53 Torah mantle

Pest, 1859

Silver-embroidered velvet

Deposit of the Pest Israelite Community, 1931

New Torah scrolls were made for the inauguration of the Dohány Street synagogue. A Torah scroll is written in a ritual process strictly defined by Jewish religious law, by the Torah scribe, called sofer. The scroll has to be written on parchment made in a specific way from the skin of a kosher animal, with a specific feather, ink and letter type. Since the Torah scroll itself cannot contain any other sign or inscription, the donors usually had their name and the fact of the donation commemorated on the mantle made to cover the scrolls, including often also the names of people in whose memory they made the donation, or the community to whom they donated the scroll. One of the first Torah scrolls of the Dohány Street synagogue was donated by one of the eleven prefects of the community, Salamon Herz and his wife Zisl. The Torah mantle of this scroll was deposited in the collection of the Jewish museum by the Pest Israelite Community.