Obj. ID: 5705
Sacred and Ritual Objects Dedicatory wall plaque, Preveza, 1932
The rectangular tablet is inscribed with Hebrew and Greek texts, headed by a Star of David enclosing God's name "אל שדי" "God Almighty". A Hebrew inscription is engraved in rounded, square letters in eight lines. It starts with a Biblical citation that serves as a title and is followed by the dedication:
" 'שמע ה' קול יהודה' (מבוסס על ברכת משה לשבט יהודה: דב' לג:ז) לזכרון
המנוח רפאל יהודה יעקב מצא
נ"ע (נוחו עדן) והוא נפטר לב"ע (לבית עולמו) ביום ד' בש"ק (בשבת קודש)
ט"ו לחדש אדר ב' ש' (שנת) התרצ"ב תנצב"ה (תהי נשמתו צרורה בצרור החיים)
הקדיש בנו ויחידו כה"ר (כבוד הרב) יעקב נר"ו (נטריה רחמנא וברכיה – ישמרהו הרחמן ויברכהו)
חמשת אלפים דרכמונים לחזק
בדק הבית תפלה למשה פריויזא
יע"א (יכוננה עליון אמן) בחפצו המנוח אביו ע"ה (עליו השלום)."
Translation: Hear Lord the voice of Judah ((and bring him unto his people…'; based on Moses’ blessing to the Tribe of Judah: Deut. 33:7). (Dedicated) to the memory of the late Raphael Judah Jacob Maza, may he rest in Eden. And he passed away on Wednesday 15th of the month of Adar II, 5692 (23.3.1932), may his soul be bound up in the bond of life. It was dedicated by his only son the honourable Rabbi Jacob, may the Merciful protect and bless him. (He donated) five thousand drachmas 'to repair the breaches of the house' (based on 2 Kgs. 22:5) Tefillah Le-Moshe synagogue in Preveza, may the Sublime establish it, amen. (A donation made) according to his father's wish.
The Hebrew inscription is followed by its Greek translation:
ΕΙΣ ΜΝΗΜΗΝ ΑΙΩΝΙΑΝ ΤΟΥ ΕΥΕΡΓΕΤΟΥ
ΤΗΣ ΙΕΡΑΣ ΤΑΥΤΗΣ ΣΥΝΑΓΩΓΗΣ
ΛΕΟΝΤΟΣ Ι. ΜΑΤΣΑ
ΑΠΟΔΗΜΗΣΑΝΤΟΣ ΕΙΣ ΚΥΡΙΟΝ ΤΗΝ
23 ΜΑΡΤΙΟΥ 1932 ΚΑΙ ΜΕΤΑ ΔΙΚΑΙΩΝ
ΑΝΑΠΑΥΟΜΕΝΟΥ ΑΝΑΤΙΘΗΤΙ
Translation: To the eternal memory of the benefactor of this sacred synagogue, Leon I. Matsa, who passed away on the 23rd of March 1932, and rests among the righteous – (this) is dedicated.
The synagogue in Preveza was demolished during WWII. However, evidence of this community survived in various sacred objects, as for example the silver dedicatory plaque (shadai'a) Sc.JMG-81 (98.49). The same synagogue Tefillah Le-Moshe is mentioned in other dedicatory plaques: one from 1926, by Elijah Daniel Kol'iah, in the city of Volos (JMG-76), and another from the beginning of the 20th century by Rabbi Yeshu'a Solomon Jacob (JMG-79).
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sub-set tree: 
- Amar, Ariella, and Irina Chernetsky. The Collection of the Jewish Museum of Greece.Jerusalem: The Center for Jewish Art, TheHebrewUniversity ofJerusalem, 2007. Internal publication.