Pinkas of the Chevra Kadisha of Kapesz.

(HUNGARY).

Kapesz (Nagykapos)

1866-1908

Hebrew manuscript on paper, written in cursive Ashkenazic hands.

This manuscript records the names, payments and obligations of dozens of Hungarian Jews and their families in this fin de siècle Jewish community. An Orthodox Kehillah was formed in Nagykapes (known as Kapes in Yiddish) following the emancipation of the Jews in Hungary in 1867. A synagogue was built in 1890, as well as other communal institutions, such as a Talmud Torah, and Chevra Kadisha. By the 1920’s, the community numbered some 500 persons. Rabbi Yehoshua Heschel Fried (d. 1921) known as the Kapisher Rebbe, was the rabbi of the community for 46 years, beginning in 1875. This Pinkas is a rich resource for genealogy and research into Hungarian Jewry.