Wimpel DLV
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A wimpel ( yi, ווימפל, from
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
, "cloth," derived from Old German, ''bewimfen,'' meaning "to cover up" or "conceal") is a long,
linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...
sash used as a binding for the
Sefer Torah A ( he, סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה; "Book of Torah"; plural: ) or Torah scroll is a handwritten copy of the Torah, meaning the five books of Moses (the first books of the Hebrew Bible). The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Tora ...
by Jews of Germanic (
Yekke A Yekke (also ''Jecke'') is a Jew of German-speaking origin. German Jews are perceived in Israel as having attention to detail and punctuality. Demography The wave of immigration to British Mandatory Palestine in the 1930s and 1940s known as ...
) origin. It is made from the cloth used to swaddle a baby boy at his bris milah, uniting the communal world of the
synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
with the individual's own life cycle. The wimpel is an offshoot of a common Jewish practice. In the times of the
Tannaim ''Tannaim'' ( Amoraic Hebrew: תנאים , singular , ''Tanna'' "repeaters", "teachers") were the rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 10–220 CE. The period of the ''Tannaim'', also referred to as the Mis ...
, all Torah scrolls were wrapped only with a cloth, known in Hebrew as a “mappah,” or in German, a “wimpel.” As with other holy Judaic objects, donating a mappah was considered to be a great
mitzvah In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word (; he, מִצְוָה, ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment commanded by God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of discus ...
and honor, and very often a groom would donate one on the eve of his wedding. Most of these were made from old clothing. While some Rabbis approved of this practice, others did not because they felt that it was not proper respect for the Torah. Unlike these controversial “second-hand” mappot, the cloth used at a baby's circumcision was undoubtedly holy, and it gradually became the custom to donate these as mappot. There are many variations as to what takes place at the actual wimpel ceremony. One common approach is to bring it to synagogue when the boy turns three and is toilet-trained. He and his father get the
aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...
of gelilah, and together they wrap the wimpel around the Torah. (Variations include the child's age, the type of aliyah, and the extent of the child's participation in the actual ceremony.) Afterwards, the family invites the community to join them for a
kiddush Kiddush (; he, קידוש ), literally, "sanctification", is a blessing recited over wine or grape juice to sanctify the Shabbat and Jewish holidays. Additionally, the word refers to a small repast held on Shabbat or festival mornings after t ...
, a small celebratory party. This custom is still observed today by most members of the German community. It is an extremely joyous occasion, and its main purpose is to instill a love and enthusiasm for
shul A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
and Judaism within the child.


Origins

Some attribute the origins of the custom to a story recorded about a time when the Maharil was the sandek for a circumcision. The circumciser, known as the " mohel", performed the circumcision, and then realized that he had forgotten to bring a bandage. The Maharil understood that this was a life-threatening situation, and he instructed the mohel to use a mappah from one of the synagogue's Torah scrolls as a bandage. Then the Maharil instructed the child's parents to wash it once they were done with it and return it to the synagogue with a minor contribution to reimburse the synagogue for their use of the mappah. However, there are reasons to believe that the practice of using the cloth from the circumcision predates the Maharil, and the story is only of interest to illustrate that the cloth, even after being sanctified with the holiness of the Sefer Torah, may be used for the wrapping of the baby at the circumcision. See Rabbi Rabbi Binyamin Shlomo Hamburger's Shoroshei Minhag Ashkenaz for more details about this discussion. This incident highlighted the connection between the Torah and circumcision, as both relate to covenants that the Jewish people have with God (the covenants of Torah and circumcision). The custom gradually developed into the one that is practiced today by German Jews: At a baby's circumcision, the mohel places a long swatch of white cloth - the wimpel – under the pillow. Afterwards, the wimpel is beautifully decorated – it can be either painted or embroidered – with the child's name, date of birth, and the Hebrew phrase which states “Just like he entered the ovenant ofcircumcision, so too he should he covenant ofTorah, marriage, and good deeds.” Some mothers do the artwork themselves; others retain the services of “wimpel professionals,” e.g., men or women who do this as a side job or hobby. Another explanation comes from an 80-year-old lady who remembers a ceremony from her synagogue in Germany, where the young child was brought to the synagogue once he was free of diapers, and the women would throw the wimpel on the Torah, while the men carried the Torah below the Court of Women (Ezrat Nashim). The wimpel was then dedicated to the synagogue, symbolizing the fact the child is now pure, and can take part in the service.


Creating the wimpel

The wimpel is created shortly after the brit milah using the swaddling cloth that was used at that ceremony. The cloth is cleaned, cut into strips and sewn into a sash measuring six or seven inches wide and ten or twelve feet long. The child's Hebrew name and date of birth are painted or embroidered onto the cloth, usually by the mother or grandmother, along with the traditional
blessing In religion, a blessing (also used to refer to bestowing of such) is the impartation of something with grace, holiness, spiritual redemption, or divine will. Etymology and Germanic paganism The modern English language term ''bless'' likely ...
: * ה' יגדלהו לתורה ולחופה ולמעשים טובים אמן *"...may God raise him up to life ofTorah, a successful marriage, and
good deeds ''Good Deeds'' is a 2012 American romantic drama film written, co-produced, directed by and starring Tyler Perry with the rest of the cast consisting of Thandiwe Newton, Brian White, Rebecca Romijn, Jamie Kennedy, Phylicia Rashad, and Gabrielle ...
, Amen."


Symbols and Motifs


Bringing the wimpel

When the child comes of age to begin learning Torah (age 3), he and his family bring the wimpel to the
synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
for
Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
morning services. After the Torah reading, the child performs the ritual of gelila, perhaps with the help of his father, by wrapping the wimpel many times around the Torah scroll and tucking the end of the cloth into the folds. In this way, the child's individual responsibilities to God and His commandments are literally wrapped around his communal responsibilities, a figurative lesson for the child and his family. Rabbi
Shimon Schwab Shimon (Simon) Schwab (December 30, 1908 – February 13, 1995) was an Orthodox rabbi and communal leader in Germany and the United States. Educated in Frankfurt am Main and in the ''yeshivot'' of Lithuania, he was rabbi in Ichenhausen, Bavaria, ...
, Rav of
Khal Adath Yeshurun Khal Adath Jeshurun (KAJ) is an Orthodox German Jewish Ashkenazi congregation in the Washington Heights neighborhood, in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It has an affiliated synagogue in the heavily Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Monse ...
synagogue in Washington Heights,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, which revived the custom among the younger generation of Yekke congregants, suggested that perhaps the source of the wimpel custom was to avoid knotting and unknotting a tie around the Torah on Shabbat (''see'' the 39 categories of activity prohibited on the Sabbath). On that first
Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
that the wimpel is presented and used, the child's family makes a
kiddush Kiddush (; he, קידוש ), literally, "sanctification", is a blessing recited over wine or grape juice to sanctify the Shabbat and Jewish holidays. Additionally, the word refers to a small repast held on Shabbat or festival mornings after t ...
in honor of their son's entering into a life of Torah.


Other uses

The synagogue typically receives many more wimpels than Torah scrolls. The wimpels are often stored in a drawer in the
Ark Ark or ARK may refer to: Biblical narratives and religion Hebrew word ''teva'' * Noah's Ark, a massive vessel said to have been built to save the world's animals from a flood * Ark of bulrushes, the boat of the infant Moses Hebrew ''aron'' * ...
. A boy's wimpel would then be placed on the Torah on other special occasions in his life, such as his Bar Mitzvah,
Aufruf Aufruf (Yiddish: אויפרוף ''ofrif'', ''oyfruf, ufruf/ifrif'' or אויפרופן ''ofrifn''), which in Yiddish means "calling up," is the Jewish custom of a groom being called up in the synagogue for an aliyah, the recitation of a blessing ove ...
, and other important family events. Some wimpels were even used as a decorative banner on the chuppah itself.


Lengnau Mappot

One of the most extensive collections of wimpels was found in the 1960s in the
Surbtal Surbtal is a river valley region in the Canton of Aargau, Switzerland. Geography The ''Surbtal'' (literally ''Surb valley'') is situated parallel to the Limmat Valley (''Limmattal'') in the Baden and Zurzach districts of the Canton of Aargau i ...
in the Swiss canton of
Aargau Aargau, more formally the Canton of Aargau (german: Kanton Aargau; rm, Chantun Argovia; french: Canton d'Argovie; it, Canton Argovia), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capita ...
. The 218 textiles, which had been discovered in the women's gallery of the synagogue in Lengnau, span three centuries. The oldest one dates back to 1655. In 1967 the wimpels were examined by Dr. Florence Guggenheim-Grünberg. They are now part of the collection of the
Jewish Museum of Switzerland The Jewish Museum of Switzerland in Basel provides an overview of the religious and everyday history of the Jews in Basel and Switzerland using objects of ritual, art and everyday culture from Middle Ages, the Middle Ages to the present. Histo ...
.


Notes and references


Bibliography

* Lubrich, Naomi (ed.), ''Birth Culture. Jewish Testimonies from Rural Switzerland and Environs'', Basel 2022. ISBN 978-3796546075 * Ehrenfreund-Michler, ''Dinah: Wickelgeschichten. Die Lengnauer Tora-Wimpel''. In: Bhend, Angela/Picard, Jacques: ''Jüdischer Kulturraum Aargau'' 2020, S. 212-214. * Feuchtwanger-Sarig, Naomi: ''Torah Binders from Denmark''. In: Gelfer-Jørgensen, Mirjam (Hg.): ''Danish Jewish Art. Jews in Danish Art''. Kopenhagen 1999, S.382-435.


External links


Das Schultragen
The Presentation at the Synagogue, 1869 By Moritz Daniel Oppenheim
Photo of wimpel made in Germany in 1694wimpel.org
Information and instructions for modern-day wimpel-making
{{Jewish life Jews and Judaism in Germany Ashkenazi Jews topics Birth in Judaism Yiddish words and phrases Jewish ritual objects German-Jewish culture in Germany Yekke