Object numberM2019/007:003
DescriptionSilver Breastplate (shield), placed in front of the mantle of the Torah scroll in Ashkenazi communities, part of the collection of Judaica donated by Jeanette Abrams (nee Dohan).
This custom did not develop in Sephardi communities because their Torah scrolls were kept in a case (tik) which did not lend itself to such additional decoration. Symbolic of, and sometimes similar to, the breastplate prescribed for the high priest, the object is often called 'hoshen mishpat', the Hebrew for the breastplate. Since more than one Torah scroll was usually kept in the synagogue Ark, it became customary during the late Middle Ages to indicate on each scroll the occasion or festival for which it was to be used. From this practical function there gradually developed the practice of including in the breastplate a section specifying the festival on which the scroll was to be utilized. Some of the breastplates are beautiful examples of Jewish ceremonial art .
The Torah was given to Nicholas Fenyö (Ford), grandfather of the donor, when he left Slovakia in 1951. The Rabbi of Trevišov had given it to her grandfather as “the population was gone and it would have more life in Australia”. The Torah was subsequently lent to Allawah Synagogue. Years later, upon hearing that the Torah was no longer Kosher, Walter Dohan (father of the donor) retrieved it. Rabbi Shmuel Cohen sent the Torah to a Sofer (scribe) in Melbourne for restoration; the Rabbi also purchased the silver crowns, breastplate and the pointer from Israel. The family looked after the Torah as a treasured symbol of the community and the synagogue that once existed in Trebisov.
This custom did not develop in Sephardi communities because their Torah scrolls were kept in a case (tik) which did not lend itself to such additional decoration. Symbolic of, and sometimes similar to, the breastplate prescribed for the high priest, the object is often called 'hoshen mishpat', the Hebrew for the breastplate. Since more than one Torah scroll was usually kept in the synagogue Ark, it became customary during the late Middle Ages to indicate on each scroll the occasion or festival for which it was to be used. From this practical function there gradually developed the practice of including in the breastplate a section specifying the festival on which the scroll was to be utilized. Some of the breastplates are beautiful examples of Jewish ceremonial art .
The Torah was given to Nicholas Fenyö (Ford), grandfather of the donor, when he left Slovakia in 1951. The Rabbi of Trevišov had given it to her grandfather as “the population was gone and it would have more life in Australia”. The Torah was subsequently lent to Allawah Synagogue. Years later, upon hearing that the Torah was no longer Kosher, Walter Dohan (father of the donor) retrieved it. Rabbi Shmuel Cohen sent the Torah to a Sofer (scribe) in Melbourne for restoration; the Rabbi also purchased the silver crowns, breastplate and the pointer from Israel. The family looked after the Torah as a treasured symbol of the community and the synagogue that once existed in Trebisov.
SubjectRitual Object, Judaica
Object nameTorah breastplates
Materialsilver
Dimensions
- width: 240.00 mm
height: 290.00 mm
Language
- Hebrew According to our Rabbi the Torah cover inscription reads:
"For the memory of Shlomo Yaakov the son of Shraga Samuel
Donated by his daughter - Rachel Bloom"
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Jeanette Abrams