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This chapter examines the linen and silk fabrics used in the production of medieval ceremonial textiles, and the techniques employed to create the embroidered and woven patterns that embellished them. The elegance of ceremonial textiles in antiquity is revealed in the use in early sources of the term shira'in na'in (fine fabrics), which connotes a concern for aesthetic values in religious observance. In all societies, embroidery — the creation of designs on a fabric using a needle and various threads — was a much simpler and more widespread technique than the weaving of designs, and was therefore less valued. From biblical times, weaving and embroidery have developed as techniques with similar objectives: first, to vary and improve the colourfulness of the object, and second, to create more sophisticated patterns. These two objectives are reflected in the materials used to make ceremonial textile objects, and they greatly influenced their design. The chapter then describes the term 'passementerie'; details the training, professional organization, and work procedures of Jews when making ceremonial objects; and looks at Jewish law and tradition in production.

This chapter highlights the Torah mantle, which was the last of the ceremonial objects to evolve for the wrapping of the Torah scroll. Just as garments reflect the status of their wearers in all cultures, so the mantle plays a similar role. Thus, a mantle is donated not only in order to protect the scroll, to give thanks to God, or to commemorate someone who has passed away; it is also a means of acquiring social status in the congregation and demonstrating one's wealth. This is especially evident in congregations in Italy and the Portuguese diaspora, whose mantles compete with each other with their wonderful gold embroidery, even though most of them lack any inscription or Jewish content. Flaunting wealth in the synagogue by donating ceremonial objects is especially ingrained in the Sephardi and Italian heritage as a result of the restrictions placed by rabbis on wearing sumptuous outer garments so as not to arouse jealousy among non-Jews. In contrast, in Ashkenazi congregations, the social status of the donors is demonstrated primarily through the use of honorific titles in the dedications, though beautiful embroidery and luxurious materials may be used to enhance the effect.

This chapter explores 179 dedicatory inscriptions, which are grouped according to object, origin, and chronology and reflect customs relating to various aspects of the donation of the objects to the synagogue. It covers the dedicatory inscription on a ceremonial object donated to a synagogue that reflects the emotions and aspirations of the donor that conveys information relating to the event or person commemorated or honoured. It also explains how inscriptions can contribute significantly to the study of the community's customs, social life, and history. The chapter explores the tradition of having a dedicatory inscription that is known from ancient times, from inscriptions in the mosaic floors of synagogues. It also analyses the inscription of a name as a means of establishing the donor's rights that is mentioned in medieval halakhic sources.

This chapter focuses on the Torah wrapper and the Torah binder. The wrapper, the piece of fabric rolled up with the parchment scroll, is an item used in the wrapping of the Torah scroll in Italy and the Sephardi diaspora of exiles from Spain and Portugal. In Italy, the wrapper is known as the mapah, indicating that it evolved from the first ceremonial object connected to the Torah scroll in antiquity, inheriting its name. Meanwhile, the binder is a long, thin piece of cloth bound around the Torah scroll. In Italy and in Sephardi diaspora congregations, it is bound over the wrapper, while in other communities it is placed directly next to the parchment scroll. What makes the Italian binders unique is that they are rooted in the embroidery and lace-work traditions of the Italian Renaissance and baroque period.

This chapter includes a section of plates in which ceremonial objects are illustrated and documented according to the communities in which they were used. It highlights the plates of textile that typically represent the ceremonial artistic concept of each community. It also describes the wrap from Rome that consists of fourteen pieces of undyed linen of various widths with linen strips that are embroidered with a pattern of vines. The chapter looks at a wrap from Rome that was stored in Museo Ebraico di Roma, which is made of seven pieces of rectangular fabric arranged symmetrically on each side of the central panel, which depicts the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. The chapter analyses the embroidery of two pieces of fabric to the right and left of the central panel of the wrap with the name of the donor, Joseph Samuel Sarina.