Glossary

The entries selection comes from the book “Dictionary of Judaica” (2005), which was written by a group of authors led by Eva Kosáková . Entries were further processed by Jaroslav Kuntoš, Dana Veselská, Olga Sixtová, Michaela Scheibová and Lenka Uličná. The book can be purchased at our e-shop.

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Shiviti (Heb.)

A plaque with Hebrew texts and symbols which are intended to help the cantor concentrate on the meaning of the prayers during the synagogue service. In addition to a quotation from Psalm 16:8, its most important elements are a depiction of the menorah* (on which Psalm 67 is regularly inscribed), mystical texts and the various names of God. The basic elements are accompanied often by motifs of symbolic animals, the Star of David or purely decorative motifs. The shiviti is usually set in a decorative silver frame near the cantor’s prayer desk in the synagogue and is provided with candelabra along its sides. Smaller plaques are inserted in prayer books* by congregants. Most of the earliest shivitis are hand-written on parchment; later plaques are made of paper and printed and sometimes made using the cut-out technique. The earliest extant shivitis from the Czech lands date from the first half of the 18th century. Later shivitis are combined with Mizrah* plaques.

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