This is a photograph of an early twentieth-century Torah scroll binder from Bulgaria from the collection of the Center for Jewish Art. The red velvet binder has a purple lining and is embroidered in gold thread with the Hebrew text, “Don’t forget the Jewish National Fund.”
The Jewish National Fund (JNF) was founded in 1901 to collect money from Jews in the Diaspora in order to buy land in the Land of Israel and to prepare the land for Jewish settlement. As can be seen from the embroidery on the binder, the members of this particular synagogue were committed Zionists, aware of the importance of immigration and settlement.
These binders are designed to secure the Torah scroll so that it does not open when taken out of the ark and brought to the table to be read. They are made of a wide, soft material that will not damage the Torah scroll.
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Jewish Community of Bulgaria – The Jewish community in Bulgaria has a long and rich history. The first Jews arrived after the Roman conquest in about 46 AD, and Josephus himself wrote about Jews living there. More Jews arrived in the seventh century, escaping ill-treatment by the Byzantines. Following the lead of other countries, the Church Council demanded the expulsion of Jews from Bulgaria in 1352, although according to records the decree was not executed meticulously. By the time that the Ottoman Empire had full control of the country, there were several sizeable Jewish communities across Bulgaria. For several centuries, the community was split into Romaniotes, Ashkenazim, and Sephardim, until 1640 when a single rabbi was appointed for all three groups. Once the modern state was formed in 1878, Bulgarian Jews were granted equal rights. Jews were drafted into the Bulgarian Army and fought in the Serbo-Bulgarian War (1885), the Balkan Wars (1912-13), and World War I. The deaths of 211 Jewish soldiers of the Bulgarian Army, among them 28 officers, were recorded during World War I. In July 1940, the Bulgarian authorities introduced anti-Semitic laws, and in March 1941, Bulgaria joined the Axis alliance and took part in the German attack on Yugoslavia and Greece. The first wave of Jewish deportation began in the winter of 1943 from the Bulgarian-occupied areas such as Macedonia, Thrace, and Pirot. These Jewish communities were delivered to the Germans who sent them to their death in Treblinka. In February 1943, the Bulgarian government approached the British with a proposal to send their Jews to Mandatory Palestine, but the plan was declined by British Foreign Minister Eden. The next stage was to deport the Jews from Bulgaria proper, but due to protests launched by opposition politicians, clergy, and intellectuals, Bulgarian Jews were not sent to the death camps but were expelled to the countryside and to labour camps. After the war, Israel formally thanked Bulgaria for defying Nazi commands to deport their Jews. In the years following the Holocaust, most Jews left Bulgaria, the majority immigrating to Israel. It is estimated that the Jewish community of Bulgaria currently comprises between 2000 and 6000 people, most of whom live in Sofia. There are two functioning synagogues, a Jewish elementary and high school, youth movements, and representation of international Jewish organisations.
Keren Kayemet L’Yisrael/Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) – KKL-JNF was founded in 1901 at the Fifth Zionist Congress for the purpose of raising money to purchase land in Israel, which would become the Jewish homeland. The well-known “blue boxes” were used by Jews all over the world to collect this money. The work of KKL-JNF can be divided into three phases. The first 50 years were dedicated to purchasing land. During the next 50 years KKL-JNF developed the land including planting over 220 million trees, building infrastructure such as roads and parks, and helping new immigrants to settle. In the current phase KKL-JNF is putting its emphasis on caring for the environment and solving the perennial problem of water scarcity.
