Song of praise, which the holy congregation of Ashkenazim sung … here in the Hague, the capital city, upon the day that our master, the prince Wilhelm V, commander of the armies at sea and on land returned with his wife ….
May we merit in our lifetime to pray for them in Your Temple, and to relate all the good they have bestowed upon us in Zion and the cities of Judah. Amen.
Specifications: [4] pages, paper. 17×22 cm.
Unique Features: Rare. Historical document which reflects the Jewish patriotic fervor in the Republic of the Netherlands. Several signatures in the margins of the page of the prayer.
Background: Wilhelm V, Prince of Orange (1748-1806), was orphaned from his father in 1751 and became ruler in 1766. In 1767 he was married to Wilhelmina of Prussia in Berlin, Princess of Orange, daughter of the Prince of Prussia and the Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel, and they had four children. Due to a revolution in 1795 Wilhelm and his family fled to Britain, where he died.
Naftali Hertz Weisel (1725-1805), one of the first members of the Enlightenment, a linguist, author and poet. Born in Hamburg and grew up in Copenhagen, he studied Talmud and Poskim in yeshivas, and later studied Hebrew grammar and took an interest in mathematics and science, history and foreign languages. He began to deal in trade and banking, and worked in a bank in Amsterdam. In 1769 he left Amsterdam and returned to Copenhagen.
Condition: Fine. Minimal stains, fold marks, cuts and tears at the edges of the paper without damage to text.