28/06/2025
Torah Ark door
Wood (walnut) with traces of paint and gilding
From Ben Ezra synagogue, Cairo, Egypt
11th century
The Walters Art museum and Yeshiva university museum.
Torah Ark is a special cupboard which holds the sacred Jewish scripture.
This door is inscribed on both sides at top and bottom with Hebrew verses evoking the door's significance as a gateway to the heaven :
On the exterior face it is written " Open to me gates of righteousness ... This is the gate of lord"
On the exterior face of the panel, a central medallion with pointed terminations enclosing arabesque designs, In each of the four corners similar intertwining foliate forms and terminations frame the center motif.
And on the interior face it is written " May the lord bless you and keep you... the Lord lift his countenance onto you "
In the 19th century, the torah ark doors were renewed with the application of pigment (no longer visible) including red, green and purple - brown paint and gilding, Rather than replacing the Torah ark doors with new furnishings in the most up - to date fashions, their reuse and renewal reflects the respect for the original carvings and the sanctity they had acquired.
