Mulder, Samuel (Ed.). Bikurei To'eleth. pp. (8), 152. * AND: Peri To'eleth. pp.(8), 160.

(AMSTERDAM).

J. Van Embden

Amsterdam

1820 and 1825

Together, two volumes (all published). Crisp, clean copies. Bottom p. 6 of preliminary pages of each volume, Hebrew signature of Alexander Tal and Itzik Levi Miller, First Secretaries of the Society.

Vinograd, Amsterdam 2474 and 2523

To'eleth (or in the Dutch Jewish pronunciation: "Tongeleth") was a Dutch literary society of religious Jews, who as members of the Haskalah or Enlightenment movement, advocated revival of the Hebrew tongue as a literary vehicle. These two volumes contain literary contributions by several members of the short-lived movement. Tongeleth was founded in 1816 by Dr. Samuel Israel Mulder (1792-1862), a central figure in Dutch Jewish civic affairs and a most prolific writer. Of especial note is Mulder's Hebrew romance, Beruryah (see Peri To'eleth, pp. 53-94). Lachower in his history of modern Hebrew literature, notes that Beruryah "far stands out among other poems and poetic creations of the time." A glaring difference between the Dutch Haskalah and the German Haskalah movements is that the Dutch were conservative by nature and there was no demand for religious reforms - in contrast to the German Haskalah's rather extreme course. See M.H. Gans, Memorbook, pp. 350; F.P. Hiegentlich, "Reflections on the Relationship between the Dutch Haskalah and the German Haskalah," in: Michman and Levie (Eds.) Dutch Jewish History (1984) pp. 207-18.