Title

Description

The ledger begins with an introduction describing the greatness of charity, followed by the rules and regulations of the society. The acronym of the first letters of the opening paragraphs spell the Hebrew word gedolah hakhnasat orḥim, i.e., great is hospitality. [Image 1-4]

The statutes detail the purpose of the society, its fundraising methods, and the precise manner of providing food and lodging for needy wayfarers. Among the statutes is the stipulation that when possible, the society will supply clothing to needy wayfarers, and the obligation of its members to host needy wayfarers in their homes for Shabat.

There is an endorsement of the rules and regulations of the society written by the Hasidic Rebbe, Rabbi Mosheh-Tsvi, son of Rabbi Shimon-Shlomoh ]Giterman, 1775-1836, of Savran, Ukraine]. He signed the endorsement in 1831, and his signature is followed by those of the members of the society. [Image 4]

Entries recording the acceptance of new members into the society and results of the elections for the officers of the society. [Image 5-19]

The transcriber provides a brief physical description of the pinkas. [Even though the title page is dated 5620 (1859-60), this ledger was apparently copied from an earlier ledger with an endorsement signed in 1831. See image 4 for details.] [Image 22]

A product of a cooperative agreement between the Russian National Library and Touro University’s Project Zikaron in 2019. This pinkas is part of the Günzburg Manuscript Collection at the Russian National Library in Moscow. In the 1890s, Baron David Günzburg of St. Petersburg, Russia hired Avraham Sharfshteyn to arrange for the original pinkas and others like it to be transcribed for his private library. The current location of the original pinkas is unknown, if it at all still exists. This overview was prepared by Rabbi Yitzchok Stroh of Brooklyn, New York, in 2020.

Category

Year of Publication/Creation

1859-1864

Language(s)

Hebrew

Geographic Places

• Bershad (Bershed), Ukraine (read online)