The trapezoid Torah mantle comprises a cloak attached to an oval top, with a vertical back opening.
It is decorated on its upper front face with a Star of David set above a Hebrew dedication. The inscription is embroidered in square filled letters, which reads:
"קדש לה'/ לק"ק (לקהל קדוש) מאיור יכב"ץ (יכוננה בצדק)/ מהאשה היקרה מ' מזל ת"ם (תבורך מנשים; שופטים ה:כד)/ למנוחת נפש בעלה/ היקר כה"ר יעקב יצחק ביז"ה/ נ"ע (נוחו עדן) תנצבה/ נלב"ע כט כסלו תרפ"ו/ 30 סיון 5686."
"Dedicated to the Lord, and donated to the Major(ca) Holy Congregation (Remarks: no. 1), 'may the sublime establish it in justice', by the dearest woman Mrs.. Mazal, 'may she be blessed above women' (Judg. 5:24). For the repose of the soul of her dear husband the honourable Rabbi Jacob Isaac Beja, may he rest in Eden, may his soul be bound in the bond of life, who died on the 29th of Kislev, (5)686 (16.12.1925). (Donated) on the 30th of Sivan 5686 (12.6.1926)."
The inscription surmounts a wreath of two flowering stems with leaves emerging from a central open flower.
The round top has two openings for the Torah staves. A band surrounds the top and bottom edges of the cloak.
Online collection of the ritual objects from the E. Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute is available here: http://cbj.jhi.pl/collections/964689
Name/Title
Torah mantle | *Synagogue Objects | Torah mantle
Object
Object Detail
Settings
Unknown
Date
1926
Active dates
Reconstruction dates
Artist/ Maker
Unknown (Unknown)
Origin
Historical Origin
Unknown
Community type
Congregation
Location
Unknown |
Site
Unknown
School/Style
Period
Unknown
Period Detail
Collection
Documentation / Research project
Unknown
Category
Material / Technique
Cotton
Material Stucture
Material Decoration
Material Bonding
Material Inscription
silk threads in laid and couched embroidery
Material Additions
machine-made band
Material Cloth
blue cotton velvet
Material Lining
none
Tesserae Arrangement
Density
Colors
Construction material
Measurements
Height
740 mm
Length
Width
970 mm
Depth
Circumference
Thickness
Diameter
180/210 mm
Weight
Axis
Panel Measurements
Condition
Intact
Extant
Documented by CJA
Surveyed by CJA
Present Usage
Present Usage Details
Condition of Building Fabric
Architectural Significance type
Historical significance: Event/Period
Historical significance: Collective Memory/Folklore
Historical significance: Person
Architectural Significance: Style
Architectural Significance: Artistic Decoration
Urban significance
Significance Rating
Textual Content
Unknown |
Languages of inscription
Unknown
Shape / Form
Unknown
0
Ornamentation
Custom
Contents
Codicology
Scribes
Script
Number of Lines
Ruling
Pricking
Quires
Catchwords
Hebrew Numeration
Blank Leaves
Direction/Location
Façade (main)
Endivances
Location of Torah Ark
Location of Apse
Location of Niche
Location of Reader's Desk
Location of Platform
Temp: Architecture Axis
Arrangement of Seats
Location of Women's Section
Direction Prayer
Direction Toward Jerusalem
Coin
Coin Series
Coin Ruler
Coin Year
Denomination
Signature
Colophon
Scribal Notes
Watermark
Hallmark
Group
Group
Group
Group
Group
Trade Mark
Binding
Decoration Program
Summary and Remarks
1. The Major synagogue was probably established by refugees who fled from Majorca after the expulsion of 1942. Disagreements and disputes among the congregation occurred in the first half of the seventeenth century, causing splits of the community into several small congregations. According to one source, it was split into two synagogues: The Major Rishon (the first) and Sheni (the second). The first, located in the Yeni Havlu quarter (Gerogiou Stavrou St.), was destroyed in the fire of 1890. A year later it was reestablished, but was burned down again in the fire of 1917. The Major Rishon Synagogue was then relocated at Spartis Street. The Major Sheni, however, is not listed among the syna
Remarks
Suggested Reconsdivuction
History/Provenance
2. A collection of ritual objects was confiscated from the Greek Jews when they were transported to Auschwitz during World War II. This Torah mantle was handed over to the museum in 1949 from Torun, a city in northern Poland, where the Nazis had concentrated the ritual objects from different places, mainly from Poland.
Main Surveys & Excavations
Bibliography
• Elias, V., Messinas. The Synagogues of Salonika and Veroia. Athens: Gavrielides Editions, 1997.
• Kerem, Yitzchak, and Bracha, Rivlin. "Salonika" In Pinkas Hakehillot: Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities from their Foundation till after the Holocaust: Greece. Ed. By Bracha, Rivlin. Jerusalem: Yad Vashem, 1998
Short Name
Full Name
Volume
Page
Type
Documenter
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Author of description
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Architectural Drawings
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Computer Reconstruction
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Section Head
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Language Editor
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Donor
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Object Copyright
The Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw (JHI)
Negative/Photo. No.