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Community brotherhoods

[Hebrew khevrot, plural: khevra] - Aid organizations supported by the Jewish Communities in which they operated. Created for specific purposes, they were involved in religious matters, education, philanthropy and the maintenance of synagogues. Originally formed from the Community committees, they gradually took over their functions. At first, there used to be only one khevrot active in each Community, which would have several functions. As the Community grew, the khevrot split into smaller, more specialized ones. The most important were the khevra kaddisha, or burial societies. There were also school brotherhoods, Talmud-Tora; khevra involved in care for the sick - bikur kholim; collecting dowries for poor women - ha-khnasat kala, and others.
The Community brotherhoods were supported by members' dues, and also by the fees collected for their services and donations collected in synagogues and during special Community or family occasions. They were run by boards chosen during yearly elections. The members of the Community brotherhoods were either full members or regular members, who could only gain full membership after several years � usually five. Full membership brought the chance to participate in elections to the board and be elected to it. Regular members carried out the group's duties. In Poland, the first Community brotherhoods were probably founded in the sixteenth century: a document dated 1551 mentions a school-related Community brotherhood in Krakow.
(H.W./CM)
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