Deed for the sale of places at the new “HaParnass” synagogue’s eastern wall, for a huge sum, to the gvir R’ Zechariah Mendel Mendelsohn. Lublin, Tevet 1851. Rare and important contract that was customary in past generations and is no longer practiced.
Signed by the av beit din of Lublin, the gaon Rabbi DovBerish Ashkenazi, author of Noda BiShe’arim , who passed away at a young age slightly more than a year later. Signing alongside him: Rabbi Yeshayah Mendel son of the rabbi, the tzaddik … Rabbi Avraham David Segal, and another, unidentified signature.
Apparently, the “HaParnass” synagogue that sold the seats is a synagogue named after the parnass R’ Avraham Chaim’s [son of Chaim] of Lublin, one of the chief administrators of Va’ad Arba HaAratzot, and one of the major Jewish activists in all of Europe in the mid-18th century. He is known to be the one who tested the light of the seven seas – the Besh”t, in order to determine whether he is a Talmudic scholar.
Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of Rabbi Dov Berish Ashkenazi .
Buying a seat in a synagogue in past generations was an extremely important financial transaction. Ownership of a seat in the synagogue, and especially locations in the mizrach or ma’arav , were a symbol of the owner’s social status. The seat would be considered the exclusive property of the buyer and he would bequeath it to his descendants. Many questions related to this type of property appear in the responsa literature from the period. For example: in the event that the father was one of the most influential people in the community and bought himself a place in the mizrach in accordance with his status, and his son does not befit this status, does the son still have the right to sit in the mizrach ? It is worth noting that in past generations, the place to sit in the synagogue was called a ‘city’ [-Yiddish: a shtaat ]. For example, if someone said “So-and-so bought a ‘city, ‘” it meant that he bought a place to sit in a synagogue. This deed demonstrates the great importance attributed to the deal, involving both the large amount paid for the seat, the exact detail of where it is located in the synagogue according to landmarks from all four directions, just like a real estate property, and the fact that the av beit din of the city is the signatory to the document.
[1] leaf paper, written on one side. Approximately 33×20 cm. Light, high-quality paper, with water marks.
Fine condition. Aging stains. Fold marks and light creases. Several small perforations, with blemishes in single words. Tiny tears in the margins.