Amsterdam - Amsterdam Bruges and Brussels - page 65

2A, tel. [phone], www.dehortus.nl). The inviting Orangery
Café serves tapas.
s Jewish Historical Museum (Joods Historisch Museum) —
This interesting museum tells the story of the Netherlands' Jews
through three centuries, serv-
ing as a good introduction to
Judaism and educating visitors
on Jewish customs and reli-
gious traditions.
Originally opened in 1932,
the museum was forced to close
during the Nazi years. Recent
renovations have brought it
into the 21st century. Its cur-
rent location comprises four historic former synagogues that have
been joined by steel and glass to make one modern complex.
The highlight is the Great Synagogue. Have a seat in the
high-ceilinged synagogue, surrounded by religious objects, and
picture it during its prime (1671-1943). The hall would be full for a
service—men downstairs, women above in the gallery. On the east
wall (the symbolic direction of Jerusalem) is the Ark, where they
keep the scrolls of the Torah (the Jewish scriptures, including the
first five books of the Christian Bible). The rabbi and other men,
wearing thigh-length prayer shawls, would approach the Ark and
carry the Torah to the raised platform in the center of the room.
After unwrapping it from its drapery and silver cap, a man would
use a yad (ceremonial pointer) to follow along while singing the
text aloud.
Video displays around the room explain Jewish customs, from
birth (circumcision) to puberty (the bar/bat mitzvah, celebrating
the entry into adulthood) to marriage—culminating in the groom
stomping on a glass while everyone shouts “Mazel tov!”
From the upper level, a skyway leads to the 20th century. The
new, worthwhile exhibit on the Jews of the Netherlands uses per-
sonal artifacts and touch-screen computers to tell the devastating
history of the Nazi occupation. By purposefully showing mundane
daily objects, the museum helps make an inconceivable period of
time meaningful and real.
The museum has a modern, minimalist, kosher café, as well
as temporary exhibition space, generally showing the work of
Jewish artists (€7.50, daily 11:00-17:00, free audioguide but dis-
plays all have English explanations, Jonas Daniel Meijerplein 2,
tel. [phone], www.jhm.nl).
s Dutch Theater (Hollandsche Schouwburg) —Once a lively
theater in the Jewish neighborhood, and today a moving memorial,
this building was used as an assembly hall for local Jews destined