Obj. ID: 39247 Tefillin bag, Jerusalem, circa 1940
sub-set tree:
The following description was prepared by William Gross:
Religious Jews put on Tefilin - phylacteries - every weekday morning and they were carried to the synagogue for this purpose. To make this transport easier and to protect the Holy objects, the Tefilin were usually placed in a container, most often fashioned from some sort of textile. Such was the custom in most countries where Jews lived.
While the other Tefilin bags in the Gross Family Collection are embroidered by hand, the 20th century velvet was probably done by machine. With the depiction of the Kotel and the cypress trees the bag was probably offered as a tourist souvenir as well as applealing to the local population. The bag is surrounded by a cord decoration. Inscription: Souvenir of Jerusalem The Western Wall