An exceptionally rare Torah, Prophets, and Writings (Tanach) printed in Amsterdam by the pioneering rabbi, scholar, and printer Menasseh ben Israel (1604–1657), bound in its original 17th-century vellum animal skin binding. This very copy carries a chilling Holocaust provenance: it was looted from the library of Dr. J. N. Pellieux, a French-Jewish physician in Beaugency, seized by the Nazis during the German occupation of France, and transferred into the private library of Hermann Göring—Reichsmarschall, commander of the Luftwaffe, and Hitler’s designated successor. Göring, notorious for plundering Europe’s artistic and cultural treasures, kept this Bible at his Berghof estate in the Obersalzberg “Führer Compound.” Following the Allied liberation of the area on May 4, 1945, this Bible was recovered by the Deuxième Division Blindée (Free French 2nd Armored Division), whose soldiers added an ink stamp appearing on the frontispiece along with a pasted note stating: “Cette pièce provient des collections personnelles d’Hermann Goering au Berghof, 4-5-1945.” In 2005, the volume resurfaced when a chaplain of the French division who had safeguarded it after the war gifted it to a London Jewish family, marking the Bible’s passage from oppression toward restitution, finally returning it to the community from which it had been so violently taken. In the early decades of the seventeenth century, a prodigious Jewish mind emerged in Amsterdam, a city that had become a rare sanctuary for Jews fleeing persecution across Europe. Born in 1604, Menasseh ben Israel was the scion of converso parents who had escaped the Portuguese Inquisition. From his earliest years, he displayed an extraordinary grasp of languages, science, and religious learning, quickly establishing himself as a scholar of unparalleled erudition. By the age of eighteen, he had assumed rabbinic duties within Amsterdam’s vibrant Portuguese Jewish community and, recognizing the urgent need to preserve and disseminate Jewish learning, founded the city’s first Hebrew printing press in 1626. Through his press, Menasseh ben Israel produced not only sacred texts but also works on theology, mysticism, and science, all designed to strengthen Jewish identity and bridge understanding between Jews and the wider European intellectual world. Among his notable friends was the celebrated painter Rembrandt, who would immortalize Menasseh’s visage and even contribute illustrations to some of his works. Between 1631 and 1635, Menasseh ben Israel printed the Torah, Nevi’im, and Ketuvim that comprise the volume now before us. Bound in contemporary vellum, this Bible is not merely a book; it is a testament to Jewish resilience and cultural revival. Each page carries the weight of centuries of diaspora experience, reflecting both the intellectual flowering of Amsterdam’s Jewish community and the deep longing for redemption and restoration that would later inspire modern Zionist thought. Menasseh’s vision extended beyond Amsterdam; in 1644, he would famously travel to London to petition Oliver Cromwell to allow the resettlement of Jews in England, a mission documented in his work Mikve Israel. Though the legal recognition he sought was delayed for years, his efforts laid the foundation for Jewish return and communal restoration in Western Europe. The journey of this particular copy mirrors the tumultuous course of Jewish history itself. For centuries, it was cherished as both a sacred text and a symbol of heritage. But in the dark years of the Second World War, it was seized by the Nazis, becoming part of the vast art and cultural plunder orchestrated by Göring, one of the most infamous figures of the Third Reich. Göring, who maintained a private library within his Berghof estate in the Bavarian Alps, coveted treasures of European art and literature, including those of Jewish origin. This Bible, stolen from a Jewish home, sat among stolen masterpieces such as Rembrandts and Vermeers in a compound that had been reserved for Hitler’s closest associates, an emblem of the regime’s arrogance and the desecration of Jewish culture. The physical characteristics of this Bible are remarkable. It is a complete Tanach, bound in four parts in one volume, printed on thick, high-quality paper, with separate title pages for Torah, Prophets, and Writings. Though nearly 400 years old, it retains much of its original integrity: the vellum binding shows only minor wear, and the pages are annotated with Hebrew and Latin inscriptions from centuries past, reflecting a long life of study and devotion. It bears silent witness to the scholarly dedication of Menasseh ben Israel, the devotion of European Jewish households, and the horrors and triumphs of the twentieth century. This volume encapsulates profound symbolism. It is the product of a Jewish community newly freed from persecution in Amsterdam, a tangible expression of Menasseh ben Israel’s vision for the Jewish People; it is a sacred object plundered by one of history’s most infamous perpetrators of genocide; and it is a survivor, liberated and restored to Jewish hands, carrying with it the echoes of both loss and redemption. To hold it is to hold nearly four centuries of Jewish history, from the diaspora’s intellectual flowering through the horrors of the Holocaust, and into the modern reclamation of heritage and faith. As an artifact, it transcends its physicality. It is a testament to resilience, scholarship, and the enduring spirit of the Jewish People. It is rare in every sense: rare for its age, rare for its provenance, rare for the intertwining of its sacred, cultural, and historical significance. This Bible is not merely a printed work; it is a narrative of survival, a vessel of memory, and a monument to the unbroken thread of Jewish life across the centuries. Its journey from Menasseh ben Israel’s press to the hands of a modern-day custodian of history makes it a singular treasure, one that commands both reverence and awe. Very few Judaica artifacts combine such antiquity, bibliographic rarity, Holocaust provenance, and emotional weight. It is a treasure fit for a national museum, a Holocaust memorial institution, or a private collector who understands that to acquire it is to become the next guardian in a chain of history stretching from Europe's Jewish revival to the defeat of Nazism. A once-in-a-generation opportunity to secure one of the most important Jewish books ever offered at charity auction. 8.85x7in; 369 Leaves, Four parts in one bound volume; In Very Good Condition with some wear and aging from 400 years of use, plus its embattled adventures throughout war torn Europe.