Overview
- Brief Narrative
- Pair of tefillin purchased by Shimon Meszel, a Jewish soldier in the Soviet Army, for five rubles in Kharkov, Russia, in 1943. Tefillin are small boxes containing prayers attached to leather straps and worn on the arm and the head by Orthodox Jewish males during morning prayers. Shimon eventually emigrated to Israel.
- Date
-
received:
1943
- Geography
-
acquired:
Kharkiv (Ukraine)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Shimon Meszel
- Contributor
-
Subject:
Shimon Meszel
- Biography
-
Shimon Meszel was born to a Jewish family. During World War II (1939-1945), he served in the Soviet Army. Shimon was stationed in 1943 in Kharkov, Russia (Kharkiv, Ukraine). He emigrated to Israel, where he married Klara Gorysznik, born on February 1, 1926, in Warez, Poland (Varyazh, Ukraine). The couple settled in Bat Yam, Israel.
Physical Details
- Language
- Hebrew
- Classification
-
Jewish Art and Symbolism
- Category
-
Jewish ceremonial objects
- Object Type
-
Tefillin (lcsh)
- Physical Description
- a. Square, black painted leather box, a head tefillin, centered on a larger square, black painted leather platform. The 5 layered platform is sewn together with light brown thread made from the gut of a kosher animal (gidden). A dark brown leather strap is inserted through the platform, knotted on one end, and loosely coiled around the platform for storage. The box contains 4 parchment scrolls inscribed with a Torah verse. The left and right sides of the box have an embossed Hebrew Shin letter; the left Shin has 4 strokes.
b. Square, black painted leather box, a hand tefillin, centered on a larger square, black painted leather platform. The 5 layered platform is sewn together with light brown thread. A dark brown leather strap is inserted through the platform, knotted on one end, and tightly wrapped around the platform for storage. The box contains a parchment scroll inscribed with 4 Torah verses. - Dimensions
- a: Height: 4.000 inches (10.16 cm) | Width: 5.375 inches (13.653 cm) | Depth: 3.375 inches (8.573 cm)
b: Height: 3.250 inches (8.255 cm) | Width: 4.000 inches (10.16 cm) | Depth: 2.625 inches (6.668 cm) - Materials
- a : leather, paint, paper, ink, thread
b : leather, paint, paper, ink, thread - Inscription
- a. left and right side, left side with 4 strokes, painted : Hebrew Shin letter
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The tefillin were donated to the United States Holocaust Museum in 2004 by Shimon Meszel.
- Funding Note
- The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
- Record last modified:
- 2024-10-02 14:49:54
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn515329
Download & Licensing
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