The 17th century saw the beginnings of capitalism, and the Jews were at the forefront of it. Rabbi Wein examines the Jewish community in the port city of Amsterdam, including the life of its most famous heretic, Baruch Spinoza. Winds of change would soon sweep through Europe, but the Jews anticipated and adjusted to them well in advance.

• Uriel Acosta - the tragedy of a Marrano Jew
• comparisons of Marrano Jews to Soviet Jewry
• Spinoza's excommunication and how it backfired
• the Jews and their role in the Dutch East India Company