Obj. ID: 37302 Torah pointer, Fes (Fez), circa 1900
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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.
This is a most graceful creation with very delicate engraving. This type of Yad was probably used in the area of Fez/Meknes. The pointer ends in a very long protruding finger, a feature that is often found in Yads from Fez. The proportions of this pointer are particularly aesthetic.
Inscription: And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel (Deuteronomy 4:44) Moses commanded us a law, an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob (Deuteronomy 33:4) The Lord, Moreh as an Estba (Two names for the Torah pointer in Morocco)