Two items are used to wrap the Torah scroll in Ashkenazi communities: a binder (Mappe or Wimpel) and a narrow mantle. The binder is bound around the scroll and then the mantle is placed over it. A parokhet is hung in front of all arks. In addition, a kaporet is hung above the parokhet in many of the arks.

Binder, Germany, 19 November 1606

L: 247 cm W: 14.5 cm

Unbleached linen fabric; ribbed silk ribbons; embroidery in coloured silk thread using stem stitch

Portuguese Synagogue, Amsterdam, no. PIG 0055

The binder is not complete. It consists of two whole strips of linen and part of another. The three pieces are joined by means of ribbons sewn on using blanket stitch. The inscription is in outlined letters in the style of the initial panels of Ashkenazi medieval illuminated manuscripts. The space inside the letters is filled with geometrical, foliate, and zoomorphic patterns. Most of the spaces between words contain embroidered designs such as geometrical patterns, a unicorn, two birds on a branch, or a composition with the head of a dragon at one end and a dragon's tail at the other. The dedicatory inscription commemorates the birth of a boy (fig. 65; Appendix C3, no. 13).

Binder, Germany, 1 July 1719

L: 289 cm; W: 21.5 cm

Bleached linen fabric; embroidery in coloured silk thread using stem and filling stitch

Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, no. 19.14.43

The binder consists of four strips of linen joined together using blanket stitch in coloured thread. The edges are also finished in blanket stitch. The inscription is in Ashkenazi outlined decorative letters filled with flowers, animals, and geometrical forms using filling stitch. The dedicatory inscription commemorates the birth of a son, Uri son of Judah Aryeh Bacharach. The main inscription is accompanied by supplementary ones and explanations related to the primary text. ‘Known as Fei[bi]sch’ is embroidered under the boy's name, while under the other details appears the verse ‘Bold as a leopard, light as an eagle, swift as a gazelle’ (Mishnah, Avot 5: 20), combined with depictions of a lion, a gazelle, and a two-headed eagle. Beneath the month of his birth, Tamuz, is the phrase ‘His zodiac sign is Cancer’ together with a depiction of a crab.