2. Hall - 3. view

Shiviti plaque

The shiviti plaque is found in synagogues in front of the podium from which the prayer service is led. These plaques received their name from the Biblical verse inscribed on them. Verse 8 of Psalm 16 says: Shivviti Adonay le-negdi tamid, “I have set the Lord always before me”. Mordecai ben Eliezer, the cantor of Megyer (in Western Hungary) made this Shiviti plaque using the entire text of the Book of Psalms and the Five Scrolls (the Song of Songs, the Book of Ruth, Book of Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Book of Esther). The three tympanums on top of the pillars that divide the plaque is from the Book of Psalms. The figure of King David playing on the harp and the picture depicting Jacob’s dream are also made using the text of Psalms. In the fields divided by the pillars, the text of the five scrolls appears in the form of a biblical character each: In the bottom row on the left King Solomon is formed from the text of the Song of Songs, and on the right Ruth is formed from the Book of Ruth. Above them, Esther from the Book of Esther, and on the right again Solomon, from Ecclesiastes. In the same row as Jacob’s dream, on the left hand side there is an envelope with the text of the Book of Lamentations. On the bottom of the plaque, in the middle, there is a menorah, formed of flower-buds and blossoms according to the Biblical description. On the top of the page, between the tympanums, there are two birds holding the Torah scroll. Mordecai ben Eliezer made this plaque in 1828, in Megyer.