Editing Baruch Spinoza (section)

===School days and the family business===
[[File:Baruch Espinosa crossed out from pupil list, Ets Haim, Amsterdam, 17th century.jpeg|thumb|Spinoza's name crossed out on the list of pupils of Talmud Torah]]
Spinoza attended the Talmud Torah school adjoining the Bet Ya'acov synagogue, a few doors down from his home, headed by the senior Rabbi [[Saul Levi Morteira]].{{sfn|Israel|2023|pp=148–49}}{{sfn|Nadler|1999|pp=65–66}} Instructed in Spanish, the language of learning and literature, students in the elementary school learned to read the prayerbook and the [[Torah]] in Hebrew, translate the weekly section into Spanish, and study [[Rashi]]'s commentary.{{sfn|Nadler|2018|pp=72-75}} Spinoza's name does not appear on the registry after age fourteen, and he likely never studied with rabbis such as [[Manasseh ben Israel]] and Morteira. Spinoza possibly went to work around fourteen and almost certainly was needed in his father's business after his brother died in 1649.{{sfn|Nadler|2018|p=93}}

During the [[First Anglo-Dutch War]], much of the Spinoza firm's ships and cargo were captured by [[Commonwealth of England|English]] ships, severely affecting the firm's financial viability. The firm was saddled with debt by the war's end in 1654 due to its merchant voyages being intercepted by the English, leading to its decline.{{sfn|Nadler|2018|pp=100-101}}{{sfn|Israel|2023|pp=206}} Spinoza's father died in 1654, making him the head of the family, responsible for organizing and leading the Jewish mourning rituals, and in a business partnership with his brother of their inherited firm.{{sfn|Israel|2023|pp=204-05}} As Spinoza's father had poor health for some years before his death, he was significantly involved in the business, putting his intellectual curiosity on hold.{{sfn|Israel|2023|pp=205-06}} Until 1656, he continued financially supporting the synagogue and attending services in compliance with synagogue conventions and practice.{{sfn|Israel|2023|p=210}} By 1655, the family's wealth had evaporated and the business effectively ended.{{sfn|Israel|2023|pp=205-06}}

In March 1656, Spinoza went to the city authorities for protection against debts in the Portuguese Jewish community. To free himself from the responsibility of paying debts owed by his late father, Spinoza appealed to the city to declare him an orphan;{{sfn|Nadler|2001|p=25}} since he was a legal minor, not understanding his father's indebtedness would remove the obligation to repay his debts and retrospectively renounce his inheritance.{{sfn|Israel|2023|pp=220-22}} Though he was released of all debts and legally in the right, his reputation as a merchant was permanently damaged in addition to violating a synagogue regulation that business matters are to be arbitrated within the community.{{sfn|Israel|2023|p=222}}{{sfn|Nadler|2001|p=25}}