The Birnbaum - Ozerow Parochet
This white parochet (Torah curtain) meant to be
used on the High Holy Days was created by Yehiel Isaac Birnbaum,
his two daughters, Reisel and Marmish, and his son Chaskel over a
year-long period in Ozerow, Poland. It was sent to Montreal in
1939.
THE EUROPEAN STORY
The parochet was embroidered in the late 1930s by Reisel
and Marmish Birnbaum. At that time the Birnbaum family in Ozerow
consisted of parents Yehiel Isaac and Yocheved, their two daughters
Reisel and Marmish, and their son Chaskel.
The Birnbaums sent the parochet to their family in Canada
along with other embroidered items with the intention of raising
funds to facilitate their passage to North America. However, they
were unable to escape Poland before the start of World War
II. Their living relatives in Canada, who continue to mourn
their loss, highlight the interconnectedness of Jewish communities
in Europe and Canada before and after the Holocaust.
THE CANADIAN STORY
Shloime (Sam) Birenbaum (Birnbaum) immigrated to Montreal,
Canada from Ozerow, Poland in 1926, and soon after that married
Rachel Kastenbaum at the Anshei Ozeroff (also spelled Ozarow/
Ozarov) synagogue of Montreal. Rachel was the daughter of Shmuel
and Chava Kastenbaum, who had come to Canada after World War I
through the efforts of her uncle Shloimeh Dov Kastenbaum, himself a
native of Ozerow, who had settled in Smith Falls, Ontario in around
1909.
Sam Birenbaum/ Birnbaum was trained as a carver and served as
Reader and Secretary of the Anshei Ozeroff Congregation until his
death on December 16, 1943. Founded in around 1918 by members from
the town of Ozerow in Poland, the synagogue also served as a
landsmanschaft, or grouping of Jews from a particular region. The
congregation merged with the Adath Israel Poale Zedek in
2003.
The parochet was used in the synagogue after it arrived in
Montreal in 1939. In 1979 it was donated to the Canadian Jewish
Archives, then known as the Canadian Jewish Congress National
Archives, by the female descendants of the Birnbaum family.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PAROCHET
The textile consists of two separate pieces, the valance with
tassels, and Torah ark curtain, approx. 92cm x 107cm in size. Both
are on white silk bordered with blue, and lined with linen. The
embroidery depicts two lions atop columns, with a star between the
lions, a crown above, and Hebrew text reading 'crown' 'Torah', and
'Let the redeemer come speedily and let him build the cities of
Judah' (in part from Psalm 69:36 'For God will save Zion and build
the cities of Judah').
The fabric was stained by water and rust and also shows some
signs of previous insect activity. Some of the rings used to
suspend the curtain are missing. These details were noted in 1985
when the materials were assessed by a textile conservator. Both
valance and curtain are very fragile.
The Birnbaum - Ozerow parochet was on loan to the Montreal
Holocaust Museum from 1991-1999, serving as the focal point in the
first room of their exhibit "Splendor and Destruction, Jewish Life
That Was, 1919-1945". Since its return it has been kept under wraps
in controlled conditions, but it has figured in virtual form in
numerous illustrated lectures, allowing its poignant story to be
heard in many contexts.