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Torah Binder
German
1851
Medium/Technique
Cotton plain weave, painted
Dimensions
Overall: 9” x 127.5”
Credit Line
Gift of Ms. Shelley Katsh and Dr. Mark Gabry in memory of Mrs. Estelle W. and Dr. Abraham I. Katsh—Katsh Family Judaica Collection
Accession Number2016.400
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJudaica
ClassificationsReligious and cult objects
DescriptionA Torah binder is used to bind a Torah scroll and keep it from unwinding. It is made from strips of the swaddlecloth used to wrap a baby boy at his circumcision, and emboidered or painted with the Hebrew blessing recited during the ceremony - mentioning the baby's and father's names, the date of birth, and good wishes for the boy's life.
Torah binders were donated to a synagogue on the boy's first visit (around the age of four), and were first used on the Sabbath of the boy's Bar Mizvah.
Torah binders were donated to a synagogue on the boy's first visit (around the age of four), and were first used on the Sabbath of the boy's Bar Mizvah.
InscriptionsPainted in Hebrew: “Moshe son of Avraham, may he live long and happy days, born with mazel tov (to good luck) on Tuesday 25th Tishri 5612 (21 October 1851). May God raise him to Torah, Huppah (marriage canopy), and good deeds. Amen…”
ProvenanceAbout 1851, presented by the family of Moshe son of Avraham to a synagogue, possibly in Germany [see note]. Between about the 1940s and 1970s, acquired by Dr. Abraham I. Katsh (b. 1907 – d. 1998), New York; by inheritance to his daughter, Shelley Katsh, Pawtucket, RI; 2016, gift of Shelley Katsh and Mark Gabry to the MFA. (Accession Date: September 28, 2016)
NOTE: Inscribed in Hebrew with the name of Moshe, the son of Avraham, who was born in 1851. It is not known precisely when or where Dr. Katsh acquired the torah binder. He traveled extensively to Russia, Eastern Europe, and Israel beginning in the 1940s.
NOTE: Inscribed in Hebrew with the name of Moshe, the son of Avraham, who was born in 1851. It is not known precisely when or where Dr. Katsh acquired the torah binder. He traveled extensively to Russia, Eastern Europe, and Israel beginning in the 1940s.