Beth Haim of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel
{{Short description|Historic Jewish cemetery in North Holland, Netherlands}}
{{Infobox cemetery
| name = Beth Haim
| native_name = בית חיים
| native_name_lang = Hebrew
| image = Graftekens op begraafplaats - Ouderkerk aan de Amstel - 20409546 - RCE.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Grave markers in the cemetery's southwestern corner, facing Ouderkerk's historic drawbridge over the Bullewijk branch of the Amstel, 2005
| established = {{Start date and age|1614}}
| abandoned =
| location = Ouderkerk aan de Amstel
| country = Netherlands
| coordinates = {{Coord|52|17|43|N|4|54|15|E|display=inline,title}}
| type = Jewish
| style =
| owner =
| size = {{convert|4|ha}}
| graves =
| interments = 28,000+
| website = {{url|https://www.bethhaim.nl/}}
| embedded = {{Infobox historic site
| embed = yes
| designation1 = Rijksmonument
| designation1_date = 15 December 1970
| designation1_number = {{url|https://monumentenregister.cultureelerfgoed.nl/monumenten/31967|31967}}
}}
}}
The Beth Haim of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel{{efn|Beth Haim, meaning House of Life {{cite web|url=https://www.bethhaim.nl/over-beth-haim/|website=www.bethhaim.nl|title=Over Beth Haim|date=|publisher=Beth Haim|access-date=11 April 2025|language=nl|archive-url=|archive-date=}} in translation, is a transliteration of the Hebrew words: בית חיים (Hebrew is read leftwardly: from right to left)}} is the oldest Jewish cemetery in the Netherlands.L. Alvarez Vega, The Beth Haim of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, 1994
History
The land was purchased for use as a burying ground by the Jewish community of Amsterdam in 1614 and is located in the village of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, in the countryside near Amsterdam.[http://www.dutchjewry.org/pic/pic.htm Beth Haim at Ouderkerk] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516234635/http://www.dutchjewry.org/pic/pic.htm |date=May 16, 2008 }}
The Jewish population of Amsterdam are sephardic from the Iberian Peninsula who arrived in Holland during the 17th century. Steven M. Nadler, Rembrandt's Jews, University of Chicago Press, {{ISBN|0226567362}}, p.187-190 ([https://books.google.ie/books?id=GvsPJcOiZF0C&dq link on line])
Facilities
=Monuments=
In addition to its age, the graveyard is interesting because the tombstones have inscriptions in three languages, Portuguese, Dutch and Hebrew, and because, unusually for a Jewish cemetery, many of the tombstones are carved with elaborate scenes including human figures.
=Visitation=
The cemetery is open to visitors and is free of charge.
Notable burials
Famous people buried at the Beth Haim include:
- Samuel Pallache (ca. 1550–1616), Moroccan diplomat
{{cite book
| title = A Man of Three Worlds: Samuel Pallache, a Moroccan Jew in Catholic and Protestant Europe
| first1 = Mercedes
| last1 = García-Arenal
| first2 = Gerard
| last2 = Wiegers
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Zmeeyor2VdkC
| publisher = Johns Hopkins University Press
| date = 2007
| isbn = 978-0-8018-9583-8
| place = Baltimore}}{{cite web
| title = Palache, Samuel
| publisher = Dutch Jewry
| url = http://www.dutchjewry.org/phpr/amsterdam/port_isr_gem_burials/amsterdam_port_isr_gem_burials_view.php?editid1=19256
| date =
| accessdate = 30 August 2016
| place = Amstel
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160915050339/http://www.dutchjewry.org/phpr/amsterdam/port_isr_gem_burials/amsterdam_port_isr_gem_burials_view.php?editid1=19256
| archive-date = 15 September 2016
| url-status = dead
}}
- Joseph Pallache (c. 1580 – 1638/1648/1657) merchant and diplomat
- numerous members of the Pallache family (subsequently known as: "Palache") descendants of brothers Samuel and Joseph Pallache
- Menasseh Ben Israel (1604–1657), rabbi and friend of the artist Rembrandt van Rijn
- Joseph Pardo (ca. 1561–1619), Italian rabbi{{cite web|url=http://www.tzorafolk.com/genealogy/history/pardo.htm#joseph1|title=Haham Joseph PARDO|year=1999|accessdate=1 Oct 2015}}
- David Pardo (ca. 1591–1657), Dutch rabbi and son of Joseph Pardo{{cite web|url=http://www.tzorafolk.com/genealogy/history/pardo.htm#david2-joseph1|title=Rabbi/Haham David 'Joseph' PARDO|year=1999|accessdate=26 June 2014}}
- Eliahu Montalto (1604–1657), personal physician to Maria de Medici (of the Medici family)
- Joseph Pardo (ca. 1624–1677), English hazzan {{cite web|url=http://www.tzorafolk.com/genealogy/history/pardo.htm#joseph3-david2|title=Hazan Joseph 'David' PARDO|year=1999|accessdate=1 Oct 2015}}
- the philosopher Baruch Spinoza's parents (16th–17th centuries)
- Maup Caransa (1916-2009), real estate developer
In culture
File:Jacob Isaackszoon van Ruisdael - The Jewish Cemetery (1654 or 1655).jpg, one of the paintings by Jacob van Ruisdael]]
{{Further|The Jewish Cemetery}}
Two paintings by Jacob van Ruisdael were inspired by Beth Haim. Although the paintings are usually called in English "The Jewish Cemetery at Ouderkerk", the artist felt free to add picturesque elements, and they therefore do not closely resemble the actual location.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
Notes
{{notelist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Beth Haim}}
- [http://www.bethhaim.nl/ Official website]
- [http://www.dutchjewry.org/phpr/amsterdam/port_isr_gem_burials/amsterdam_port_isr_gem_burials_list.php Burial lookup] for the Gemeente Amsterdam Portuguese Israelite Congregation burials database
{{Authority control}}
Category:Jewish cemeteries in the Netherlands
Category:Cemeteries in the Netherlands