, Van den Berg, although these people were never referred to by these names in the synagogue at an

offering or other occasions. The specifically Christian first names went out of use together with the loss of aliases.

There is another particular feature concerning the names of the 17th century Portu-

guese Jews, namely that the children born from the same marriage, did not always have the same family name. Instead of the father's name, the name of the mother or one of the

grandparents was often adopted. An illustration may be provided by the six children from the marriage of Manuel Thomas (alias Aberbanel) and Grancia Nunes who were called

respectively : Thomas Fernandes de Medeiros, Maria Nunes, Luis Gomes, Pedro Homem de Medeiros, Helena Gomes and Francisco Lopes Gomes. The sister of Ester de Spinoza, who registered her intended marriage in Amsterdam on the same day as her sister, is

registered as Margrieta Fernand. In the case of Michael's third wife one might be inclined to suppose that it is not right to speak of an alias here and that we should read: Ester de

Spinoza, maiden-name De Soliz, instead of: Giomar de Soliz alias Hester d'Espinoza, if it were not for the fact that she signed the document of her intended marriage with the name Ester de Spinoza. Before her marriage a bride can hardly call herself by the name of her future husband.7

The testament referred to above, drawn up before notary Jan Volkaertsz. Oli, who was also engaged by Michael on other occasions, seems to provide conclusive evidence for the

7 Cf. op. cit. III, 1 1, a.

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theory we put forward elsewhere,8 that Portuguese was the everyday language of young Bento de Spinoza insofar as it was almost exclusively spoken in the house of his parents. It

appears that his step-mother, who married his father when he was seven years old, never learned the Dutch language. There would have been no other reason to draw up a document that would have to be used in law, in Portuguese. We can now safely assume that this was the language in which the philosopher was raised, "opgebrocht".9

The last will and testament of Giomar de Soliz contained the so-called codicilary clause which was included so that in case the testament would prove not to be valid at law, it would at least be valid as a codicil. After the adoption of Roman law as directory law, various pronouncements of the Corpus Juris were applied to testamentary dispositions. In Holland this could mean that for the validity of a testament the appointment of an heir was required; in other words: testaments containing only legacies could be pronounced invalid. Since a codicil remained valid also when it only discussed legacies, the above mentioned clause was usually included in a testament. A codicil could not contain the appointment of an heir unless this was stipulated in a reservation-clause. All this may not directly apply to the testament under discussion; the codicilary clause may have been merely included from fear that a lack of formal requirements could invalidate the testament of Giomar de Soliz. In that case it would be valid as a codicil - that did not need to meet formal requirements - or as an instrument of gift between the living (donatio inter vivos) or an instrument because of death (donatio causa mortis).

From the fact that Michael de Spinoza's wife made a will by itself, we can conclude that in case she died intestate, either property belonging to herself or part of the joint estate with her husband, would then fall to others than her husband. Which of the two possibilities would be the case depended on whether or not an ante-nuptial contract had been drawn up. According to the law of marriage-property that was in force in Holland, a marriage led to a community of property; excepting immovable family property and estate in fee. When one of the partners died, half of the joint estate fell to the heirs ab intestato. When there was a second marriage it was different insofar as that the remarried man or woman with children from a previous marriage, could not leave more to the new husband or wife than the smallest child's portion. The lex hac edictali (Cod. V, 9,6) that only concerned testaments and gifts relating to matrimony, was also applied analogically to cases in which the new husband or wife would receive more than a child's portion as a result of community of estates. In the meantime it was permitted to deviate from this common law of matrimonial property in the case of ante-nuptial conditions that could also prescribe a different form of inheritance than valid according to the law of intestate-inheritance. The question we now have to answer is this: Had an ante-nuptial contract been drawn up between Michael de Spinoza and Giomar de Soliz? There are good grounds to assume that this was the case even if we can doubt that it was done by a contract valid at law. In general a Jewish marriage would result in a community of

8 Cf. op. cit. Remarks to V, introd.; also Van der Так, Bento de Spinoza, 's-Gravenhage, Martinus Nijhoff, 1928, p. 12. 9 Ер. XIX.

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property. As a rule a kethuba or written marriage-contract was drawn up with the

stipulation that when a marriage was dissolved due to the husband's death or to divorce, the wife's own portion would remain hers, possibly augmented by a douaire or marriage- amelioration from the husband's side. The two were usually fixed at one sum. The kethuba is an old institution dating from the first century before Christ that remained in use during the whole of the Middle Ages until the emancipation of the Jewish communities in the various countries. Today a somewhat varied form of a kethuba is made up at a Jewish

marriage and the reading out of it belongs to one of the formalities of the marriage ceremony with the Sephardi and the Ashkenazi Jews, even though such a contract is of little practical importance where the Jews have adopted the laws governing private property in the various countries. In the earlier centuries a handwritten kethuba , drawn up in Hebrew, often had an elegant border design. The sum settled upon the wife varies with the times and the countries. In England in the second half of the 13th century the settled sum usually amounted to £ 100 "according to the custom of the island";10 among the

Sephardim in Amsterdam the sum was at the time fixed at 200 guilders, which sum is maintained until today. As an institution of Jewish law the kethuba was of little or no

importance in Holland. In the 17th century a civil marriage was made compulsory for the Jews and since that time they have lived according to Dutch civil law, also in other

respects. This is why the Portuguese and later also the German and Polish Jews and even the rabbis among them, often made ante-nuptial contracts and testaments according to the ordinances and customs in this country. There are, however, some cases in which by default of a valid marriage -contract, a kethuba was recognized as such, in order to give the widow a preferred claim on the husband's estate when it was encumbered by debts.11

These considerations allow us to feel confident in concluding that in relation to Giomar de Soliz's inheritance the stipulations must be taken into account of a marriage-contract, whether or not it had full legal value besides the customs regarding community of

property. Besides the Jewish custom, the circumstance that Michael had children from a

previous marriage may have led to a kethuba being made. In any case, the estate left behind by Giomar, had there not been a testament, would have fallen to her relatives

according to the law of intestate-inheritance; only when there were no relatives whatever, would her estate have fallen to her husband. In her testament Giomar appointed Michael as her universal heir. Since it is not likely that there had been children from Michael's third marriage who could not have been denied their legitimate portion - there was no mention of children in the testament - we may conclude that this third marriage remained childless. When Giomar de Soliz's testament was passed, David Israel d'Oliveira and Jahacob Barraza acted as witnesses. Both were well acquainted with Michael de Spinoza:

10 Cf. Abrahams & Roth, Jewish Life in the Middle Ages, London, 1932, p. 223. 11 Cf. Vaz Dias, Merkwaardige Documenten , De Vrijdagavond, Joodsch Weekblad Vol. 9 (Part 17), Nr. 17 (July 22, 1932), p. 269. 12 Cf. Vaz Dias & van Der Так, Spinoza Merchant & Autodidacte III, 4, с.

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together with him they belonged to the Parnassim of the educational institution Talmud Tora12 in 1635. Barraza was also one of his closest neighbours.13

A few more remarks regarding this testament. It was drawn up on October 23, 1652. The testatrix died a year later; her tombstone mentions the date October 24, 1653. 14 Bento's step-mother must have had a long sick-bed: a year before her death she was too ill to confirm her own testament. That the notary signed the instrument for her does not mean that the testatrix was illiterate since we have her own signaturd at the bottom of the registration of her intended marriage in Amsterdam.15 When we bear in mind that it is likely that Bento's father was not in good health himself - he died a few months after Giomar and was absent at the registration of the intended marriage of his daughter Miriam in June 165016 - and was in financial difficulties,17 it becomes clear that in the formative years of the later philosopher the atmosphere at home was depressed and that he will not have had a great deal of fatherly guidance.

It was not the first time that illness led to financial difficulties for Michael de Spinoza. Another notarial record that was discovered, containing a protest of non-acceptance of a bill of exchange of a considerable sum, drawn on him, mentions that illness was given as an excuse. This record, dated September 8, 1638, allows us an insight in the private lives of the philosopher's parents. On this date notary Jan Warnaerts of Amsterdam went at the request of the holder of the bill of exchange, Simon Barkman, to the house of Michael de Spinoza in order to protest in case the bill was not accepted; in these days this was usually done by a notary. Michael appeared to be ill in bed and the notary was admitted to the bedroom accompanied by two witnesses.

Michael's bed stood on one side of the room next to or opposite the bed of his wife Hanna Debora who was also ill. Michael seems not to have said much when the bill was offered but Hanna Debora called from her bed: "Because of the illness that has befallen my husband, the bill of exchange will not be accepted". Upon which the notary registered a protest. This incident is all we know of Bento's own mother beside the fact of her marriage. She died less than two months later (November 5, 1638).18

We would like next to devote our attention to Gabriel de Spinoza. As we remarked in the beginning we first heard of his existence from the deed of conveyance of a bill of exchange of 1655, in which Bento acts for his brother and partner Gabriel and signs the deed with the name of the firm of Bento y Gabriel despinoza .19 A comparison of the handwriting of this signatue and the signatue of the two earliest letters of the philosopher, established beyond doubt that it was he who acted in this transaction.20 The fact that Gabriel is mentioned in the second place may lead us to assume that he was Bento's

13 Cf. op. cit. Ill, l, b. 14 Cf. op. cit. I, A. 15 Cf. op. cit. III, 1 1, a. 16 Cf. op. cit. III, 12. 1 Cf. op. cit. V, 1 1. It appeared that Michael's estate was heavily in debt. 18 Cf. op. cit. I, A. 19 Cf. op. cit. V, 8.

Cf. facsimiles IX, XIa & Xlb in the Dutch edition of Spinoza, Mercator & Autodidactus.

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younger brother. The fact that on the membership-roll of the Ets Haim society of 1637, in which Michael de Spinoza registered himself and his two sons Ishac and Baruch,21 points in the same direction. Giomar de Soliz's testament finally shows that Gabriel cannot have been a child from Michael's third marriage and is final evidence that Bento and Gabriel were full brothers.

Bento and Gabriel traded as partners and merchants in Amsterdam. It seems to us that their partnership was a continuation of their father's business. Michael de Spinoza died on March 28, 165422 when Bento was only twenty years old and Gabriel even younger. Because of their age it is probable that before their father's death they did not trade

independently but were employed in his business - mostly overseas - trade.23 After his excommunication Bento was compelled to withdraw from this partnership. Did this mean that the firm of Bento y Gabriel de Spinoza ceased to exist and that Gabriel continued under his own name? A recently discovered document shows us that this did not happen.

This record that belongs to the volumes of notary Adriaen Lock in Amsterdam, is an instrument passed on October 31, 1664, in which the appearer, referred to as Sr. Bento Gabriel de Espinosa, declares that he is about to leave for Barbados and that he therefore

grants a full power of attorney to Moyses and David Juda Lion to look after his affairs in his absence. See the translation printed in Appendix III. There is no doubt that the

appearer was no one else than Gabriel de Spinoza who is referred to in this document by the name of his firm, with which he also signed. Bento, who was living in Voorburg in

1664, had long ago severed all relations with the Jewish community and with his Amsterdam business-affairs; he can hardly have had the intention to go to the West Indies or America. It must therefore be Gabriel who leaves Holland in 1664. Did he ever return to Amsterdam? We hope to be able to demonstrate below that he did not. We can assume on good grounds that the firm of Bento y Gabriel de Spinoza , that can be seen as a continuation of the bussiness headed by Michael de Spinoza till 1654, after having been

managed by the brothers Bento and Gabriel for two years, existed till 1664 or 1665, but that it was run by Gabriel de Spinoza as sole member of the firm from 1656 onwards. The

proxies he appoints at his departure are not referred to as partners. Before we try to follow Gabriel on his journey to the West Indies, we refer to a recently

discovered document of which we think that we can show that it also refers to Gabriel. This document belonging to the archives of the Amsterdam chamber of desolate estates,24 contains an agreement made in 1657 between the brothers Jacob and Jan Hollesloodt and their creditors. Among the creditors that ratify the agreement with their signature, there is

an Abraham Espinoza who adds after his name in Portuguese: filho de michael espinoza seo erdeiro , meaning in translation: son of Michael Espinoza and his heir. Since we never found mention of another Michael de Spinoza besides the philosopher's father, who died

21 Cf. op. cit. V, 1. 22 Cf. op. cit. I, A. 23 Cf. op. cit. Remarks to III, at the end. 24 Municipal Archives of Amsterdam (Verzameling Desolate-Boedelkamer; portefeuille ongenummerue losse stukken).

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a few years before this agreement, we are led to see in this Abraham Espinoza a son of Michael's whom we never heard of before. When we compare the handwriting of this Abraham to Gabriel's as we know it from the signature with the firm's name in the notarial record of October 31, 1664, it does not take a detailed graphological examination to be struck by the resemblance, so that there can be no doubt that the signature of Abraham below the agreement with the Hollesloodt brothers and the name of the firm below the power of attorney of 1664, were written by one and the same person. In other words: Michael de Spinoza's son Abraham also used the first name of Gabriel. While the first name was given at his circumcision, the other not specifically Jewish name, was an alias.

Knowing that the actual first name of Gabriel de Spinoza is Abraham, we are able to retrace this brother of Bento's in the West Indies a few years after his departure from Holland; in any case to demonstrate that it is likely that we found him back there.

In 1897 Herbert Frieden wald published his Material for the History of the Jews in the British West Indies ,25 containing data about the settlement and sojourn of Sephardic Jews on Barbados and Jamaica. With regards to the former island, where British predominance increased from the beginning of the 17th century and that came directly under the English Crown in 1652, the first reference to Jewish inhabitants dates from 1628. There are no further particulars, but from 1661 onwards, when Benjamin and Henry de Caseres and Jacob Fraso petition to the King for permission to live and trade on Barbados,26 the reports become more frequent. This is also the case with Jamaica where Jews were living at the time the island was taken over by the British in 1655. Besides in overseas-trade they were engaged in the cultivation of plantations and in mining. From an early date onwards trade-relations existed between Jews in the West Indies and Amsterdam. Around the middle of the 17th century these relations had become so important that the English looked for means to cripple them. Among the archival documents published by Frieden- wald there is some correspondence of the year 1667 of the British Ambassador with the States General, Sir William Temple, regarding some ships that had been fitted out for the account of Amsterdam Jews and that were destined for Barbados in violation to the Navigation Acts , that also applied to His Majesty's Plantations.21 In connection with this it is not so surprising that Abraham de Spinoza decided to leave for the West Indies in 1664. Seven years later we find a Jewish merchant of that name; not on Barbados but on Jamaica. We learn of him through a document in the Public Record Office in London, containing an authorization to supply a statement of naturalization as an English subject to the benefit of Abraham Espinosa, merchant on Jamaica but born elsewhere.28 The document reads:

June 22nd, 1671. Whitehall. Warrant to the Clerk of the Signet. To prepare a Bill to pass

25 Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, nr. 5. 26 Archives of the Public Record Office in London (Colonial Papers 1661, Vol. 15, nr. 31). 27 Public Record Office, London (Colonial Papers, Vol. 23, nr. 99 & 98; Calendar of British State Papers, Colonial, 1669-1674, nr. 3, p. 2). 28 Ibid. (Calendar of British State Papers, Colonial, 1669-1674, nr. 570, p. 234).

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a Great Seal for making Abraham Espinosa of Jamaica, merchant, an alien born, a free denizen of England; with a clause that he shall have no benefit thereof until he has taken the oaths of allegiance and supremacy before the Governor or Deputy Governor of the island.

Because of the lack of further particulars we cannot be absolutely sure of the identity of this Abraham Espinosa and Bento's brother Gabriel, but there are indications that this was the same person. There is no doubt that the Amsterdam Abraham, alias Gabriel, de

Spinoza left for the West Indies; seeing the relation between the two islands it is not

surprising that he settled in Jamaica after a sojourn on Barbados. In addition we have the close resemblance of the spelling of the family name in the English document and in the

signature below the agreement with the Hollesloodt brothers: Espinosa and Espinoza. Actually the name Abraham makes it clear that this is not a Marrano, but an Israelite from a place with a Jewish community. Considering all this it would be unlikely to assume that in one and the same period of time there would be a Spehardic merchant in the British West Indies who not only had the same name as the philosopher's brother - this by itself is not impossible - but who was also in a completely identical position. Therefore we maintain that we found the philosopher's brother Gabriel on Jamaica in 1671.

He probably did not return to Holland. Besides the fact that his naturalization points to a permanent residence in the West Indies, his name does not appear with those who made claims on the estate of Bento in 1677 - only his sister Rebecca and nephew Daniel de Casseres made such claims.29 There is also no indication that he was buried on the

Portuguese-Jewish cemetery at Ouderkerk aan de Amstel. This is why we conclude that regarding the firm of the brothers Bento y Gabriel de

Spinoza that - whereas the elder partner soon retired from business to devote his energies exclusively to the study of philosophy - the youngest brother lived out his life on Jamaica as a possibly wealthy merchant, far removed from the turmoil around his excommunicated brother.

Appendix I

[Notarial Archives of Amsterdam; registers of notary Jan Warnaerts; register nr. 679]

[September 8, 1638] Laus Deo Hamburgo a 21/31 De agosto 1638 saibao 1600 dres a 34 pi: por Da. A doze

somanas datta pagara V. M. por esta pr.ra de cambio a o sr Lopo Nunes ou sua orden j mil e seis centos daldres a trinta e quatro placas cada su pesco valor de ditto sr assentandeos

por ma. conta como avisa adio onderstont [at the bottom] Pagare v M. como se dise was ondertekent [signed] Gaspar Lopes Henriques Super scriptie a o Senhor Miguel despinoza. quell Dio guarde em Amstra. & op den rugge stondt [on the back] o comitendo

29 Cf. Spinoza Merchant & Autodidact VI.

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nesto se son contente sepagar A° sr Simao Barquman v°. do sr Hans D Amory Amstra- damo 21/31 Agosto [1]638 geteknt [signed] Lepo Nunes.

Today, the 8th of September 1638, 1 &c in the presence &c at the request of Sr. Simon Barkman, went to the house and the sick-beds of Sr. Miguel d espinoza and his wife and requested acceptance of the bill of exchange I showed there, addressed to the said Miguel despinoza and copied out above, upon which the wife of the said Miguel despinoza, who was lying ill in bed on another bed in the same room, answered, because of the illness that has befallen my husband, the bill of exchange will not be accepted. Thus it is that I, notary, nomine quo supra, registered a clear protest of default of acceptance of the said bill of exchange, re-exchange, costs, damages and interests that have been suffered and will be suffered until effective payment; to prosecute and claim everything with all that belongs to it, wherever and however will be proper. Done in Amsterdam in the presence of Egbert Symonsz: & Gilles Hendrix as witnesses.

Appendix II.

[Notarial Archives of Amsterdam; registers of notary Jan Volkaertsz. Oli; register nr. 1557]

[October 23, 1652] En nome de déos Bendito Amen, saibão quantos este publico Instrumento de Tes-

tamento viren, que no anno de mil e seis centos e sinquenta e dois, a os vinte e tres dias do mez de outubre do dito anno, as tres horas da tarde Paresceu por ante min João Vol- kaertsz. oli notario publico residente nesta cidade de Amsterdama, admetido pella Corte d'olanda, en presença das Testemunhas abaixo nomenades, Paresceu a s.ra giomar de soliz alias Hester ďEspinoza molher do s.r Michael d'Espinoza moradora nesta dita cidade a quem eu notario dou fee que conheso, estando ela doente de corpo na cama, porem con seu juizio, falla, e entendimento como parescia, a qual considerando a fraquesa da vida humana, e que não ha couza mais certa que a morte e menos jncerta que a hora dela, quis prevenila con sua disposisão de Testamento, e assim disse que na milhor e mais bastante forma, de sua livre e spontania vontade, sin jnducção nem persuasão algua, fazia como faz por esta seu Testamento e disposição na maneira sig.te Primeram.te encomendou sua alma na jnmensa bondade e mis[er]icordia de deos poderoso que a criou e seu corpo para que seja sepultado honradam.te Annullando e revogando todos e quais quer Testamentos e outros disposisois de ultima vontade que antes disto pudessa auer feito ou otorgado, E dispondo de novo, Declarou que jnstituja e nomeaua como jnstitua e nomea, en todos seus beins moveis e de raizes de todos ode mais que ela por sua morte deixar minhua couza reseruada, por seur herdeiro universal: o dito s.r Michael despinoza seu marido, para que elle tudo aya e goze de todo para sempre como con fazerda sua propria, sin contradição de ningen, e con isto disse que auia feito seu Testamento, querendo que despois de sua morte seja valido e tenha vigor e força, como Testmento, ou como codicilho, doação entre viuos ou cauza mortis, ou como de dereito mais valiozo for, não obstante que todos os

188



solennidades de dereito ou coustume requeridos nella não fossen obseruados, Pidindo a min notário seu jnstrumento en forma, que assim passo e sen fraude, nesta dita cidade de Amsterdama en caza de dita Testadora, en presença do s.r licenciado Dauid Israel dolivera e Jahacob Barraza, Test.as p.a jsso requeridas, e rogadas, os quiais tanben (dita Testadora e con min notario) firmarão na nota que fiqua en meu poder.

a Testadora por fraquesa não podio firmar epidu que nos

Dauid Jsr d'01iu.ra firmássemos por ela. Jahacob Barraza. En Test0, de verdade

J: Volk: Oli nots pubi.

Appendix III [Notarial Archives of Amsterdam; records of notary Adraen Lock; record nr. 2217]

31 October 1664

Today, the xxxj of October anno 1664, appeared before me, Adriaen Lock, notary &c in the presence of the witnesses mentioned hereafter, Sr Bento Gabriel de Espinosa, Portu-

guese, living within this city, who is about to leave to go to Barbados and had constituted and authorized as he constitutes and authorizes herewith, Ses Moijes & David juda lion, also living here, both together and each seperately, in particular to take care, in his, the

appearer's name during his, the appearer's absence, of all the appearer's matters and affairs and to represent him properly, also to onload and receive all goods and merchandise and letters and bills of exchange* consigned to him, the appearer, to sell the goods and merchandise at a profit and to trade with either cash money or day-to-day money to such person or persons as the said proxies will deem right and just, also have bills of

exchange accepted and to procure payment for them when the date is due and by default of acceptance or payment, to register protest, idem to collect all money due to the

appearer, to give out receipts and (in case of need) to stand surety and in case of refusal of

payment or in case of disputes, to be allowed to appear before all Lords, Courts, Justices and judges as will be necessary and to institute proceedings against whomsoever and to have justice done, whether as claimant or as defendant in omnibus ad lites cum potestate substituendi unum vel plures in communi forma, also to execute according to their form all pronouncements, verdicts and sentences or have them to their form all pronouncements, verdicts and sentences or have them executed, and further in law and outside law to do and leave everything that he, the appearer, would or could so, promising & с &c. All done in good faith in Amsterdam in the presence of Jacobus Snel & dirck van der Groe, witnesses requested hereto.

Bento у Gabriel Eespinoza. J Snel D v Groe

Quod attestor rogatus * From Portugal & other places. A: Lock Nots Pubi.

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SPINOZA'S PAYMENTS TO THE PORTUGUESE- ISRAELITIC COMMUNITY; AND THE LANGUAGE IN

WHICH HE WAS RAISED

BY W. G. VAN DER ТАК*

A. M. Vaz Dias brought to light several particulars concerning Spinoza and his circle and very kindly put them at our disposal.

In the first place we pay attention to a number of entries in the Journal of the Gabay of the K(ahal) K(adosh) Talmud Tora , that is the register of the treasurer of the Holy Community Talmud Thora that belongs to the archives of the Portuguese-Israelitic Community in Amsterdam. All entries concern promesas , fintas or impostas of Baruch de Spinoza and his brother Abraham, alias Gabriel de Spinoza. Promesas are offerings that were usually pledged in the synagogue where there were no collections except on a few fasting-days. Finta refers to the usual contribution to the community for which members were taxed according to their wealth. Imposta also used to be a tax to the benefit of the community that was calculated according to the sum of the merchandise that had been traded. One should bear in mind that almost all members of the Portuguese Jewish nation were involved in trading. Every month of Tishri and Nisan, the first and the seventh month of the Jewish year that begins in September or October, it was computed what every member was due to pay in promesas, fìnta and imposta ; a copy of this computation was sent to the members' homes. The members would then pay the sum at the office of the community. Such a way of payment has remained customary until today, also after the imposta had been given up.

Let us take a look at the entries in the Journal of the Gabay printed below.

Promesas Finta Imposta

5415 Tisri (1654-1655) Baruch ďEspinosa J11.8st f 5- f 16.10st

Nisan Baruch ďEspinosa f 43.2st f 5.- f 6 .-

5416 Tisri (1655-1656) Baruch ďEspinosa f 4.14st f 5.- -

Nisan Baruch ďEspinosa f 0.1 2st - -

* From: 38ste Jaarverslag, 1934-35 , (van de Vereniging) Het Spinozahuis , (Leiden 1935), p. 27-35. This report also mentions archival documents about Semuel and Daniel de Casseres, about loans on bottomry conditions taken out by Bento's father and about his sister Rebecca; these records lead to corrections on Colerus's information regarding Bento's inheritance, cf. also Spinoza, Merchant & Autodidacte V, 9.

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Promesas Finta Imposta

5417 Tisri (1656-1657) Abraham ď Espinosa f 0.1 8st - -

5418 (1657-1658)

5419 Tisri (1658-1659) Abraham ď Espinosa f 0.16st - -

Nisan Abraham ď Espinosa f 0. 18st - -

5420 Tisri (1659-1660) Abraham d'Espinosa J 0.12st - -

Nisan Abraham d'Espinosa f 1.1 0st - -

5421 Tisri (1660-1661) Abraham d'Espinosa f 0.12st - -

Nisan Abraham d'Espinosa f 2.8st - -

5422 Tisri (1661-1662) Abraham d'Espinosa f 3.- - -

Nisan Abraham d'Espinosa f 0.6st - -

5423 Tisri (1662-1663) Abraham d'Espinosa f 2- - -


5424 Tisri (1663-1664) Abraham d'Espinosa f 0.1 8st - -


5425 Tisri (1664-1665) Abraham d'Espinosa f 0.12st - -

Baruch de Spinoza appears for the first time in the journal of Tishri 5414; there is no earlier entry in his name. Apparently he succeeded his father Michael on 10 Nisan 5414 ( = March 28, 1654) as Jahid, that is as paying member of the community. After the entry in Nisan 5416 Baruch's name does not appear in the journal again; this can be explained from the fact that four months later, on 6 Av 5416 (= July 27, 1656) he was excommunicated.

There are a few remarks to be made regarding the sums of the promesas , fintas and

impostas. The high sum of the offerings that were due in Tishri and Nisan of 5415 is

undoubtedly due to Michael's year of mourning or rather to the eleven months during which the codex obliges the son to say the Kaddish-prayer for the peace of his deceased father's soul in the presence of at least ten male Jews. As a matter of course this duty can

only be fulfilled by regular visits to the synagogue. During the period of mourning Baruch

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must have been a regular visitor to the synagogue. After this period he also seems to have attended quite regularly from Nisan 5415 till Tishri 5416 according to the promesas of

f 4.70 he was due to pay; considering the small sum of 12 stivers that is registered in Nisan 5416 it was only in September or October 1655 that Baruch's visits to the synagogue gradually became less frequent.

The absence of items for contribution due to the community after Tishri 5416 can only be explained as a result of decline in prosperity. The fact that no imposta was due in 5416, that had been minimized considerably in the preceding year, also points to this. These facts lead to a confirmation of the various conclusions drawn in Spinoza Mercator & Autodidactus , namely: 1. that Bento de Spinoza was active in trading; he pays imposta. 2. that the estate left by his father was quite small, for two years after his father's death he

is no longer taxed for fìnta. 3. that even if during the final months preceding his banishment his visits to the syna-

gogue became less frequent, there is no question of his being estranged from his fellow Jews; but that on the contrary the ban must have come quite unexpectedly.

It also proves that the theory that used to be popular in the previous years, that because of his excommunication Baruch's name would have been erased carefully from all records of the Portuguese community, is mere imagination. His name was crossed out from a membership-roll of the Ets Haim society but this was also the case with other people whose membership was terminated for some reason.

We now mention the last time that Baruch de Spinoza's name was entered in the journal of the Gabay of the K.K. Talmud Thora. It concerns a nedabah , that is a general offering for some specific purpose, here for the poor in Brazil on the 2nd of Tishri of the year 5415 (1654). Among the names of the people promising to contribute to this nedabah we find the name of Baruch d'Espinosa for a sum of f 5-. After the repatriation of (the Dutch governor) Johan Maurits van Nassau in 1644, the Portuguese became so active in Pernambuco (Recife) that some ten years later they had conquered the entire colony. In 1654 the capital Recife fell into Portuguese hands; the Dutch and the Jews - there were 5000 Jews in the city - were allowed to leave unhindered. In the meantime the Jewish colonists had lost what prosperity and safety they had; most of them spread out over other parts of America and most of those that had come from Amsterdam returned there; among them were the rabbis Isaac Aboab da Fonseca and Moses Raphael de Aguilar. This makes it understandable that the Portuguese Jews in Amsterdam collected money to support their brothers in need in Brazil.

Whereas Spinoza uses the first name of Bento in his social life, as appears from various official records, he is called Baruch in the Journal of the Gabay as well as in another register of an institution of the Jewish community and in the formulary of the ban. His brother Gabriel is always referred to in this register as Abraham de Spinoza. Besides the fact that his alias was Gabriel, we know of this Abraham that after the death of their father Michael de Spinoza, he and Bento, who was probably the elder of the two, did business as merchants and that he continued the business after 1655 under the same name until October 1664 when he granted a power of attorney to Moses and David Juda Lion because

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of his immanent departure for Barbados. The notes of the Gabay fully agree with these facts. After Baruch's excommunication the promesas are registered in Abraham's name and - with the exception of the year 5418 in which year he may have been abroad on business - this continued till Tishri 5425, that is October 1664 when he left for the West Indies. Abraham did not become a Jahid , his business cannot have been very large since he was not assessed for imposta.

In the archives of the Portuguese-Israelitic Community of Amsterdam (Ets Haim

Library) reposes a manuscript entitled Livro e nota deydades by Isack ben Matatia Aboab, containing genealogical data about a number of Portuguese families; among these there is a list of the descendants of a Diego Vaz, alias Aboab, who lived in the beginning of the 16 th

century. A great-grandchild of his, Maria Nunes, alias Garces, is mentioned with the information that she was the mother of Jacob and Josua Senior and of the wife of Michael

Espinoza. We know that the latter married three times; Rachel, Hanna Debora and Ester

d'Espinoza, the second of whom was the philosopher's mother. In the study on the Firm of Bento y Gabriel de Spinoza it was demonstrated that the surname of the third wife was De

Solis; she was Ester, alias Giomar de Solis. We now have to answer the question whether Senior was Rachel's or Hanna Debora's surname. If we consider that it was a wide-spread Jewish custom to give the children the name of their grandparents and if we notice that Josua Senior, one of Maria Nunes's, alias Garces's sons had a son called Baruch and that her other son Jacob Senior had a daughter called Meriam - the Jewish form of Mary -

and if we read in the Livro de Bet Haim (Book of the Cemetery) that on March 13, 1619 a Baruch Senior, alias Henrique Graces ( = Garces) died, we must come to the conclusion that this was the husband of Maria Nunes, whose alias Garces was actually her husband's surname. An alias added to the name of a married woman often appears to be her husband's surname. We know the names of the grandchildren of Maria Nunes from the

register of intended marriages of the city of Amsterdam (D.T.B. 686, folio 29), in which there is a record of the intended marriage on February 22, 1664 of Baruch Senior, born in

Hamburg, 26 years old, assisted by his father Josua Senior and Mariam Senior, born in

Pernambuco, 13 years old, assisted by her father Jacob Senior. The alias of Jacob Senior was Raphael Jacomo Henriques, that is: son of Henrique and the alias of Josua Senior was Gabriel Henriques. Let us consider the names of the children of Michael de Spinoza. We know the names of five of them: Isaac, Meriam, Baruch, Rebecca and Abraham, alias Gabriel. From the dates of their births we can conclude that Meriam and Baruch were Hanna Debora's children. This gives us sufficient information. Since these two have the same first names as Maria Senior and Baruch Senior it seems to us that there can be little doubt that Hanna Debora was the latter's daughter and that her surname was therefore Senior.

There is another matter of controverse that may be cleared up by some archival records that were discovered. When in a letter to Willem van Blijenbergh (Ep. XX) Spinoza says that he finds it hard to express himself properly in Dutch and that he wished that he could write in the language in which he was raised ("opgebrocht"), it it has always seemed to us that the philosopher was referring to Portuguese, his mother-tongue and certainly not to Latin as is assumed by Sigmund Seeligmann, who, by the way, concluded from the style of

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Spinoza's letters that he was raised in the Dutch fashion (Maandblad Amstelodamum 1933, nr. 2). Seeligmann points out that almost all notarial records that were passed by Bento de Spinoza and his father Michael were drawn up in Dutch. We later heard of the testament of Michael's third wife, who became Bento's step-mother when he was six years old. This document was drawn up in Portuguese which points to her not being able to speak the Dutch language, which gives us a strong indication that the language spoken at the philosopher's home was Portuguese.

The following notices that appear one after the other in the registers of notary Sebastian van der Piet (Notarial Archives of Amsterdam 1029) seem to give sufficient proof that Michael de Spinoza was not sufficiently able to understand spoken Dutch, so that this cannot have been the language spoken within the family.

Today, the 16th of August 1652 I, the undersigned notary, acting in the name of Claas and Jan Gerritsz Muyen, owners of the skip of skipper Jacob Claas Kruywagen, went to Michael Spinose, Portuguese merchant and read out to him the following. Since, contrary to the freight-contract, you had your agents in Rouen and Le Havre in France treat the said skipper badly and had them detain him by force with actions and pretensions that had become invalid and also refused to pay the freight-price stipulated, a protest is made concerning all this and against what else you might do to the skipper's detriment; this with the request that you will make reparations where necessary, with the costs, damages and interests.

When the notified party had heard this and his daughter had translated it, he answered that he did not cause the skipper's arrest and that he would pay according to the letter.

Done in his house in the presence of Lucas Sinck, my clerk, as witness, dito namely: the 16th of August 1652.

Sebastian v.d. Piet nots pubi.

Lucas Sinck

Today, the 8th of October 1652, 1, the aforesaid notary, acting for the aforesaid people, went to Michael Spinose and read out to him the following, namely: that the shipowners adhere to the protest of August 16 and therefore renew it and notify you that since you or your agent detained skipper Kruywagen from time to time in Rouen and used all possible means to delay the payment agreed upon in the freight-contract, which resulted into considerable damages for the skipper and the owners, also becausç the ship itself was detained, so that this whole journey caused a loss of freight of 2500 or 3000 guilders, which sums were made by other skippers, and since you still fail to arrange any payment (according to a letter of September 27) and to expedite the ship, they protest once more and will recover from you and others where necessary, because of your intentional delay and repairs of the ship, all backward payments, costs, freights and other damages that have been and will be suffered.

The said Spinose had his servant or domestic read this out to him and translate it and

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requested a copy of this and of the preceding notice. Done at his house in the presence of Lucas Sinck, my clerk, as witness, dito, namely: the 8th of October 1652.

Sebastian v.d. Piet nots pubi.

Lucas Sinck Thus we learn that Michael de Spinoza had to have two notices that were served on him,

translated by his daughter - was this Rebecca? Meriam was already married - and by his servant. Perhaps the children who were born in Holland, were more familiar with Dutch than their father. This seems to be the case; it is also possible that Michael could not understand the protests of notary Van der Piet which are worded somewhat obscurely.

The notary may also have repeated the notices in Portuguese, which happened frequently in such cases with Portuguese merchants; the translation was then, however, usually registered in the record. From none of the other numerous notarial records in which Michael de Spinoza was involved it appears that he did not understand the Dutch in which they were written. All considering it seems to us likely that after he settled in Amsterdam, Michael learned enough Dutch to be able to understand it, but that the

language spoken within the family remained Portuguese. Both he and his wife Ester were born in Portugal; the steady arrival of Marranos from that country must have stimulated the use of Portuguese within their circle; at the Talmud Tora school they did not yet teach in Dutch; besides the Hebrew and in a few cases the Spanish or Portuguese that was used in religious ceremonies, Portuguese was the language that was used in announcements in the synagogue and in all written documents of the community. There seems to be ample evidence that the philosopher was raised in an environment in which Portuguese was the main language.

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Documents

SPINOZA MERCHANT & AUTODIDACT CHARTERS AND OTHER AUTHENTIC DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE PHILOSOPHER'S YOUTH AND HIS RELATIONS