During February a “Sabbath Week” was arranged here, in which Dutch Jews of every walk of life participated. This “Week”, as a new form of religious propaganda, deserves a great deal of attention. The management of affairs was in the hands of the Dutch Union “Sjemiras Sjabbos” which joined the World Sabbath Observance League on its foundation.
All larger Jewish communities of the country were involved in the movement. Meetings and demonstrations were held in Hague, Rotterdam, Arnheim, Zwolle, Haarlem, Leeuwarden, Hilversum and above all in Amsterdam, in which Rabbis and laymen, old and young, equally distinguished themselves. On the occasion of the Sabbath Week, the Dutch newspapers issued special Sabbath numbers with supplements by prominent personages of Dutch Judaism, amongst others by the Chief Rabbis A. S. Onderwijzer, Amsterdam; S. J. S. Hirsch, Zwolle; S. Dasberg, Groningen; I. Vredenburg, Arnheim; by the Rabbis Dr. B. I. Ricardo and L. H. Saarlouis, Amsterdam; and by leading men in economic life.
The Sabbath exhibition, arranged by the “Vereeniging Sjemiras Sjabbos in the Netherlands,” in co-operation with the Jewish Historical Museum and other authorities in the rooms of “Bejs Isroel”, proved to be of special interest. The exhibition showed an assortment of writings and objects of art of all kinds having connection with the celebration of the Sabbath: Sabbathlamps, Kiddush chalices, old prayer-books and ancient objects of ritual of various kinds, as well as pictures with artistically portrayed Sabbath scenes. Great attention was also paid to the work of school-children, which were shown in a special section and which gave eloquent evidence of the high importance attached by Jewish schools to the securing and spreading of the Sabbath idea in Jewish young peoples’ circles.
There were also other objects of interest displayed, modern mechanical appliances for Sabbath observance, from the Sabbath stove to an automatic electric light switch. In addition there was a great number of pamphlets and documents from the calendar reform and Sunday observance conflict, as well as posters and appeals for Sabbath observance, coming for the most part from the archives of the World League “Shomre Schabbos”.
The exhibition was opened on January 25th by Chief Rabbi Onderwijzer. In his address Mr. E. Asscher, the chairman of the “Vereeniging Shemiras Shabbos in Ncderland”, gave an appreciation of the activity of the World Sabbath Observance League, which for years has worked harmoniously in cooperation with the union. The exhibition was attended by many hundreds of Jewish school children and by thousands of adults, amongst which were also non-Jewish people who took this unique opportunity of increasing their knowledge of Jewish religious life.
On the occasion of the Sabbath Week, the drama “Sambatjon”, by the Dutch Rabbi Dr. M. de Hond was performed in the Dutch Schouwburg. The play, the plot of which dealt largely with Amsterdam ghetto life, with particular reference to the Sabbath, was a great success. It was an amateur per-
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
