Chapter One The Evolution of Synagogue Textiles in Ancient and Medieval Times

The evolution of ceremonial synagogue textiles is closely related to that of the Torah scroll, particularly the way in which it was wrapped and the space in which it was stored. This process of evolution began during the Second Temple period and came to an end in the early fifth century, when the method of writing Torah scrolls was set; it was then that the tradition of writing the Pentateuch on parchment in the form of a scroll became accepted as the method of writing Torah scrolls....

Chapter Two Fabrics and Techniques

This chapter is devoted to the linen and silk fabrics used in the production of medieval ceremonial textiles, and the techniques employed to create the embroidered and woven patterns that embellished them. As we have already seen, the elegance of ceremonial textiles in antiquity is revealed in the use in early sources of the term ...

Chapter Five The Torah Ark Curtain and Valance

‘The curtain that is on the outside, in front of the ark, is like the parokhet in the Tabernacle, about which it is written “the curtain shall serve you as a partition” and so forth.’ This is how, in the early seventeenth century, Rabbi Joel ben Samuel Sirkes of Poland defined the essence of the ...

Chapter Three The Torah Wrapper and the Torah Binder

Textile accessories for the Torah scroll are the most sacred ceremonial objects because they come into direct contact with the scroll. This is true of the wrapper (mapah, or mitpaḥat) and the accessories that evolved from it. Various aspects of the sanctity of these objects are discussed in the rabbinical literature. Rabbi Joseph ben Solomon Colon, who lived in fifteenth-century Italy, ruled that the mantle acquires its sanctity as soon as ‘the Torah scroll had been wrapped in the mantle [...

Dedication of Ceremonial Objects

This chapter explores 179 dedicatory inscriptions, which are grouped according to object, origin, and chronology and reflect customs relating to various aspects of the donation of the objects to the synagogue. It covers the dedicatory inscription on a ceremonial object donated to a synagogue that reflects the emotions and aspirations of the donor that conveys information relating to the event or person commemorated or honoured. It also explains how inscriptions can contribute significantly to the study of the community's customs, social life, and history. The chapter explores the tradition of having a dedicatory inscription that is known from ancient times, from inscriptions in the mosaic floors of synagogues. It also analyses the inscription of a name as a means of establishing the donor's rights that is mentioned in medieval halakhic sources.

Annotated Plates of Representative Textile Objects in the Synagogue

This chapter includes a section of plates in which ceremonial objects are illustrated and documented according to the communities in which they were used. It highlights the plates of textile that typically represent the ceremonial artistic concept of each community. It also describes the wrap from Rome that consists of fourteen pieces of undyed linen of various widths with linen strips that are embroidered with a pattern of vines. The chapter looks at a wrap from Rome that was stored in Museo Ebraico di Roma, which is made of seven pieces of rectangular fabric arranged symmetrically on each side of the central panel, which depicts the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. The chapter analyses the embroidery of two pieces of fabric to the right and left of the central panel of the wrap with the name of the donor, Joseph Samuel Sarina.

Chapter Four The Torah Mantle

It used to be the custom to donate a mantle (me’il) to the synagogue, either along with a new Torah scroll or on its own. When a mantle is donated with a scroll, they are kept together and the mantle acts as the scroll’s permanent covering, making it easier to identify a specific scroll. In congregations with many Torah scrolls, the dedicatory inscription on the mantle is of great importance since it helps to pick out the scroll that is to be read. There are also mantles with no connection to a specific scroll, the intention behind the donation often being that they should be used on particular sabbaths or to commemorate special occasions....