parnasn.

1675 L. Addison Present State Jews xi. 90 The second is the Pernas, to whom belongs the care of providing the Holy Wine.

1695 G. Hooper Disc. conc. Lent ii. iv. 203 For though the Greek Word for Ministring does sometimes signify, to wait and serve at a Table; yet..it is..said as well of the Office of our Blessed Lord, and of his Apostles, and also of Kings..and may therefore answer the word Parnas, in its highest meaning.

1760 B. Gomez & S. Hart Let. 16 Dec. in J. R. Marcus Early Amer. Jewry (1951) I. iv. 85 You will be good enough to engage a suitable master..to teach our children the Hebrew language... It will oblige our..congregation and in a more particular manner the parnasim.

1783 Mem. Trustees Congregation Mikveh Israel Dec. in J. R. Marcus Early Amer. Jewry (1951) II. 157 The Memorial of Rabbi Ger. Seixas of the synagogue of the Jews at Philadelphia, Simon Nathan, their parnass or president, Asher Myers, Bernard Gratz, and Haym Salomon, the mahamad, or associates of their council,..most respectfully sheweth [etc.].

1813 I. D'Israeli Let. in J. Picciotto Sketches Anglo-Jewish Hist. (1875) xxxix. 298 Let the award of the Mohamad be revised because they have erred in the choice of a fitting person to become a Parnass.

1831 Ascamot, or Laws & Regulations Jewish Congregation v. 37 The institution of the Mahamad in this congregation is very ancient... The Mahamad..is composed of the four Parnassim and a Gabay, elected annually.

1851 C. Cist Sketches & Statistics Cincinnati 82 Broadway Synagogue, corner Sixth and Broadway. Philip Heidelbach, Parnas.

1892 I. Zangwill Children of Ghetto I. 97 Michael Birnbaum was a great man in the little local synagogue... He had been successively Gabbai and Parnass, or treasurer and president.

1932 C. Roth Hist. Marranos 247 The community boasted a model organisation. The power of the Parnasim, the elected Wardens, was autocratic, as offenders like Benedict Spinoza or Uriel Acosta learned to their cost.

1962 B.-Z. Abrahams tr. Glückel of Hameln Life ii. 18 My father has been parnass for many years. [Note] In Glückel's time the office of parnass (president or warden [of the synagogue]) was a monthly one.

1975 C. Bermant Point of Arrival xi. 153 Men who came from his part of Lithuania or Poland..who had risen to the dignity of Parness or Gabai of the synagogue.

1991 A. Unterman Dict. Jewish Lore & Legend 152/2 The Talmud forbad the appointment of a parnas without the agreement of the community.

2000 J. Katz Tradition & Crisis ix. 69 The factor that most influenced the character of a specific kehila administration was not the number of parnasim on the administrative body, but the division of labor among them.