NNLS Czech Memorial Scroll

The origins of our scroll (Scroll Number #159) were not known for many years and it was classed as an ‘orphan scroll’. However in February 2021 we discovered that our scroll comes from the town Kdyne (Neugedein) near Domažlice in the Pilsen region of Czech. 

We discovered this because our scroll is wrapped in a long wimple/binder – pictured here - which has an embroidered inscription celebrating the birth of Eliyahu, son of Mordechai Kloiber/Klauber in 1879.

Tradition tells us that the wimple/binder may have been used to swaddle Eliyahu at his Brit Milah and then embroidered and donated to the community at a later date as a way of connecting Eliyahu to the Torah.

Initially we were confused by reading the name of the place נייגעדיין because the gimmel and the Ayin were combined and made it look just like an Ayin but an expert at the Jewish Museum in Prague explained to us that this is called ligature, where the letters are often combined.

Coupled with this explanation was the discovery of a very similar wimple/binder in the Czech scrolls memorial trust, where the same father, Mordechai Kloiber, had had donated a binder/wimple for his elder son, Simon, in 1876 and on their wimple the town name was much clearer to read.

We have records that show that Mordechai Kloiber, the father on the inscription, was an active synagogue member in the 1870’s.

Our goal is to honour the  history of the Jews of Kdyne. We have an essay about their early history but we don’t yet know the fate of the Jews of this area during the second world war.

We know that Kdyne and a neighbouring town, Klatovy likely merged pre-World War 2 as Kdyne did not have enough people to warrant being a individual community.

However, we do know that there is still a synagogue in Kdyne today. It isn’t an active synagogue and there isn’t a Jewish community but it is still open as a memorial and we hope to visit one day soon.

Our duties and responsibilities towards this Torah are to:

• Remember European Jewish life before the Holocaust as well as its tragic destruction.
• Remember both individual Jews and whole communities whose names might otherwise be forgotten.
• Challenge those who interact with the scrolls to confront prejudice and hatred.
• Inspire them to action by committing to their Jewish lives and working to build bridges across communities.

Our next steps are:

• Find out more about the Jews of Kdyne and their fate during World War 2
• Share the discovery that it is no longer an orphan Torah with the community both on Yom Hashoah but also on other opportunities
• Forge a link with the community who holds the sibling binder and share stories with them.
• Visit the synagogue in Kdyne and honour their history

Click here to learn more about the Memorial Scrolls Trust.