About

Amsterdam has a long standing tradition of rabbinical students writing Responsa, starting in the early 18th century. One responsa was published monthly, for about 80 years until the beginning of the 19th century. This collection is well known as the Pri Ets Haim (PEH) collection. Posted are several introductory works describing the context and collection. 

This practice was halted when the Dutch government led an initiative in the early 19th century to better integrate Jews into the overall society. Among its demands was a formal set of rules and procedures for ordaining rabbis. A formal Rabbinical College of Examiners was established, its members government appointed. At the most senior rabbinical level, that of Moré, students were expected to write a number of Responsa, and defend their findings in front of the Examiners. The style of the responsa is reminiscent of the PEH, and the collection of these 19th and 20th century Responsa have been designated as the New Pri Ets Haim or Pri Ets Haim Ha'hadash (PEHH). Posted in this collection is a Studia Rosenthaliana paper on this collection, as well as the Responsa for most of the Rabbis ordained at the level of More over this period.

Good Entry Points

• For all readers interested in learning more about these collections, a good entry is to first select the Pri Ets Haim (PEH) Featured Collection. Max Menko Hirsch's introduction, translated from German, covers the PEH collection specifically. The 300th Memorial article provides the community context, translated from Dutch. To skip to more modern times select the Pri Ets Haim Ha'hadash (PEHH) Featured Collection. The Studia article is the only current material about this collection. 
  
  
• For those conversant in rabbinical Hebrew, and who wish to delve directly into the Responsa, the best entry points are the Collection Tree and the Browse Tags menu options. They cover both the earlier PEH and the later PEHH collections. For PEH responsa up to PEH776, one may wish to follow the Dicta link, for an easier reading experience and access to other digital tools. The Search option is for more advanced users, and allows the reader to access related responsa as identified by Menko Hirsch. 
  
  
• For those not conversant in rabbinical Hebrew, who wish to access the responsa, may do so by following the Dicta links, and selecting the ENGLISH heading to see the contents of the PEH responsa up to PEH776. The English translations are AI generated without review to date. Beyond the English summaries of the PEHH questions, no English translations of the Responsa are accessible to date.