Els Bendheim

• Religion — Judaism • Name — Els Bendheim • Birth Name — Els (Rivka) Salomon-Prins Bendheim • Born — 7 July 1923 • Birthplace — Amsterdam, Netherlands • Died — 12 January 2023 • Place of death — Jerusalem, Israel • Spouse — Charles Henry Bendheim (1917-1997) • Children — 7 • Occupation — * Theologian • author • photographer • Education — Barnard College

Els (Rivka) Salomon-Prins was born in Amsterdam, daughter of Iwan (Yitzhak) Salomon and Sophie (Shifra) Wilhelmina Prins Salomon. Her grandfather was the Dutch merchant and Jewish scholar Eliezer Liepman Philip Prins. Her brother was the linguist Herman Prins Salomon. Her half siblings were Robert Salomon, Erna Steindecker and Theodore Salomon. Els Bendheim grew up in Amsterdam and attended the Amsterdams Lyceum. In 1939, after Hitler's rise to power, the family fled to Canada. They settled in Montreal, where Bendheim attended Westmount High School. In 1944, she graduated from Barnard College with a B.Sc. in Chemistry. In 1957, Bendheim graduated from the New York School of Interior Design and continued to engage in photography and design throughout her life. Although forced to give up her Dutch citizenship after becoming an American, she considered herself Dutch and visited the Netherlands often. She later exhibited her photographs of tulips and Dutch landscapes on the walls of Shaare Zedek Medical Center. Bendheim was married to Charles Henry Bendheim, with whom she had seven children. She died in Jerusalem on 12 January 2023, at the age of 99.

Bendheim published extensively in English, Hebrew and Dutch on topics of theology, rabbinic writings and European Jewish history. Inheriting a love for Jewish literature, she initiated the publication of her grandfather's correspondences, the notes he left in the margins of his books and an anthology of his work in Dutch. One of Bendheim's halakhic position papers led to the establishment of the Manhattan Eruv in 1962. Bendheim stressed the importance of community and inclusiveness in Jewish rulings, arguing that Orthodox Jews who used wheelchairs and young mothers with infants could not attend synagogue on the Sabbath without an eruv. Another project was a book of blessings entitled "Pereḳ Shirah" dedicated to President Chaim and Aura Herzog and later republished for subsequent presidents including their son, President Isaac Herzog. • Illustration — Edam-Zuidpolder windmill with flowers, 2008, photograph by Els Bendheim

In 1976, Bendheim and her husband worked with Uri Lupolianski to establish Friends of Yad Sarah Association in the United States. Her dedication to this project continued over forty years. Her son, Philip Bendheim, serves on the board and coordinates the activities of the Friends of Yad Sarah Associations in the United States and Europe. Bendheim was involved in establishing and upkeeping the Shaare Zedek Medical Center, and was among the founding members of Manhattan Day School, Stern College for Women and Yeshiva University. Bendheim was also a generous donor to the Jerusalem College of Technology and the Jewish Institute for the Blind.

Els Bendheim was recorded at birth as Rebeca Salomon Prins. She also worked under the name Els Bendheim. The authorities additionally record the heading Els Salomon-Prins Bendheim. Her recorded language was Dutch. Her recorded confession was Judaism.

Els Bendheim is recorded as a citizen of Kingdom of the Netherlands. Recorded with the occupation photographer. Recorded with the occupation theologian. Recorded with the occupation writer.