Two Torah Pointers – Central Morocco, Tafilalt Region – One in Memory of Rabbi Yahia Lahlou

Two Torah Pointers – Central Morocco, Tafilalt Region – One in Memory of Rabbi Yahia Lahlou

Two Torah pointers ("Qlam des-sifer"). Tafilalt Region, central Morocco, [late 19th century / early 20th century].
Silver, cast and engraved.
Leafy, flower-shaped upper joint with apical ring. Handle with leafy ornaments in middle. Flat open hand with extended fingers, and cuff. Dedicatory Hebrew inscriptions on back (using customary abbreviations):
1. "Sanctified to the Almighty in honor of the Great Rabbi, Learned in Miracles, Rabbi Yahia Lahlou, Righteous and Holy of Blessed Memory, may his virtue protect us, Amen." Rabbi Yahia Lahlou was among the most revered of the "tzadikim" (righteous rabbis) of Morocco, sent as an emissary from the Land of Israel on a mission to raise funds from the Moroccan Jewish community on behalf of Torah institutions in the Land of Israel. His tomb in the city of Errachidia (Tafilalt Region, central Morocco) was regarded as a Jewish holy site and a destination of pilgrimages.
2. "This is the Torah Scroll, Sanctified unto the Lord, of Hanini Nizri, in memory of her late mother Esther Zano, may her soul rest in Eden."
Length: 12.5 cm; 13.5 cm. Good condition.
Reference: Jewish Life in Morocco, pp. 54-55.

Moroccan Torah pointers are usually flat, and, unlike its counterparts in other parts of the Jewish world – in which, apart from the index finger, the "hand" is depicted as a clenched fist – here the hand is flat, with fingers extended, to give the appearance of a "hamsa" symbol. In Moroccan Judaeo-Arabic, this type of object is termed "qlam des-sifer, " or, as is implied in a dedicatory inscription on one particular Torah pointer (see item no. 7 below), a "moreh" (i.e., "guide").