Why is there a crown on the Torah?

The crown augments the Torah’s status as an object associated with royalty and speaks to the centrality of the Torah in Jewish life. Such rich embellishment is indicative of the wealth and influential status of the Jewish congregation in the Venetian city state.

What is placed on top of the Torah scrolls?

A Sterling Silver Torah Breast Plate – or Hoshen – often decorate Torah Scrolls. A set of sterling silver finials (rimmonim, from the Hebrew for “pomegranate”) are used to decorate the top ends of the rollers.

What is Torah crown?

The crown symbolises majesty and the law of Torah. The rimmonim evoke the bells worn on the high priest’s robe as described in the Book of Exodus. This ornate ritual object is an important part of Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert’s collection.

What is the Torah written in?

Hebrew
The Torah is written in Hebrew, the oldest of Jewish languages. It is also known as Torat Moshe, the Law of Moses. The Torah is the first section or first five books of the Jewish bible. However, Tanach is more commonly used to describe the whole of Jewish scriptures.

What does the Torah mean in the Bible?

It has been thought to mean a multitude of things including “instruction”, “law”, and “teaching”. The Torah is often misunderstood to represent the Hebrew Bible, but in fact only actually covers the first five books, known as the Pentateuch, out of the total twenty-four.

What did the Crown of the Torah look like?

In Eastern Iran, where the Torah had a small crown, the outer sides of the crown lost their spherical shape and became flat dedicatory plaques. Today this crown looks like a pair of flat finials, and only their designation as “crowns” hints at their origin in the Torah crown.

How are the scrolls of the Torah preserved?

The use of gevil and certain types of parchment has allowed some Torah scrolls of antiquity to survive intact for over 800 years. The calfskin or parchment on which the sacred Hebrew text is written is mounted into a wooden housing called עץ חיים etz khayim, “Tree of Life” in Hebrew. Ingredients used in making ink for Hebrew scrolls today.

What kind of pointer is used to sing the Torah?

As the Torah is sung, following the often dense text is aided by a yad (“hand”), a metal or wooden hand-shaped pointer that protects the scrolls by avoiding unnecessary contact of the skin with the parchment.