# Gabbai > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Gabbai > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Gabbai.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabbai > Source revision: 1354363532 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) "Parnass" redirects here. For the German-Swedish journalist and writer, see [Peggy Parnass](/source/Peggy_Parnass). Person who assists in the running of synagogue services in some way For other uses, see [Gabbay](/source/Gabbay_(disambiguation)). Gabbai in [Biała Podlaska](/source/Bia%C5%82a_Podlaska) (Poland, 1926) A ***gabbai*** ([Hebrew](/source/Hebrew_language): גַּבַּאי; sometimes transliterated as ***gabay***), also known as a ***shamash*** (שַׁמָשׁ; sometimes transcribed as *shamas*) or **warden** (in [British English](/source/British_English), similar to [churchwarden](/source/Churchwarden)), is a [beadle](/source/Beadle) or [sexton](/source/Sexton_(office))—a person who assists in the running of [synagogue](/source/Synagogue) [services](/source/Jewish_prayer) in some way. The role may be undertaken on a voluntary or paid basis. A *shamash* (lit. 'servant') or *gabbai* can also be an assistant to a [rabbi](/source/Rabbi), particularly the secretary or personal assistant to a [Hasidic](/source/Hasidic) [rebbe](/source/Rebbe). In the [Sephardic Jewish](/source/Sephardic_Jewish) *[ma'amad](/source/Ma'amad)*, the local or regional council of elders (or 'board of directors') of Sephardi Jewish communities, the position of *gabbai* was that of the [treasurer](/source/Treasurer). ## Etymology The word *gabbai* is Hebrew and, in Talmudic times, meant "collector of taxes or charity" or "treasurer".[1] The term *shamash* is sometimes used for the *gabbai*, the caretaker or "man of all work" in a synagogue. ## Duties A plaque commemorating three gabbai – administrators of the [Chevra Lomdei Mishnayot Synagogue](/source/O%C5%9Bwi%C4%99cim_Synagogue) in [Oświęcim](/source/O%C5%9Bwi%C4%99cim) in southern Poland, 1928 While the specific set of duties vary from synagogue to synagogue, a gabbai's responsibilities will typically include ensuring that the religious services run smoothly.[2] The *gabbai* may be responsible for calling [congregants up to the Torah](/source/Torah_reading#Aliyot).[3] In some synagogues, the *gabbai* stands next to the Torah reader, holding a version of the text with [vowels](/source/Nikkud) and [trope](/source/Hebrew_cantillation) markings (which are not present in the actual [Torah scroll](/source/Torah_scroll)), following along in order to correct the reader if the reader makes an error. In other synagogues, these responsibilities are instead that of a *sgan* (סגן). A gabbai might manage some of the financial affairs of the institution, such as collection of [contributions](/source/Tzedakah) and [keeping financial records](/source/Bookkeeper).[4] The administrator of charitable funds might be called the *gabbai tzedakah*.[5] A gabbai's responsibilities might also include maintaining a [Jewish cemetery](/source/Jewish_cemetery). ## Dress In some parts of the world, the *gabbaim* wear special clothing. In [Anglo-Jewry](/source/Anglo-Jewry), for example, *gabbaim* in some synagogue movements have traditionally worn [top hats](/source/Top_hats), and where there is a *shamash*, he may wear [canonicals](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/canonicals). ## In popular culture An example from literature is "Moshe the Beadle", a character in *[Night](/source/Night_(memoir))* by [Elie Wiesel](/source/Elie_Wiesel). ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** *[Dictionary of the Targumim, Talmud Bavli, Talmud Yerushalmi and Midrashic Literature](http://www.tyndalearchive.com/tabs/jastrow/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20090419223729/http://www.tyndalearchive.com/tabs/jastrow/) April 19, 2009, at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)* by Marcus Jastrow. (London, 1903) 1971/2004 reprinting [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-932443-20-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-932443-20-7). p.206 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Ginsberg, Johanna. "[Unsung Heroes](https://www.proquest.com/docview/364829456/)". *Jewish News* (Whippany, New Jersey). 9 February 2006. p. 1. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Wex, Michael. "[Politics And The Gabbai](https://www.proquest.com/docview/362686852/)". *The New York Jewish Week*. 21 September 2007. p. 3. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Alpert, Carl. "[Who ever suspected Gabbai of synagogue was 'agent'?](https://www.proquest.com/docview/371513802/)" *The New York Jewish Week*. 22 March 1975. p. 15. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Saiman, Chaim. "[The Long Arm of Halacha: Jewish Law and the Madoff Scandal](https://www.proquest.com/docview/367923134/)". *Forward*. 23 January 2009. p. 11. ## Further reading - *Yad LaTorah: Laws and Customs of the Torah Service - A Guide for Gabba'im and Torah Readers* by Kenneth Goldrich, published by the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the Rabbinical Assembly. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gabbai](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabbai) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabbai?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.