Obj. ID: 10852
Sacred and Ritual Objects  Torah mantle, Thessaloniki (Salonika), 1896

The trapezoid Torah mantle comprises a cloak attached to a round top, and has a vertical back opening. The central upper front is decorated with a crown flanked by the Hebrew initials: "The crown of Torah" (based on Avot 4:13). Below the crown is a wreath made up of two foliate branches bound by a ribbon, creating a roundel which encloses a dedicatory inscription.  A Hebrew dedication is inscribed in square, filled letters, which reads: "קדש לה'/ זאת נדבה אשר/ הפרישו מתרומת/ כספם היקר הר'/ יוסף משה חבי"ד (חכם בית דין)/ הי"ו (ה' ישמרהו ויחיהו) ובנו היקר/ מרדכי הי"ו (ה' ישמרהו ויחיהו) לכבוד/ אביו ישלם ה' פעלם (מבוסס על רות ב: יב)/ שנת 5656." "Dedicated to the Lord. This donation was made of the money contributed by the dear Rabbi Joseph Moses, Judge of the Rabbinic Court, may the Lord sustain and protect him. And of his dear son Mordechai, may the Lord sustain and protect him. (The donation was made) in honour of his father, may 'the Lord will recompense thy work (and a full reward be given thee of the Lord, under whose wings thou art come to trust.'; based on Ruth 2:12).The year 5656 (1896)."   A scrolling stem runs along the edges, while four bouquets of flowers are set on each corner and point to the centre (fig. 1). The round top has two openings for the Torah staves. A fringed strip surrounds the top and the 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