Obj. ID: 10854
Sacred and Ritual Torah mantle, Thessaloniki (Salonika)
The trapezoid Torah mantle comprises a cloak attached to a round top, with a vertical back opening. It is decorated on its upper front with a crown, topped by an apex, shaped like a Star of David. Below the crown is a Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) dedicatory inscription embroidered in square, filled letters, which reads:
"הקדש די לה'/ סיניורה רוזה די אליהו/ יאודה פור סוס דיפונטוס/ יום טוב א' בילייאה/ אמבראם יוסף אי שבתאי/ אי אברהם אי איסטיר/ אי דולסה (ב)ן סאנג'י שבתי/ אי רשל יהודה אי שרה/ אטאס התרפב (5682)."
Translation: "Dedicated to the Lord by Roza (wife) of Elijah Judah in memory of the souls of her dead (relatives): Yom Tov and Bella Ambram (Abraham), Joseph and Shabbetai, and Abraham and Istir (Esther) and Dulse son of Sangi Shabbetai, and Rachel Judah and Sarah Attas 5682 (1922)."
The inscription is set above two scrolled stems with leaves, bound by a ribbon. The round top has two openings for the Torah staves. A fringed strip surrounds the top and the bottom edges of the cloak.
sub-set tree: 
Cloth: dark red cotton velvet
Lining: cotton
Inscription: chain stitch embroidery
Additions: fringed strip
Width: 460 mm
The mantle is in good condition.
A collection of ritual objects was confiscated from the Greek Jews when they were transported toAuschwitzduring World War II. This Torah mantle was handed in 1948 to the Jewish Historical Institute (JHI) from Narozno, a city inSilesiawhere the Nazis stored the objects.
Online collection of the ritual objects from the E. Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute is available here: http://cbj.jhi.pl/collections/964689