Img. ID: 239847
Sacred and Ritual Objects  

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The Torah^binder is a long, narrow cloth which bears the inscription for the circumcision ceremony, accompanied by illustrations. The inscription which is painted in square stylized filled letters, reads:

אברהם צבי בן הר"ר )הרב רבי( מרדכי נולד במ"ט )במזל טוב( יום א' ך תמוז תקם לפק ה' )השם( יגדלו לתורה ולחופה ]ולמעשים טובים אמן סלה[.

"Abraham Tsvi the son of Rabbi Mordecai born in good luck, Sunday, the twentieth of Tamuz, (5)540 (July 23,1780). May God raise him to Torah and to Huppah [and to good deeds. Amen selah]."

The word Torah is illustrated with an open Torah scroll surmounting five candlesticks. The Huppah is illustrated by a wedding ceremony during which the groom puts a ring on the bride's finger, while they stand under the Huppah. The month Tamuz is illustrated by it's zodiac sign, Crab, which is depicted in a basket. The sign is accompanied by the inscription:

מזל סרטן

"The zodiac sign Crab".

Decorative motives appear above and below the inscription, including flower-bearing branches, a stork holding a worm in its beak, a snake, lilies, a unicorn, a crown and a mermaid, from whose mouth an acorn-bearing branch sprouts. Some of the letters are decorated: the Lamedim end in the form of a branch, a snake, a feather, or a man; the letters Vav, Mem and Aleph are often decorated with human images.