Torah Cover

The dimensions of this cloth and the placement of its dedicatory inscription suggest that it was used as a cover for the Torah between lections. An embroidered flower fills each corner, and the lengthy inscription is in the center. It reads:
See this cover, interwoven [i.e. fabricated] of gold and silk, the donation of the woman Judar (?) wife of Abraham El-Maliah who was cured from... and for the repose of the wise, the noble Moses El-Maliah, and a donation for her husband who returned from the war in peace. Made on the sixth day of the month of Nisan [in the] y[ear] 5582 (1822) according to the large counting.

On the reverse, is a biblical quotation associated with the Day of Atonement: Leviticus 16:30. It is written in ink on a white cloth. White textiles are used in the synagogue on Yom Kippur to signify purity. On that day, the cover would have been reversed so the white side was visible.

The placement of ornaments in the corners of a square or rectangular cloth was common in Arab lands. The El-Maliah family lived in Mogador (Essaouira) and Tangier. The reference to the husband's return in peace is an idiom for: "safely."