Obj. ID: 37277 Torah pointer, China, circa 1880
sub-set tree:
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 etẓba, "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. An additional reason for using the pointer was to prevent the oily finger from touching the parchment and inked letter, something that would eventually cause severe deterioration.
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.
The Torah pointers used in the East often are just that - pointers that end not in a hand, as in Europe, but simply as the end of the decorated rod. This example was made in China, most probably for the Calcutta Jewish community but perhaps for another of the Baghdadi communities in other cities in South-East Asia. There is a hinged plaque at the top, as was a custom for the Baghdadi communities, that carries a memorial dedicatory inscription. The Yad was crafted in Shanghai and carries Chinese export silver marks on the back of the plaque above. The rod that ends in the point for following the text of the Torah scroll is made in a pattern reminiscent of a piece of bamboo, showing once again the use of local forms and motifs in the fashioning of Jewish ritual objects.
Inscription: For the repose of the deceased Yosef Rachamim Eliyahu, May his soul rest in Eden