Obj. ID: 5374
Sacred and Ritual Objects Torah case, Greece, 19??
The oval Torah case consists of a body with a flat roof and bottom. The case is divided into two vertical halves adjusted to contain the Torah scroll, rolled on two staves. It is closed by a hook in the front and joined by two hinges at the back.
The wooden case is covered in its outer and inner faces with brown carton pieces, originally used as a box for mazzot (unleavened bread for Passover). It was delivered fromNew Jersey, as is still apparent from the English manufacturer's imprint stamped on its inner left side:
"[M]ade inUSA/ Manischewitz Co./ [?]Ti",Ohio–Jersey City,N.J./ Matzos."
And on the right side, it reads:
"In honor of Passover"
Two aluminum bars are attached to the inner face, to enable the rolling of the scroll without tearing the parchment (see: Remarks). Hinges for hanging a Torah wrapper surround the upper edges of the case. Two metal plaques covering the holes for inserting the Torah scroll staves, are on the roof and the bottom of the case.
13 image(s)
sub-set tree:
The Torah case is in good condition.
The Torah case is a secondary use of a carton box imported from New Jersey which contained mazzot (unleavened bread) produced by the American-Jewish company which until 2004 was called the "Manischewitz Company". The Company specialized in kosher food (see: http://www.manischewitz.com). Since the Jews of Trikala suffered bad economic conditions, they used the sturdy American carton to create the Torah case. Perhaps, the unleavened bread was sent to them by American Jews in order to enable them to celebrate Passover properly. Another case (Torah case Sc.541-10) was made from a carton box that was originally used as a container for dried cream of onion soup base and was also imported from the States.