Wimpel (Torah binder), Kirchberg, Germany, 1775 CE
According to the museum:
Painted wimpel for a child named Yitzchaq ben Pinchas, born on Friday, September 29, 1775.
The inscription reads: יצחק בן כ[מר] פנחס שליט נולד במ[זל]ט[וב] יום ו ע[רב]ש[בת]ק[ודש] תקלו ה[שם] יתן לגדלו לתורה ולחופה ולמעשים טובים א[מן]"ס[לה] (Yitzchaq ben Pinchas born under a good sign on the 6th day eve of the holy Sabbath the 5th Tishri [5]536 may God let him grow to Torah and to the wedding canopy and to good deeds amen selah).
Acronyms are expanded by adding full Hebrew words either above or inside the letters of the inscription. The words "good sign" are accompanied by the caption, מזל מאזנים ("Libra") and the depiction of scales.
The words "grow to Torah" are accompanied by a depiction of a Torah scroll, inscribed with the quotations, וזאת התורה אשר שם משה לפני בני ישראל על פי יי ביד מושה ("And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel" Deuteronomy 4:44; and "At the commandment of God by the hand of Moses" Numbers 9:23), which in Ashkenazi synagogues are recited during the elevation of the Torah scrolls during liturgy. The words "to the wedding canopy"are illustrated by a wedding scene that includes a bride and groom exchanging a wedding ring and a celebrant holding a (prayer) book at the center, surrounded by two figures holding a canopy (chuppah), a figure holding two cups, and a violinist (klezmer). The last words of the inscriptions are accompanied by various painted figures, including a deer, which may at times indicate the family name, Hirsch (German for deer).
