Pinkes

A pinkes (Hebrew: פִּנְקֵס, also pinkas, פִּנְקָס; plural: pinkasim, פִּנְקָסִים) is the ledger of a Jewish community, in which the proceedings of and events relating to the community are recorded. Such record book were used to co-ordinate and document organizations in Jewish towns and villages throughout the early modern period in Europe.

Pinkes of the Jewish community of Frankfurt an der Oder

Origin

The term pinkes is derived from the Greek word πίναξ, meaning a board or writing-tablet. It originally referred to a physical writing-tablet, as described in the Mishnah, which came in three types:

1. A tablet covered with dust, primarily used for arithmetical calculations, and large enough to serve as a seat;
2. A tablet covered with a layer of wax, where writing was done using a stylus; and
3. A smooth tablet written upon with ink.

Over time, the term evolved to refer to a book composed of such tablets, and eventually any written record. The use of "pinkes" to denote a register is found in the Mishnah: "The pinkes is open, and the hand writes."

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Seligsohn, M. (1905). "Pinḳes". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 10. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 46–47.

External links

• The Eastern European Pinkas Kahal: Image and Reality
• Pinkas of the Jewish Community of Pinczow
• Pages from the pinkas of the Vilna Gaon kloyz
• Pinkas of the Talmud Torah Religious School from Kopychintsy