Pinkas HaKahal.

A monumental Community Ledger from the small German town of Heidingsfeld, located near Würzburg in northern Bavaria, whose recorded Jewish history dates back to the 13th-century. In 1565 when the Jews of nearby Würzburg were expelled, many settled in Heidingsfeld. In the 18th-century, Heidingsfeld became the seat of the chief rabbinate of Lower Franconia which included all the district communities surrounding Würzburg. One of the most celebrated rabbis of Heidingsfeld, serving there from 1798 until his death, was R. Abraham Bing (1752-1839). Over hundreds of pages, the ledger contains rules and regulations of communal and religious affairs, minutes of meetings, summaries of arbitrations, details of inherited estates, along with commercial, civil and religious documents. Noted below are selected topics: Volume opens with details relating to the building of a new synagogue under the aegis of R. Aryeh Leib (Rappaport) and the cornerstone laying ceremony in which four coins of the realm were deposited into the foundation. * A visit to the town paid by the grandson of R. Jonathan Eybuschuetz seeking to enlist subscribers for his grandfather’s work “Urim Vetumim” (f. 1b and f. 63). * The provision of funds to their former rabbi, R. Simcha Bunim Rappaport, for the publication of his work “Chidushei Harashbatz” (f. 80a). * Regulations concerning synagogue honors (f. 26a-b). * Regulations concerning the sale of Ethrogim (f. 27a). * Detailing the visit of two emissaries from Eretz Israel (f. 66a). * Controversy concerning the hiring of an elderly cantor (f. 66a). * Details concerning the appointment of appropriate personnel for the preparation of matzah for Passover (f. 157b). The front cover of the ledger designates the volume as “Number 3.” For a description of Volume 1 and a related discussion of communal jurisdiction, see Alfred Wolf, The First Pinkes of Heidingsfeld, in HUCA Vol. 18 (1944) pp. 247-78. <<This Pinkas represents a unique source of historical material pertaining to the economic, social and religious life of the Jews in Germany.>>