The Hebrew inscription on this Torah shield from Vidin, Bulgaria, reads: “Dedicated to the holy congregation of Vidin, may the Lord build it, amen, by individuals from Ada Kalisi, may the Lord sustain…
It is said: A thread of grace is spun and drawn out of the deeds of Israel, and the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself, in His glory, sits and weaves—strand on strand—a tallit all grace and all mercy…
In the eponymate of Dayan-Ashur, on the 14th of Aiaru (Iyyar), I set out from Nineveh . . .
I set out from the Euphrates and approached Aleppo. They (i.e., the inhabitants of Aleppo) were afraid of…