Obj. ID: 37252 Torah pointer, Tunisia, 1932
sub-set tree:
B | Bird
H | Human Figure | Hand
M | Magen David
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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 Torah pointer from Tunisia with carved decoration in the handle, including a Magen David and a bird.
Inscription: For the eternal rest of the pitiable Simcha of the house of Nachmias, may her soul rest in Eden, Rosh Hodesh Menachem Av, (5)692 [1932]. May her soul be bound up in the bonds of life