Community servant / Kalmeshores

Community servants were the lowerranked employees of the community. They worked for the Jewish community and performed the basic, daily tasks necessary as a result of the Jewish selfadministration in Judengasse. Community servants included the director of the hekdesh, nurses, the shames and cantor, watchmen, and watercarriers. The occupation of community servant was not held in much regard. It was often taken up by inhabitants of the Judengasse who did not enjoy right of residence. There were instances where a community position was passed on within a family for several decades, as in the case of the Schames family at the Wilde Ente and Tannenbaum complex of houses. There were also female community servants, such as the attendant responsible for the mikve or ritual bath, and the female nurses. The widows and orphans of community servants were given such posts by the community to ensure them a living.