Pinkes


A pinkes is the ledger of a Jewish community, in which the proceedings of and events relating to the community are recorded. Such record book were used to co-ordinate and document organizations in Jewish towns and villages throughout the early modern period in Europe.

Origin

The term pinkes is derived from the Greek word πίναξ, meaning a board or writing-tablet. It originally referred to a physical writing-tablet, as described in the Mishnah, which came in three types:
  1. A tablet covered with dust, primarily used for arithmetical calculations, and large enough to serve as a seat;
  2. A tablet covered with a layer of wax, where writing was done using a stylus; and
  3. A smooth tablet written upon with ink.
Over time, the term evolved to refer to a book composed of such tablets, and eventually any written record. The use of "pinkes" to denote a register is found in the Mishnah: "The pinkes is open, and the hand writes."