Name/Title
"Malbush"Entry/Object ID
K_0643Tags
storageDescription
Hebrew: "Dedicated to the Lord by the honorable and respected Mr. Siu Kohanaka for the soul of his mother Elviv Kohavaka in the year 5691 of creation (1931)". Used to cover torah tik
"A round cloth is set between the staves on which the Torah finials are mounted and is called malbush (Hebrew for garment) by the elders of the community. This custom was unique to Afghanistan and eastern Persia, and is familiar to us only from one other community, that of Yemen, where the cloth was known as a talith, a name whose Hebrew literal significance parallels that of the Afghan malbush. A study comparing the Afghan malbush to the Yemenite talith suggests that the malbush is a remnant of a more ancient custom which is no longer practiced in other communities. The malbush is a round cloth of costly fabric, bordered with a strip of tassels.
A dedicatory or commemorative inscription was sometimes embroidered on the malbush. The malbush was more prestigious than the kerchiefs which were hung on the sides of the Torah case, since it could not be purchased and had to be prepared especially for this purpose. Thus, the malbush was the preferred method of commemoration, and embroidered dedicatory inscriptions were more common on these cloths.
The malbush is a dying custom in the Afghan synagogues of Israel, and the research team discovered only a few of them. In one case, the malbush served as a cover for Elijah's chair, and in two cases the malbush was found in its original place on top of the Torah's case."
- Afghanistan: The Synagogue and Jewish Home by Zohar Hanegbi and Bracha YanivMade/Created
Date made
1931Place
* Untyped Place
IsfahanCountry
IranContinent
AsiaRegion
Middle East