Obj. ID: 37246 Torah pointer, Libya, 1921
sub-set tree:
F | Flower
B | Branch
H | Human Figure | Hand
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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.
The Torah pointers of Libya have a special shape, both in the handle portion and in the lower part, as shown by this example. They generally have floral engraving on one side of the wide and shaped lower portion and carry the family donation inscription on the other. This Yad is in the traditional form but is distinguished by particularly fine detailing, both in the cast handle and the decoration of the lower half. The pointing index finger has either been broken or extensively worn away by continued use over the years. The dedicatory inscription details the donation in memory of the woman Atu Avrahami.
Inscription: For the repose of the woman Atu of the family Avrahami, may she rest in Eden, the seventh day of Nisan, the year 5681 [1921]