Obj. ID: 37314 Torah pointer, Venice, 1711/12
sub-set tree:
assayer's mark: initials AP
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 presence of Italian Torah pointers, outside of synagogues and museums is quite unusual. This pointer is a very early example of a Yad from Venice, dedicated by a prominent family by the name of the Caravahlo. The burial place of this particular man, Avraham Baruch Caravahlo, still exists in the Jewish cemetery on the Lido. The early date for an Italian Yad and the direct family link make this example both rare and highly interesting.
Inscription:
זאת התורה אשר שם משה לפני בני ישראל [דברים ד, מד] שנת אב קארולייו יצ"ו לפ"ק
And this is the Law which Moses set before the Children of Israel (Deut: 4:44) the year (chronogram) Av[raham] Carvalhlo [1711/12]