Bookplate of To'elet

Bookplate of To'elet

Toʻelet (Organization : Amsterdam, Netherlands)

This is the bookplate of To'elet (Tongeleth in the Dutch Jewish pronunciation), a Hebrew literary society founded in Amsterdam in 1815 by Samuel Mulder and Mozes Loonstein. The society was created as part of the Dutch Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment) movement and published periodicals of Hebrew poetry, prose, and lectures written by its members.

In 1814, a handful of maskilim (Jewish intellectuals associated with the Haskalah) began to meet on Shabbat afternoons to study Hebrew and Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible) together. A year later To'elet was formally established. Eventually the society grew to around 50 members at its peak and met on Thursday and Sunday evenings in addition to Shabbat afternoons.

To'elet was influenced by the German Haskalah periodical ha-Me'asef, and often read excerpts at its meetings. However, To'elet members were notably more conservative and traditional than their German counterparts, who advocated for religious reforms. Members of To'elet concentrated heavily on the study and revival of the Hebrew language and did not address social concerns such as Jewish emancipation.

It is believed the society dissolved sometime after 1825. The society issued a number of publications, including Bikure To'elet (1820), Toʻelet = Reglementen van het Hebreeuwsch-Letter-oefenend Genootschap ter spreuke voerende (1823), and Peri To'elet Helek 1 (1825). The latter two appear in the Brisman Collection.

To'elet's bookplate appears in two versions: one for books that were purchased by the society and one for books donated to the society. The bookplates entitled "מנחת שי" (meaning "gift offering") were used for books donated to the society, and include a "from" field for the donor's name. The bookplate entitled "קנין כסף" (meaning "monetary purchase") were used for books bought by the society. Both types include fields for the date of acquisition and the bookkeeper's signature. The society's bookstamp also appears in the Brisman collection.

Toʻelet (Organization : Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Jerusalem: Hotsaʼat sefarim ʻa. sh. Y.L. Magnes, ha-Universiṭah ha-ʻIvrit, 2013. Print.

Pelli, Moshe. Mi-kitve ha-ʻitim: ʻitonut ha-haśkalah me-1820 ʻad 1845 : mafteḥot muʻarim le-khitve-ha-ʻet ha-ʻIvriyim shel ha-Haśkalah be-Holand, Galitsyah, Germanyah ṿe-Liṭa, 580-606.

The Dutch Intersection: The Jews and the Netherlands in Modern History. Kaplan, Yosef, ed. Leiden: Brill, 2008. 307.

Jewish Encyclopedia

Jewish Virtual Library

LiveAuctioneers

Universiteit van Amsterdam website

Digital Image: Washington University in Saint Louis

Paper

Hebrew

Bookplate

bri_bkp_konstitutsyonderhumanitatsgezellshaft_toelet_0838.jpg
bri_bkp_shevileemunah_toelet_0331.jpg
bri_bkp_damesekeliezer_toelet_0495.jpg

cat:Brisman-2014-07-21T13_09_56