Obj. ID: 10861
  Sacred and Ritual Torah mantle, Thessaloniki (Salonika), 1926
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 and 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."
Translation: 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.
sub-set tree: 
Cloth: blue cotton velvet
Lining: none
Inscription: silk threads in laid and couched embroidery
Additions: machine-made band
Width: 970 mm
Diameter: 180/210 mm
Intact
- The Major synagogue was probably established by refugees who fled from Majorcaafter 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 synagogues which were burned in the fire of 1917. Yet, for an unknown reason it was also relocated to another area (Quarter 6; cf. Messinas, The Synagogues, p. 63, synagogues. nos.12, 13).
A different source testifies that the worshippers of the Major Holy Congregation were split from the Sicilian Synagogue into small groups, but remained to pray in the same building; "The Honourable and the Rich Congregation" known as "The Major Holy Congregation", and "The Repentances", known also as the "Nah'myias Sect", who were less wealthy and felt dejected and despondent (cf. Kerem, Salonika, pp. 202-203).
The discrepancy in the historical evidence concerning the establishment of the congregation, makes it difficult to determine to which of the various congregations our Torah mantle was donated. Yet, since the dedication does not indicate whether it was dedicated to the Rishon or Sheni Major synagogue, it is possible to assume that there was only one Major Congregation known at the time of the donation. Accordingly, it is likely that the mantle was donated to the "The Honourable and the Rich Congregation" known as Major.
- A collection of ritual objects was confiscated from the Greek Jews when they were transported toAuschwitzduring World War II. This Torah mantle was handed over to the Jewish Historical Institute in 1949 fromTorun, a city in northernPoland, where the Nazis had concentrated the ritual objects from different places, mainly fromPoland.
Kerem, Yitzchak, and Bracha Rivlin, "Salonika" In Pinkas Hakehillot: Encycloapedia of Jewish Communities from their Foundation till after the Holocaust: Greece. Ed. By Bracha Rivlin ( Jerusalem: Yad Vashem, 1998).
Messinas, Elias. The Synagogues of Salonika and Veroia. (Athens: Gavrielides Editions, 1997)
Online collection of the ritual objects from the E. Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute is available here: http://cbj.jhi.pl/collections/964689