Obj. ID: 5660
Sacred and Ritual Objects Dedicatory plaque, Ioannina, 1902
The dedicatory plaque is shaped as a reversed heart and encloses a Hebrew inscription surmounted by a crown. The poetic inscription is arranged in fifteen lines and is written in square, outlined letters that read:
"ב''ה (בעזרת השם)/ לזכרון לפני ה' תמיד (שמות כח:כט)/ הקדיש בקדש פנימה/ תכשיט כסף ומפה לתרומה/ מע' (מעבד ה') השר והטפסר דוד ג'יון הלוי/ איפי' (אומריך יקום פורקני) שליט''א (שיחיה לאורך ימים טובים, אמן) לאות ולזכרון נאומה כ' (כבוד)/ נפש עדינה עלתה השמימה. בנו היקיר/ הרופא המובהק ד''ר שמואל דוד הלוי נ''ע (נוחו עדן)/ זרח שמשו פה עיר יאנינא בר'ח (ראש חודש) ניסן/ התרכ"ו/ עודנו באבו בן לו שנים. שקע שמשו בעיר פאריז/ בכ''ה יום לח' (לחודש) סיון התרס"ב. וזאת התפלה לנורא/ עלילה (לפי תהלים סו:ה). אנא אל אלהי הרוחות (מבוסס על במדבר טז:כב; כז:טז). נהלהו על מי/ מנוחות (מבוסס על תהלים כג:ב) ולביתו הנכבד בישראל לשלם ניחומים/ נא הואל (מבוסס על מלכים ב, ו:ג; שופטים יט:ו) והיה בבואם אל הקדש (מבוסס על שמות כח:כט; ויקרא י:יח, טז:כג; יחזקאל מד:כז) ק''ק (קהל קדוש) בית/ אברהם יכבץ (יכון בצדק) יה''ר (יהי רצון) שנצב"ה (שנשמתו צרורה בצרור החיים) אמן."
"With the Lord's help, 'for a memorial before the Lord continually dedicated unto the Sanctuary' (based on Ex. 28:29). The silver ornament and mappah (cloth) are a donation from God's servant the minister and the leader David John Ha-Levi, may He bring him the salvation and may he live many good days, amen. (The plaque was donated) to be a sign and a commemoration for the memory, and for the honour of the gentle soul, who went up to Heaven, his dear son the talented doctor Samuel David Ha-Levi, may he rest in Eden, born ('his sun rose') here in the city of Ioannina, on the first Moon of the month of Nisan (the year) 5626 (17.03.1866). He died ('his sun set') young, when he was thirty-six years old in Paris on the twenty-fifth of the month of Sivan, the year 5662 (30.06.1902). 'And may this be the end of the terrible acts of the Lord (based on Ps. 66:5) please Lord, the God of the spirits' (based on Num. 16:22; 27:16). 'May He leadeth us beside the still waters' (based on Ps. 23:2) and offer consolation to this honourable house, 'be content, I pray thee' (based on II Kings 6:3; Judg. 19:6). And when (the plaque and the mappah) go unto the Sanctuary (based on Ex. 28:29; Lev. 10:18, 16:23; Ezek. 44:27) (donated to) the Beit Abraham Holy Congregation, may it be established with justice, may it be His will that his soul be bound up in the bond of life, amen."
The plaque is framed by a band enclosing a row of flowers, bounded by two dotted strips.
A suspension loop is attached to the top of the plaque.
sub-set tree:
The plaque is in good condition.
objects known as shadai'ot (shadai'a in singular). The custom of
donating these plaques is common among the Greek Romaniot
communities. The name shadai'a is derived from God’s name,
"אל שדי" (El Shadai = God Almighty) which usually heads the dedicatory inscription. The plaque is also called a "takhshit," namely an ornament, which adorns the Torah, a term often inscribed on the plaques. This shadai'a is part of a larger group of plaques, documented in several collections around the world, which together forms the most comprehensive collection of shadai'ot.
The dedication of silver plaques as sacred objects is unique to the Greek Romaniot communities. Some inscriptions do reveal that occasionally they were donated with other ritual objects, such as a Torah scroll, a parokhet, or a mappah. Yet, unlike the common custom in other communities, they were not attached to specific ritual objects at the time of the donation. When a large number of shadai'ot plaques were assembled in a synagogue they were sewn on to a parokhet in a reversed "Π" shape. Some were also attached to Torah case wrappers or belts, which were probably hung along the walls of the synagogue on different occasions.
Although the events mentioned in the dedicatory inscriptions occurred at different times, the plaques were consistently donated to the synagogue on special days in the Jewish Year. The three pilgrimage festivals (Passover, Shavu'ot, Sukkot) are common, as well as Rosh Ha-Shanah, Yom Kippur, Rosh Hodesh (the New Moon) and Sabbaths. Rarely does the date of the donation mentioned on the plaque indicate another day of the week.
The custom was practiced among the Romaniot communities of Arta, Ioannina, Previzia, and is still practiced in Trikala and Larissa. No differences were noticeable between the two congregations in Ioannina concerning shape, dedicatory formulas or names of donors. The only distinction between the Old and New Holy Congregations is the name of the synagogue (when it appears). Most contemporary shadai'ot from Trikala and Larissa differ from the others and are shaped as Stars of David enclosed within circles. Few of them maintain the early linguistic dedicatory formulas.
The shadai'ot are important historical documents, which reflect both the artistic and the cultural heritage of the Romaniot communities in Greece. Their importance goes beyond the art of sacred objects; this unique custom offers a fascinating window to the rich Greek Jewish culture in the past four hundred years.
The dedicatory inscription topped by a crown is surrounded by a frame following the shape of the plaque.
- This plaque was donated to the Beit Abraham Holy Congregation which was the small synagogue known as the Minyan, built in 1871 within the Old Holy Congregation compound. According to a dedicatory inscription engraved on stone, now in the Old Congregation Synagogue, in the year 1871 Sarah, the wife of the deceased Abraham (d. 1868), contributed money in order to build a new synagogue and thus paid her husband's debts to the Old Congregation Synagogue. The Beit Abraham Holy Congregation was completely destroyed during World War II (see: Sc.525-2).
This plaque was donated to the Museum by the Jewish community of Ioannina in 29.06.98.
- Amar, Ariella, and Irina Chernetsky. Shadai'ot: The Collection of the Jewish Museum of Greece. Jerusalem: The Center for Jewish Art, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2006. Internal publication.