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Img. ID: 22493

© Center for Jewish Art, Photographer: Radovan, Zev, 1984

The prismatic Torah case is composed of a body and a crown. The body is formed of eight facets, and is divided into two vertical halves attached by hinges, connecting two facets on the back side, and a hook on its front. A wooden coronet formed of lily-like crenellations tops the body and surrounds a crown, shaped as a round cupola. Two metal bars for the finials are fixed on the cupola. The body's top and bottom are encircled by wooden stepped friezes. Additional flourish? strips encircle the upper and lower edges.

The inner face of the case is plain wood, and the crown is blocked by wooden boards. A dedicatory inscription is attached to its right inner side, written on paper in square Hebrew characters, and reads:

"קדש לה'/ זה התיק וספר התורה שבו/ הוקדש לבית הכנסת שער השמים/ מאת ק"ק (קהילה קדושה) אלקאהרה לעילוי נשמת/ המרוחמים אשר התנדבו קרוביהם/ לעילוי נשמתם כלי כסף כמו נרות/ או רימונים וכתרים לספרי תורה או ידות/ וכל מין תשמישי מצוה או תשמישי/ קדושה לכל בתי כנסיות העדה הן/ דעיר אלקאהרא או אגפיה/ והספר הזה הוקדש במקום/ כלים הנ"ל מהם אשר נגנבו ומהם אשר/ הסכימו בית דין להתיכן ולהוציא דמיהן/ לצדקה מחשש גנבה כאשר באה הסכמתם/ ביום שישה ועשרים לחדש אלול שנת התרנ"ג/ וספר תורה זה יהיה להם לזכר עולם/ לפני המקום ב"ה (בעזרת השם) לקרות בו בשבתות/ וימים טובים לעילוי נשמתם תנצב"ה"

"Dedicated to the Lord. This Torah case and the scroll in it were dedicated to the Sha'ar haShamayim synagogue, by the Holy communities in Cairo, for the exaltation of the souls of the merciful people, that their relatives donated silver utensils as (oil) lamps, or finials and crowns for the Torah scrolls, or pointers and all sorts of ritual objects and sacred objects, to the synagogues in Cairo and its surroundings. And this Torah scroll (was dedicated as) a replacement of all those utensils, from which some were stolen and some were melted, after the court's decision to donate their pecuniary value for charity. The donors, afraid of (another) theft, gave their approval on the twenty-sixth of the month of Elul the year, 5653 (1893). And this Torah scroll will be their eternal memoriam in front of the Lord, and with the Lord's assistance, (they will) read it on Sabbaths and festivals, for the exaltation of their souls, may their souls be bound in the bond of life." (See: Remarks).    

 

Name/Title
Torah case | Unknown
Object
Object Detail
Settings
Unknown
Date
1893
Synagogue active dates
Reconstruction dates
Artist/ Maker
Unknown (Unknown)
Origin
Historical Origin
Unknown
Congregation
Unknown
Location
Unknown |
Site
Unknown
School/Style
Unknown|
Period Detail
Khedive of Egypt, Abbas II (1892-1914)
Collection
Egypt | Sc_258
| 36
Documentation / Research project
Unknown
Material / Technique
Wood, paper
Structure: cut
Decoration: sawed
Bonding: screwed, hinges
Inscription: ink on paper
Material Stucture
Material Decoration
Material Bonding
Material Inscription
Material Additions
Material Cloth
Material Lining
Tesserae Arrangement
Density
Colors
Construction material
Measurements
Height: 890 mm (overall); 300 mm (crown); 40mm (coronet)
Width: 270 mm (overall); 220 mm (crown); 105 mm (facet)
Height
Length
Width
Depth
Circumference
Thickness
Diameter
Weight
Axis
Panel Measurements
Subject
Unknown |
Condition

The case is 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

Since the Middle Ages, the Jewish communities in Egypt maintained a communal social welfare system for the benefit of poor people. When there was a need for funds, the local Jewish organizations obtained sacred objects from the synagogue, which were considered communal property, and melted them down as currency on behalf of the poor. As a result of internal migration?/emigration from the community? and a deteriorating economic situation in the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries - the need to obtain the ritual objects increased. Thus, many of the dedicated silver ornaments and utensils were sold or melted, and the money was contributed to needy families. The above-mentioned dedication is a unique historical document that describes and clarifies the workings of the communal organization in Cairo, and the process of acting?. The dedication declares that the Jewish court decided to melt down the ritual objects donated to the synagogues in Cairo and its surroundings, in order to contribute the money to the poor. It seems that the donors agreed to the court's decision, because of a wave of synagogue burglaries, which put their donated ritual objects at risk of being stolen. The Torah case and the scroll in it mentioned in the inscription replaced the many ritual items donated to the synagogue. It served to preserve the memory of the donors and their contribution to the synagogue, as well as to acknowledge their assistance to the poor of the community.

This approach toward sacred objects was not unique to Egyptian communities. Sacred objects are generally considered practical utensils that adorn the Torah scroll, and thus do not bear holiness unto themselves. Therefore, it was permissible to melt or to sell them for communal purposes. This attitude is also reflected in the Responsa literature during the early Middle Ages up to contemporary times. Selling ritual objects and even Torah scrolls is permitted to redeem prisoners or to conduct an obligation such as marriage or charity. An example is the responsa of Rabbi Moshe ben Yitzhack Elshakar (known as the Maharam Elshakar 1466 -1542; born in Spain and was the chief rabbinical judge in Cairoin from 1522), who permitted the sale of an oil lamp and finials in order to finance a wedding (Responsa Elshakar, sign 72, Jerusalem, 1957).     

The high frequency of this course of action aroused the objection of the rich Jewish population, who felt manipulated. They refused to submit to this "obligatory charity," and in order to maintain their expensive dedications to the synagogue and the value of their properties, a new dedicatory formula was developed and introduced to the dedications: "This donation is given to the synagogue in an explicit condition that I stipulated, before it (the donation) entered the synagogue: (that is to say) that I am permitted to conduct this Torah scroll and its ornaments to any synagogue where I would pray." This explicit condition declared that the donation to the synagogue does not automatically become communal property, but remained the property of the donor. Consequently, the community was prohibited from using the object for any other purpose than synagogue services.

For a similar dedication, see Sc.258- 5. 

Remarks
Suggested Reconsdivuction
History/Provenance
Main Surveys & Excavations
Bibliography

Amar, Ariella."The Ritual Objects of the Egyptian Jews." In Egypt, Edited by Nahem Ilan, Jewish Communities in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Jerusalem: Ministry of Education and Ben-Zvi Institute for the Study of Jewish Communities in the East of Yad Yizhak Ben-Zvi and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2007. In Hebrew.

Short Name
Full Name
Volume
Page
Type
Documenter
Yemima Leben | 03.84
Author of description
Ariella Amar | 06.07
Architectural Drawings
|
Computer Reconstruction
|
Section Head
Ariella Amar | 06.07
Language Editor
Judith Cardozo | 06.07
Donor
UNESCO |
Negative/Photo. No.