ABSTRACT
In the mid-eighteenth century particularly, there was a revival of Hebrew literature among the Amsterdam Sephardim. Back in the seventeenth century, several Portuguese Jews had made their name by writing Hebrew literature, including Joseph Penso de la Vega with his Asirei Hatikva, Moses ben Mordecai Zacuto with Yesod Olam, and Salomon ben David de Oliveira with Ayelet Ahavim. The excellent standard of education enjoyed by the Portuguese congregation created a fertile medium; talented students at the Talmud Torah school and the Ets Haim yeshiva learned to write prose and poetry in Hebrew.
