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Opening of “Binders of the Covenant” Exhibit
Tuesday, March 17, 4:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Join us for the opening of the exhibition, “Binders of the Covenant,” which 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. Two officials from the Czech Republic Consulate in New York will be in attendance: Consul General Karel Smékal and Deputy Consul General Michal Kaplan.
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, curated by Warren Klein, Amy Levine-Kennedy, and Magda Teter, is the first time that these precious textiles will be shown in the United States.
The binders are shown alongside photographs of the towns from which some of them came by Sheila Pallay and a contemporary reinterpretation of the tradition by artist Rachel Kanter.
The exhibit is made possible by the Hadassah Ruth Weiner Fund for Jewish Art at Fordham, the Henry S. Miller Judaica Research Collection Endowment, and the Henry S. Miller Student Research in Jewish Studies Endowment, and the Memorial Scrolls Trust. It is co-presented in partnership with the Leo Baeck Institute of New York.
The exhibit will be on view at the Walsh Family Library on the main floor and on the 4th floor in the Henry S. Miller Judaica Research Room from March 17 to May 30, 2026.
