Obj. ID: 1366
Sacred and Ritual Parokhet (?), Thessaloniki (Salonika), 1931
The heart shaped dedication was possibly part of a Torah ark curtain. A stylized crown flanked by two Stars of David, are set on top. A dedication is inscribed in Hebrew and Judeo Spanish (Ladino) in square Hebrew characters, which reads:
"ק"ק (קהל קדוש)/ בית יעקב/ הקדש/ אין מימוריה דיל דיפונטו הבחור/ שנפטר סמוך לחופתו עודנו באבו/ וסבל ייסורים קשים: הר' שמואל אברהם נחמה נ"ע (נוחו עדן)/ ויהי היום י"ט חשון התרצב/ תנצבה."
“(Dedicated to) the Beit Ya'acob Holy Congregation (see: Remarks: no. 2). A Dedication made in memory of the late young man, who past away close to his wedding day, still young, and suffered great torments: Rabbi Samuel Abraham Nehamah, May he rest in Eden. (Donated) in 'one day' 19th of Heshvan 5692 (30.10.1931), May his soul be bound in the bond of life."
A wreath of two foliate stems, bound by a ribbon, frames the inscription.
Online collection of the ritual objects from the E. Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute is available here: http://cbj.jhi.pl/collections/964689
- The fragment is probably part of a parokhet.
- The Midrash Beit Ya'acob was established before 1890, by the Techenyo family (Smyrnis St.). It was burned down during the fire of 1917, and another building bearing the same name was built in a different location (22/23 Philippou St; cf. Messinas, The Synagogues, p. 86, Synagogue no. 47).
sub-set tree: 
Lining: none
Decoration: cotton threads in chain stitched embroidery
Inscription: cotton threads in chain stitched embroidery
The fragment is in a disintegrate condition.
Juhasz, Esther, “Arigim ve-rekamot ba-bayit u-ve-veit ha-keneset”, In Yehudei Sepharad Ba-Imperia Ha-Ottomanit, ed. Esther- Juhasz, ( Jerusalem: The Israel Museum, 1989), 64-119 (In Hebrew)
Juhasz, Esther, “The Material Culture of Sephardic Jews in the Western Ottoman Empire, (Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries) In The Jews of the Ottoman Empire, ed. Avigdor Levy ( Princeton: The Institute of Turkish Studies, 1994), 575-583.
Messinas, Elias. The Synagogues of Salonika and Veroia. (Athens: Gavrielides Editions, 1997)