Obj. ID: 39386 Karaite Torah ark curtain donated to the synagogue in Gozlva, Evpatoria, 1824
sub-set tree:
The following description was prepared by William Gross:
This textile is the central panel of a larger textile piece which served as the cover for the readers desk, or "duchan" as it is referred to in the inscription. The Torah scroll, after it is removed from the ark, is placed on such a desk for reading to the congregation. The background cloth for this central piece with the inscription was probably a plain cloth, a printed cloth or a machine embroidery. The Parochet, as this is named in the inscription, is from a Karaite "Kenasseh", as their synagogues were called, and is extremely rare. The inscription is done in gold metal thread on a red silk background. The name used in the inscription for the place, "Gozlova" is a reference to the city of Yevpatoria in the Crimean Peninsula, one of the primary centers of the Karaites. The Karaites, whose origin lies in a Jewish religious dispute in 8th century Iraq, flourished for many hundreds of years alongside normative rabbinic Judaism, but today they number a few thousand only, almost all of them in Israel.
Inscription: This is the Parochet which is on the readers desk , dedicated by the honorable teacher, the cultured and wise rabbi Mordechai, may his rock protect and sustain him, Kapli, the son of the honorable teacher, the elderly and cultured Eliyahu, of blessed memory, to the synagogue of the holy community of Golzva [Yevpatoria], for the indulgence of the soul of his wife the honorable, modest woman Rachel, may she rest in peace, and for the indulgence of the soul of his daughter Altin, the pleasant young unmarried woman, may she rest in peace, and for the indulgence of the soul of his only son, the friendly and pleasant Eliyahu, may he rest in Eden, and may his resting place be protected by dew [a reference to the holy protection of manna in the desert by dew from the heavens], in the year 5584 [=1823] at the beginning of the month of Kislev.