Educational Resources

This Digital Resource Library was created by the Jewish Museum London learning team. The Library brings together objects, video and audio that relate to the Jewish experience in Wales from collections across the country and is specifically designed for teachers and students.

Torah Mantle (Object)

Copyright/attribution: St Fagans National Museum of History

Copyright/attribution: St Fagans National Museum of History

What do you see?

We can see some red fabric with gold fringes at the top and bottom. We can also see some Hebrew writing. Look closely, what do you see?

What do we know?

This is a Torah mantle, the cloth cover that goes over the Torah scroll. It is decorated with a crown, to symbolise the importance of the Torah. It also has the symbol of the Ten Commandments.

This Torah mantle was embroidered by Mrs Trude Owen, a member of the Cardiff Jewish community. The cover was made to protect a Torah scroll that came from a synagogue destroyed during the period of Nazi persecution.

During the 1960s, Jewish congregations in the UK were able to receive Torah scrolls which had previously belonged to synagogues in Europe that no longer had a Jewish community. This scroll was donated by Louis Lermon (1902-1996) who was a Trustee and Warden of the Cardiff New Synagogue (now the Cardiff Reform Synagogue). The Cardiff New Synagogue was founded in 1948, and many of the members had fled Nazi Germany, including Mrs. Trude Owen who made the cover.

What do you wonder?

We might wonder what the mantle would feel like to touch? We also might wonder how Trude Owen felt when she was making it? What do you wonder?

Discussion Questions

Why might a Torah scroll need a cover?

What happens when a Torah scroll is damaged and cannot be repaired?