Torah scroll from Beth Shalom B'nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A handwritten Torah scroll containing the five books of the Old Testament (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) handwritten in Hebrew on parchment. The scroll is rolled onto two wooden shafts topped on either end with four plates. The shafts and plates are known as Torah rollers [atzei chaim or "trees of life"]. The wooden and metal plates at the top of the left and right shafts are identical. The exterior sides of the top plates have been finished with two bands of inlaid metal resembling rope. Between the bands there is an alternating pattern of decorative brass tacks and larger white-coated, round bores holes that expose the metal plates beneath the wood. Inside the decorative bands near the center of the plates, are paper disks, inscribed in Hebrew and covered with protective clear, plastic film disks that have been secured in place with brass nails.

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