Exhibit: “Binders of the Covenant”—Torah Binders from the Memorial Scrolls Trust

“Binders of the Covenant” brings to life the story of Torah binders from the Memorial Scrolls Trust. The exhibit spotlights 25 historic binders that survived the Shoah and explores their significance for European Jewry, genealogy, and why they have relevance in today’s world.

In 1964, 1,564 Torah scrolls arrived at the synagogue building in Knightsbridge, London. These sacred survivors of the Shoah had survived a journey from small towns and large cities in Bohemia and Moravia, the land near Prague, to a new life in the Jewish diaspora. The Torah scrolls are now part of the Memorial Scroll Trust. With the scrolls came also hundreds of Torah binders used to wrap the actual parchment under the ornate Torah cover. Many, typically hand-sewn by women, offer biographical inscriptions creating tangible connections with the families–men, women, and children–of the past. These Torah binders make up one of the largest collections of this sort in the world.

The exhibition “Binders of the Covenant” at Fordham University is the first time that these precious textiles will be shown in the United States. These historic binders will be shown alongside photographs of the towns from which some of them came by Sheila Pallay and contemporary interpretations of this tradition through the fiber art of Rachel Kanter.