A slim interesting volume I obtained this week sheds light on the condition of Dutch Jewry during the eventful 1830s when the Dutch were in the midst of a prolonged war against several of its southern provinces that seceded to form a new country called Belgium.
Titled Tefillah Le’el Elyon, and authored by Isaac Mendes De Solla, this lengthy original prayer “on behalf of the peace of our Kingdom, to defend it and save it from all foreign attack” was printed in 1832 in Dutch and Hebrew. It was produced for a special prayer service convened at the Spanish & Portuguese synagogue in Amsterdam on December 2 to pray for the success of the Dutch Kingdom in its war against the Belgians.
The prayer describes conditions in the Netherlands at the time. Families were torn apart by the conscription of young men, the economy was deteriorating, no work was to be found, and the tumultuous situation prevented people from learning Torah and performing mitzvot.
The prayer beseeches G-d to change the ways of the revolting people and have them subject themselves to the rule of the Dutch king, but in the event that they did not, the prayer requests that G-d grant the Dutch a military victory over their “worthless” enemies.
