Obj. ID: 37249 Torah pointer, Ukraine, circa 1850
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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.
A beautiful Yad done in the openwork technique so prevalent in Ukraine and Galicia. The decorative motifs, both floral and animal, are also based in those areas. But the dedication inscription is in English. Either the Yad was brought from Ukraine to England and dedicated there or it was made there by an immigrant silversmith intimately familiar with the techniques and motifs of his original land. Since there are no English marks, the second possibility is more likely. Several Ukrainian artisans arrived in England towards the end of the 19th century and worked in their profession. probably serving mostly the Jewish community that increased vastly in size in the same period.