Obj. ID: 6695
Sacred and Ritual Objects Torah pointer, Afghanistan, 1970
The silver maniform Torah Pointer consists of a bar and a pointer.
The bar is divided into an upper arm and a forearm by an upper and middle joint. The bar is flat, and rectangular and bears a dedicatory inscription framed by double outlines filled with dots and slanted lines. The upper arm is surmounted by an upper joint in the shape of a stylized pointed leaf, decorated with a seven-branched Menorah on one side and a palm tree on the other side. The flat flower-shaped middle joint is decorated with birds, fish, and a central flower. A clenched hand with a straight index finger is attached to an undulating cuff.
The inscription on the upper side of the bar is engraved in outline letters and reads towards the pointer:
אצבע זה קודש לבית / הכנסת לעלוי נשמת המרוחם
Translation: This Ezba (Torah pointer) is dedicated to the synagogue / for the exaltation of the soul of the one who found mercy!
Lower side reads towards upper arm:
יעקב בן מו [=מולא] יוסף חסיד שנפתר / ביום הש [=יום חמישי בשבוע] יד לחודש תשרי תשל ת'נ'צ'ב'ה'
Translation: Jacob son of Mullah (int.) Joseph Haim Hasid, who passed away / on Thursday 14th in Tishrei, (5)730=(1970), may his soul be bound up in the bond of life (int.)
4 image(s)
sub-set tree:
In Afghanistan, the pointer was called a qalam in the local dialects. It was originally a flat silver rod with one pointed end, but eventually, both ends became wider and were decorated with foliate or other designs. Gems were added to some pointers generally embedded as a part of the foliate patterns. The common method of decorating the Afghan Torah pointer was engraving. The favorite patterns were foliate and geometrical designs along the borders of the pointer, enclosing dedicatory or commemorative inscriptions. The inscription was engraved along the upper or back side of the pointer from the holding end to the pointing one. In the 1940s, when olive-wood Torah pointers from Eretz Israel reached Herat, the design of the Afghan pointer underwent some changes. These Israeli pointers were shaped like a hand with a pointing finger. They became extremely prestigious and were used only on the Sabbath and holy days. As a result, pointers made in Herat acquired a hand and a pointing finger.