Torah mantle

United States

c. 1954

Velvet with embroidery

Minneapolis Institute of Art

A deep red velvet Torah mantle is adorned with gold embroidery. It features a crown, two lions, and tablets of the Ten Commandments, along with Hebrew text and decorative floral motifs. Yellow fringe trims the top and bottom edges. The most important object inside any synagogue is the <I>Sefer Torah</I> (ספר תורה), or Book of the Torah. As such, it is a great honor and sign of reverence to surround Torah scrolls in elaborate, decorative coverings, often of either velvet cloth or wood. It is common for Torah covers to be given to a congregation in honor of a member, as the inscription on this mantle confirms by naming Reb Tzvi, the son of Joseph Edelstein ( עדילשטיין יוסף בר צבי ר ). Also included is the epitaph “May his soul be bound in the bundle of life” (תנצבה). Atop the inscription is the phrase “Keter Torah” (כתר תורה), meaning “Crown of Torah.” The <I>ke