Img. ID: 31502

In most Jewish communities around the world, it is customary that a man who is called up to the Torah in a synagogue, pays an amount of money to the synagogue for the honour. This custom can be problematic since on Sabbaths and festivals it is prohibited to deal with or even to mention money. This was the reason for the development of plaques such as the one described below. This plaque was used for registering the "sale" of Torah readings and other donations on Sabbaths and festivals – to avoid directly speaking of monetary matters. The plaque allowed the sum of money, which was to be paid on a weekday by the members of the community accorded an honour, to be marked in a clever way: A list of the community members was set beside a vertical row of holes with attached threads, inscribed with a sum of money. During the "sale" of the Torah readings' the threads were then drawn out in order to mark the specific sum donated, corresponding to the name of the donor.
It is still unknown when the communities started this custom. The earliest plaque documented is the below described plaque, which dates back to 1703 (Sc.530-25). It is inscribed with names of members who prayed in the Mondovi synagogue, during several periods. The lists were updated and few layers of earlier lists are noticeable. Apart from representing the custom, these plaques provide a valuable genealogical list of the families, arranged according to the synagogues, who lived in Piedmont from the early eighteenth century. Moreover, a comparison of lists from different periods reveals the development or the decline of a specific synagogue, as for example the two plaques of Asti that point to the diminishing number of its members who read the Torah during the service during the nineteenth century (Sc.528.39).

The plaque was used in the Mondovi synagogue, possibly during the eighteenth century. The year 1703 is marked on the back side of the plaque, yet it is still unclear weather it indicated the year when the congregation started to use this plaque, or a later date. The list inscribed on the plaque was updated and was written in several layers.  

It appears that only two families prayed in this small and lavish synagogue. A descendant of the Levi family – Marco Levi – was the last Jew who lived in Mondovi, after WWII and took care of the synagogue, till he died in 2001