2. Hall - 2. view

Torah mantle

In European, Ashkenazi Jewish communities, the scroll is first tied, and then dressed in a fine Torah-coat made of silk, velvet, or simpler materials. The embroidery on the tobacco-colored Torah mantle refers to symbols associated with the Torah. Above the simple, embroidered houses a growing olive tree towers. The text surrounding the composition in a semicircle is a quote from the book of Proverbs: “She is a tree of life to those who grasp her” (Proverbs 3:18), which clearly refers to the Torah. At the same time, the two shafts to which the parchment containing the text of Torah are wound up are called the tree of life (aitz chayim). Yet not these shafts but the olive tree is displayed on the mantle, which is identified in Jewish folklore and mystical thinking as the real tree of life. The embroidered text on the protective mantle can be interpreted in very specific terms, referring to the physical content inside the mantle. But it can be also understood, in a poetic sense, referring to the spiritual significance of the Torah. Visual appearance, however, shows the “tree of life” motif that plays a role in the Jewish mysticism as well.