Wimpel commemorating the birth of Michael Abraham (Menachem ben Shlomo) Scharff by the cantor and "mohel" (circumcisionist) Reuben Eschwege. [New York], 5th Tammuz 5707 [June 23, 1947].
Ink and paint on linen cloth.
A "wimpel" (linen Torah binder) rich in illustrations and decorations of various kinds, some characterized by subtle humor. Made from a single long, narrow sheet of fabric, with the following (Hebrew) inscription appearing in the middle, punctuated with some of the relevant diacritics: "Menachem son of Shlomo known as Michael Abraham Scharff may his Rock and Redeemer protect him, born with good fortune on Monday the 5th of Tammuz 5707 [June 23, 1947] … May the Lord raise him to [be privileged with] Torah, the wedding canopy, and good deeds, Amen".
This particular wimpel bears an extraordinarily rich and varied assortment of elements, and features literally dozens of illustrations as well as graphic and textual comments, all centered around the main inscription – over it, under it, and in between the words – including illustrations depicting traditions German Jews brought with them when they immigrated to the United States, alongside purely American illustrations and motifs, created in the spirit and style of the time, namely the 1940s.

Inscriptions and illustrations:
Included among the illustrations and decorations are the following: Listings of the names of all the books of the Pentateuch and all the tractates of the Mishnah, as well as midrashic teachings of the Sages of the Mishnah and Talmud, and the writings of early and late rabbinic scholars – all written in red along the upper margin; two bands of floral patterns in green and red in the upper and lower margins; 18 small illustrations depicting the chronological development of a child from the suckling stage to adolescence; illustrations dedicated to Jewish holidays, including a four-layered Passover seder plate and a wheelbarrow for the charoset, typifying traditional German-Jewish imagery; a table set for a Sabbath meal and another table set for the Havdalah ceremony, the latter with a tower-shaped spicebox and a Havdalah candleholder; the four species of the Sukkot holiday; a shofar inscribed with the (Hebrew) words "Holy Community of Cologne"; slaughterer’s knives; a Hanukkah dreidel; a stork with a cloth-wrapped baby suspended from its bill, and another stork nesting on a red-shingle roof of a house, next to the inscription "Holy City of Bruchsal [Germany]"; a Torah scroll and the Two Tablets of the Law; a man in a suit and hat, next to the inscription "Gut Yom Tov [Happy Holiday]"; an alms box; and more. The figures featured in the illustrations are all shown wearing skullcaps or some other form of head covering.
The unfolding wimpel begins with an illustration showing medical professionals treating patients, next to (Hebrew) inscriptions with the words "Thou supportest all who fall" and "healest the sick" (excerpted from the second paragraph of the "Amidah" prayer); to the left of the word "yigadlehu" ("[will] raise him") is an illustration of a young man dressed in a suit, holding a briefcase monogrammed with the initials (in English) "M.A.S. / C.P.A." [initials of Michael Abraham Scharff Certified Public Accountant?], perhaps alluding to the youngster’s parents’ profession, and/or suggesting a desirable professional future for the child.
Worked into the Hebrew calendar year is an inscription detailing the Hebrew numerological value of the letters that make up the number 5707, explaining, as well, how to calculate the corresponding Gregorian year; each of the three letters of the Hebrew year are highlighted with red cherries.
Following the word "LaTorah" ("to [be privileged with] Torah") is an illustration of a Torah scroll and a pair of hands pointing to it. Above the same word is an intriguing illustration allegorically depicting a man standing at a crossroads of two paths: The signpost for one path points to Torah, and its subheading reads (in English) "First line"; the second path’s signpost points (in Hebrew) to "Derekh Eretz" (which can be translated as anything from good comportment to secular studies), and its byline (again in English) is "Second line both together". Following the word "Uli-chupah" ("and to the wedding canopy") is an illustration (appropriately enough) of a wedding canopy, with a couple and a rabbi standing underneath it.
Additional illustrations: A flag of the United States, a guitar, the flag of Israel, a turkey, ducks and fish, and a turntable-radio, product of Lutz.

About the artist (and "mohel"):
Moses (Moshe) Reuben Eschwege was born in Thüngen, Germany, in 1890. Prior to the outbreak of WWII, he served as a teacher, cantor, and secretary for the Jewish community of Würzburg, and was one of the one hundred men arrested and interned at the Buchenwald concentration camp in the wake of the riots of Kristallnacht. Along with his wife and children, in 1939 he left Germany, arriving first in London, and moving from there, in 1940, to the United States, where he took up residence in New York City. There Eschwege was employed as both a cantor and a "mohel". It was evidently in the context of the latter profession that he created the present wimpel, along with a number of other, similar ones, to be found, among other places, in the collection of Yeshiva University. Eschwege passed away in 1977 and was buried in New Jersey.

Approx. 246.5X15.5 cm. Good condition.

Reference and exhibitions:
1. Alles hat seine Zeit / A Time for Everything. Munich, Jüdisches Museum München, 2013-2014.
2. Moses, Little Red Riding Hood and the Furniture Store: Wimpels (Torah Binders) in the Yeshiva University Museum Collection, Gabriel M. Goldstein. New York, Yeshiva University Museum, 1998.
3. The Jewish Heritage in American Folk Art, by Kleeblatt and Wertkin. New York, Uiverse Books, 1984, pp. 114-115.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 019.014.053.
This wimpel is documented on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA) website, item no. 39321.