Obj. ID: 37360
Sacred and Ritual Objects Torah pointer, Hebron, circa 1910
The following description was prepared by William Gross:
The pointer used by the Torah reader to keep the place is known in European communities as the *yad, "hand," or the eẓba, "finger," and in Sephardi and Eastern communities as the moreh, "pointer," or kulmus, "quill," the former because of its function and the latter because of its shape. Halakhic sources also use the terms moreh or kulmus. The pointer was originally a narrow rod, tapered at the pointing end, usually with a hole at the other end through which a ring or chain could be passed to hang the pointer on the Torah scroll.
The original form of the pointer was preserved in Eastern communities, the differences from one community to another being mainly in length and ornamentation. In certain communities, a hand with a pointing finger was added, and accordingly, the pointer came to be known as a yad, "hand," or eẓba, "finger." Pointers are made for the most part of silver or silver-plated brass, but in a few European communities, they used to be made of wood. In such cases, the pointers were carved in the local folk-art style.
According to the dedicatory inscription, this Torah pointer is one of the few ritual items still remaining from the synagogues in the city of Hebron. While the style of the pointer resembles the form used in Egypt, it is not sure exactly where this Yad was crafted.
Inscription: From the elder, David Hakohen, may the Lord sustain him and grant him favor, and his wife Esther, she will be blessed above women of the tent (Judges 5:24), dedicated to the Lord and to the Holy City of Hebron, may it be built and established, from the city Legvati(?), (ayyin - aleph)