On Sunday 20 June, a new exhibition with the title: Simchat Thora - Joy of the Law was opened in Museum Het Kapiteinshuis in Nieuwe Pekela. Jewish heritage and silver treasures from Pekela. The reason for this exhibition was the recent purchase of the original Torah shield from the Jewish community in Pekela.
Torah shield The Torah shield was made in 1905 by the silversmiths R. van Duinen and J. van Weering in Groningen, on behalf of the women's association Bigdei Koudesh. In the following year, the women's association donated the jewelry to their synagogue in Oude Pekela. After the war, the Torah shield eventually ended up in the United States via Amsterdam. It was auctioned here in 2021 and with the support of many subsidisers, the Torah shield could be acquired for Museum Kapiteinshuis in Nieuwe Pekela. In the coming months, it will be the focus of an exhibition in which a lot of attention is paid to Jewish ritual silverware. Gemielut Chasadim Kabranim Synagogue Groningen made a loan available for this exhibition, namely a booklet of the statutes of the 'pieuse Israëlietische Vereeniging Gemieloeth Chasadiem Kabraniem'. In the booklet, printed in 1907, we read about the rights and obligations of the members of this funeral association.
Torah shield with the statute book in the foreground. A poem by Saul van Messel, who grew up in nearby Winschoten, adorns the facade of the museum.
Visiting information: www.kapiteinshuis.nl | Rev. S. Tjadenstraat c 96 in Nieuwe Pekela