July 27, 2019. On this day, 363 years ago, Baruch Spinoza was kicked out of the Portuguese Sephardic community in Amsterdam. We know the words that were uttered as he was drummed out of the insular society, but there is so much more that we don’t know about that event.
Author: bawieland
Of rabbis and rivals, pt. 2: Saul Levi Morteira
When I imagine how Rabbi Saul Levi Morteira, the first intellectual powerhouse in Amsterdam’s Portuguese Sephardic community, must have felt about himself and his job, I imagine he compared himself to Moses.
What would Spinoza do?
I’d say I’m sorry for interrupting my normal history and writing and vampire posts with something so modern, but really, I’m not. Because this matters. A lot. And it’s what Spinoza would want, anyway.
Juda – a (mostly) kosher vampire story
Simply the fact that the world has yet to hear of an Israeli vampire would make Juda a fresh and different take on one of my favorite genres. But the series takes it a step further by shunning many of the tropes that plague vampire fiction (even though I love some of them).
Of rabbis and rivals, part 1
The new Portuguese community quickly worked to set up Jewish institutions in their new home.. But these also required rabbis — men of advanced religious training — in order for the community to truly function.
The Night Watch, and other lies my grandfather told me
At long last, Rembrandt’s “Night Watch” is due for a bath and a little TLC. Perhaps soon, it will be a little easier to see the details Rembrandt committed to immortality.
What once was lost now is … found?
According to a recent story in the Daily Beast, the true story of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum art heist may be ready to unravel.
Learn to love criticism
Learn to love criticism. The natural inclination can be to avoid it all costs, but that’s like avoiding going to the dentist: feels good now, but you set yourself up for decay down the road.
Happy birthday, Asscher!
It’s Asscher’s 165th birthday this year, and I can think of no better way to celebrate than for someone to give me a gift. Please?
Vampire politics: Vote for Vlad 2020
If you’ve spent any time at all reading about vampires, watching vampire films or even doing vampire role play, then you know that the three most synonymous things to vampires are blood, sex and … politics.
Amsterdamned 