Tas – also known as a Torah shield. The shield is part of the ceremonial “garment” of the Torah, worn during the most important Jewish holidays. It was a set with a velvet Torah cover and the Torah Crown. Made of silver-plated brass sheet, it is adorned with repoussé ornaments. The shield is richly decorated with stylized plant motifs – the acanthus leaf – as well as palmettes, flowers, and pearl decoration. The most important decorative elements are depictions of symbols important to Judaism. The shield is topped with a crown – a symbol of God’s majesty. The shield is flanked on its sides by two columns – a reference to the two columns from the former Temple in Jerusalem. They bore symbolic names: Jachin – “God has established” and Boaz – “in Him is strength.” In the center of the shield are two tablets with arched tops – a representation of the Tablets of the Ten Commandments. On either side, lions stand on their hind legs, supporting the tablets with their forelegs. As in heraldry, the lions here add rank to the tablets they hold. In Jewish culture, the lion symbolizes the tribe of Judah, from which King David descended and from which, according to Jewish tradition, the Messiah would descend. A rectangular, concave opening can be seen on the shield. This was used to affix tablets bearing the name of the current holiday. The shield presented here dates from the second half of the 19th century, from Poland. It entered the collection before 1939.
Tas – Torah “Shield”
