In the meantime, poverty-stricken Jews from other parts of Europe were streaming into Amsterdam, attracted by the generosity of the Jewish community, which was finding it increasingly difficult to provide for all the poor. By 1618, just three years after its founding, the Dotar was forced to limit its scope of operations. Young women living in Amsterdam were given first priority, although those living elsewhere could still enter the lottery.
Character Counts
The amounts given to the lottery winners were generous. In 1615, a winner might receive between $4,000 and $10,000. In the eighteenth century, the maximum award was set at about $54,000. Therefore, the members of the Dotar instituted strict rules concerning who could apply. First, of course, the candidate had to be able to prove that she was of Spanish or Portuguese descent. Other criteria included being of marriageable age (between 16-40 years old), the person’s financial status, agreeing to lead a halachically Jewish life, relationship to Dotar members, and being of “good conduct, honorable, honest, and blameless.”
Young women living in distant lands had to have their petition signed by local rabbanim who could attest to the applicant’s good character and whatever else was required in the application. If someone was living in a country where she could not yet openly practice Judaism, she could still apply; however, if she won, she couldn’t receive the money until she was living in a place where she and her husband could have a Jewish wedding and live openly as Jews.
Although there were often hundreds of applicants competing for the prize, winning the lottery didn’t always guarantee that the winner would get married. At first the winner had three years to find a husband, although later the time period was extended to twelve years. Why was it so hard to find a shidduch?
One reason, which applied to young women who were still living as secret Jews, was that it wasn’t easy to pick up and leave their home and settle in a new country where they could live openly as Jews—a stipulation of the lottery. Another stipulation was that the chassan had to be a circumcised Jewish man and so he, too, had to be willing to shed his Converso identity. Later on, when there was a general moral decline in Europe, the Dotar began to scrutinize the character of the proposed bridegroom as well. Not only did he need to be honest and reputable, but he also had to prove that he could support a family. Some people didn’t like the probing into their personal affairs, and so they preferred to decline the Dotar’s gift. Others didn’t like the stigma of being labeled poor and also preferred to marry without the Dotar’s help.
If the lottery winner couldn’t find a spouse within the time limit, the money she would have received went back into the fund.
Join the Club
The Dotar was funded by its members, who paid about $2,000 to join what was considered to be Jewish Amsterdam’s elite social circle. At its height there were between 400-500 members, which made the Dotar one of the largest charitable institutions in Portuguese-Jewish Amsterdam.
Membership was inheritable and there were those who saw the hefty initial fee as a good investment. For one thing, dowry winners who were related to members received larger sums. Therefore, one’s children, grandchildren and even more distant relations could be helped by that initial decision to join the Dotar.
A second incentive was the knowledge that the “wheel of fortune” could always turn. Even if a merchant was so wealthy that he didn’t need help with marrying off his children at the present time, who knew what the future would bring? If his financial state should sour, at least his descendants could still qualify for the larger gifts.
