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    Title

  • Torah Wimpel (binder) for Ernst Gustav Kahn

  • Physical Description

    1 textile : paint on linen ; 20 x 380 cm ; 8 x 150 in

  • Date

    1927

  • Notes

    Guiding lines in pencil visible.

  • Summary

    Hebrew text painted on sections of linen stitched together, and "Ernst Gustav Kahn, geb. am 28. Januar 1927" included on the left. The Hebrew text translates to "Mordechai the Son of Moses the Priest, Who was born in good fortune on the holy day of Shabbat on the 26th day of Shevat 5687 (January 29th, 1927). With God’s help may he grow to observe the Torah, enter into marriage, and do good deeds. Amen, Selah." The wimpel is illustrated with images of a Torah scroll, a gnome-like figure standing near mushrooms, and an 8-point star with text referencing a wedding song.

  • Subject

    Judaica; Torah binders

  • Medium

    Ceremonial textiles; Torah ornaments

  • Accession Number

  • URL

Biographical/Historical Information

Wimpels date back to the Jews of Germany, particularly Southern Germany. After a boy's brith mila the mother would clean the cloth used as a swaddling cloth, cut it into segments of equal length and sew them together. It was then painted or embroidered with the infant's Hebrew nanme, date of birth, and the traditional blessing, "May God raise him to a life of Torah, marriage and good deeds." The wimpel would be presented to the synagogue as a Torah binder and be used on the boy's bar mitzva, thus turning it into a concrete, as well as symbolic, link between his confirmation of entering the covenant and his traditional coming of age.

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Citation

Torah Wimpel (binder) for Ernst Gustav Kahn, Leo Baeck Institute, 2004.29.