Title

Description

This unique pinkas (communal ledger) contains the ordinances of the govim, the tax collectors of the Jewish community, and was begun shortly after the great fire of Frankfurt of 1710. Its use may have been restricted to the tax collectors. Included is material transcribed from memory which had been destroy in the fire of 1710, namely ledgers from 1681 and 1687. [Image 11]

Also included are oaths taken by members of the community upon declaring their assets for tax purposes. [Image 6]

It is interesting to note the ordinance that the wives of those swearing were to stand at the rabbi’s place in the synagogue and respond Amen to their husband’s oath. This practice was done since the oaths, which included all the Biblical curses, fell equally upon both husband and wife. [Image 7]

The ledger also includes oaths sworn by the tax collectors and electors stating that they will not in any way place their personal interests before the interest of the community. [Images 8,14,17]

Of particular interest is a recorded proclamation regarding the elections of Jewish community leaders which was held in 1742 when Emperor Charles VII was residing in Frankfurt. [Images 23-25]

Like many pinkasim, most of the pages are blank. The only images of pages which include writing are as follows: 3-12,14-18,20-25,180, and 182.

A product of a cooperation 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. This overview and the accompanying annotated transcription were made by Rabbi Yitzchok Stroh of Brooklyn, New York, in 2020.

Category

Year of Publication/Creation

1710s-1742

Geographic Places

Frankfurt am Main (Frankfurt), Germany (read online)