[0001] The field of the present invention is accessories for performing religious rites, and in particular Torah scrolls used for public reading during synagogue services.

BACKGROUND OF THE I NVENTION

[0002] A Torah scroll contains the five books of Moses. It is made up of sheets of parchment sewn together to form a single scroll. Each end of the scroll is attached to one of two wooden columns, each known in the art as an etz chaim, around which the scroll is rolled. The text in the scroll faces inward towards the column around which it is wound, such that, when closed, the Torah scroll appears as a pair of rolled scrolls and no text is visible.

[0003] Reference is made to FI G. 1 showing a closed prior art Torah scroll. FI G. 1 shows right rolled column 101 and left rolled column 102 of the scroll. Each wooden column has top and bottom handles for rotating the column. In FI G. 1 , right column 101 has upper handle 105 and lower handle 104, and left column 102 has upper handle 106 and lower handle 103. The scroll is advanced by rotating the two wooden columns in the same direction, unrolling the outermost layer of the scroll from one column and rolling that portion around the second column. A portion of the scroll is read by laying the scroll on large, inclined lectern 1 10, known as a bimah, the two Torah columns extending in parallel along the incline. The reader stands at the foot of the lectern, i.e., near bottom handles 103 and 104, and separates the two Torah columns by slightly unrolling one or both columns to expose the text on the parchment sheet or sheets between the two columns. [0004] Reference is made to FI G. 2, illustrating an open prior art Torah scroll. In FI G. 2, the reader, indicated by hand 111 , has unrolled column 101 slightly to the right, exposing a sheet of parchment featuring column of text 112.

[0005] A problem with prior art Torah scrolls resides in the fact that it is difficult for a user to determine which text is between the two rolled columns of a closed Torah scroll. This problem arises when there are multiple Torah scrolls in the ark or cabinet in which the scrolls are stored, known as the Aron Kodesh, and each scroll has been closed during previous use at a different place in the Torah text. Different portions of the Torah are read at different times of the year, and the user selecting a Torah scroll must determine which of the scrolls is at the correct location for that day’s reading. Jewish law stipulates that a Torah scroll selected and removed from the Aron Kodesh, must be used for reading. Thus, if the scroll opens at the wrong location, the scroll has to be rolled to the correct location. Similarly, on certain occasions, two, or even three, scrolls are used in a single service, with a different portion being read from each scroll. It would thus be advantageous to facilitate the user in identifying the text that will be presented when each scroll in the Aron Kodesh is opened.

[0006] Reference is made to FI G. 3 illustrating an upright Torah Scroll in an Aron Kodesh. The scroll is traditionally covered with a fabric cover, known in the art as a mantel. In FI G. 3 the mantel is partly raised so that the scroll can be seen. When multiple Torah scrolls are in an Aron Kodesh, the person in charge of selecting the correct scroll for the day’s Torah portion will typically lift the mantels on each of several Torah scrolls, in order to make an educated guess as to the correct scroll based on the relative sizes of the two columns 101 and 102. It would be advantageous to facilitate selection of the correct Torah scroll from the Aron Kodesh. [0007] Moreover, when a scroll is rolled forward or backward to a different portion of the Torah, e.g., when preparing a scroll to be read at a future time, the person rolling the Torah needs to be able identify when the correct location in the text has been reached. This requires a familiarity with the entire Torah text, that not everyone possesses. It would thus be advantageous to facilitate the user in identifying the current location within the Torah text as the scroll is being rolled forward or backward.

SUMMARY

[0008] The present disclosure relates to an indexed Torah scroll.

[0009] There is thus provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention a Torah scroll having front and back surfaces, including the Torah text written on the front surface of the scroll and indicia at a plurality of locations on the back surface of the scroll indicating the subject matter of the Torah text written at those locations on the front surface of the scroll.

BRI EF DESCRI PTI ON OF THE DRAWI NGS

[0010] The present invention will be more fully understood and appreciated from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

[0011] FI GS. 1 and 2 are images of a prior art Torah scroll on a bimah;

[0012] FI G. 3 is an image of a prior art Torah scroll standing upright in an Aron Kodesh;

[0013] FI GS. 4 and 5 are simplified illustrations of a Torah scroll, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, on a bimah; [0014] FI GS. 6 and 7 are simplified illustrations of snippets of tape to be affixed on the back of the Torah scroll parchment to index a Torah scroll, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; and [0015] FI G. 8 is an image of a Torah scroll, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, standing upright in an Aron Kodesh.

DETAI LED DESCRI PTION

[0016] The present invention is an indexed Torah scroll that indicates clearly to the user which portion within the Torah text the scroll will display when opened.

[0017] Reference is made to FI G. 4, showing the closed Torah scroll of FI G. 1 with the addition of index labels 120 ( nnxi) and 121 (nps?) that have been affixed to the non-text side of the scroll parchment. These labels indicate the name of the Torah portion located on the reverse side of the parchment at the location of the label. Labels 120 and 121 indicate that when columns 101 and 102 are separated, the text that will be displayed is near the end of the portion Va’etchanan, and/or the beginning of the portion Ekev.

[0018] Reference is made to FI G. 5, showing the open Torah scroll of FI G. 2 with the addition of index labels 120 (pnnxi) and 121 (nps?) that have been affixed to the non-text side of the scroll parchment. If the user had been scrolling the Torah forward or backward, he or she would have a clear indication where the scrolling had reached, namely, the end of the portion Va’etchanan, and/or the beginning of the portion Ekev simply by taking note of the index on each scroll column, without having to read text 1 12. [0019] FI G. 5 shows strip 122 indicating where the index label according to an embodiment of the present invention is affixed on the reverse side of the parchment, namely, strip 122 is on the reverse side of the bottom margin, i.e., below the text. In this way (1 ) when the Torah is laid out on the bimah, the indices are near the reader standing at the foot of the bimah, (2) when the Torah is upright in the Aron Kodesh the indices are easily seen by slightly lifting the mantel (see FI G. 8), and (3) when a reader reads text 112, the index text is not seen through the parchment underneath text 112, as this may have made it difficult for the reader to read text 1 12. [0020] In certain embodiments of the invention, the labels are hand written on the reverse side of the parchment, like text 1 12. In other embodiments of the invention, the labels are printed ribbons of tape that are easily applied in a strip along the bottom edge of the reverse side of the parchment. In some embodiments, a single piece of this tape is affixed to tell sheets of parchment to hold them together. The sheets of parchment are sewn together, but after years of use it is not uncommon for the stitching to be ripped and in need of repair. This tape holds neighboring sheets of parchment together, and reinforces the stitching.

[0021] In some embodiments, rolls of transparent tape with repeating index labels are prepared and a long ribbon of this tape extends along the entire bottom edge on the reverse side of the parchment. For example a roll of tape having the repeated name of the first portion is prepared and similar rolls of tape are manufactured for each weekly portion. A synagogue purchases a complete set of tape rolls for all weekly portions, and then applies tape from the first roll along the first Torah portion in each of the synagogue’s Torah scrolls, and continues in this manner taking tape from each roll and applying it to each of their Torah scrolls at the corresponding locations. Thus, the cost for applying indices to multiple Torah scrolls is minimal.

[0022] Reference is made to FI G. 6 showing a segment of tape 130 on which an index is printed. Segment 130 is a repeating label with the name of the weekly portion Va’etchanan. Thus, FI G. 5 shows two labels 120 (pnnxi). Often, a weekly Torah portion will span multiple columns of text 1 12, and thus, the same index is applied multiple times on a strip on the reverse side, i.e., the non-text side of the parchment. It is important to ensure that, regardless of the location within the Torah scroll to which the scroll has been rolled, an index label will be visible to the viewer facing the scroll, e.g., when the Torah scroll is upright in the Aron Kodesh and mantel is lifted. In certain embodiments, the spacing between index labels is constant throughout the scroll. In other embodiments, the spacing near the ends of the scroll is different than at the middle of the scroll, because at the ends of the scroll, one of columns 101 , 102 has much larger circumference than the other, whereas in the middle of the scroll columns 101 , 102 have similar circumferences. In some embodiments of the invention, the index indicates text on the reverse side of the parchment that is slightly ahead of the index, rather than the text on the reverse side of the parchment at the location of the index. In this way, when a viewer is standing in front of an open Torah scroll, the label appearing on the right column of the Torah scroll indicates the text 1 12 that is seen by the viewer. This is analogous to an orchestra conductor who indicates to the orchestra how to play the next bars of music, not the bars that the orchestra is currently playing. Alternatively, the index indicates text on the reverse side of the parchment that is slightly behind the index. In this case, when a viewer is standing in front of an open Torah scroll, the label appearing on the left column of the Torah scroll indicates the text 1 12 that is seen. [0023] Reference is made to FI G. 7 showing segment of tape 131 that indicates two holiday readings (beginning of a new month and Succot) as well as the chapters of the Torah and the weekly portions in which these texts appear. Note that, as the indices are on the back of the parchment but follow the progression of text on the front of the parchment, the indices progress in the direction opposite to that of the text. I .e., although Hebrew script progresses from right to left, as indicated by arrow 135 in FI G. 7, and thus, chapters 28 - 30 in the fourth book of the Torah (Bamidbar) also appear in the Torah scroll from right to left, on the reverse side of the parchment, label 132 (po poo) “Bamidbar 28” appears to the left of label 133 ( DO IOTOO) “Bamidbar 29”. And label 133 ( DO IOTOO) “Bamidbar 29” appears to the left of label 134 (^ IOTOO) “Bamidbar 30”. [0024] Reference is made to FI G. 8 illustrating the upright Torah scroll of FI G. 3 but with indices 123 and 124 on columns 101 and 102, indicating the weekly portions at the index locations, as well as the book (Bamidbar) and chapter numbers, and a holiday reading for new month holidays at these locations. A user confronted with multiple Torah scrolls in an Aron Kodesh can easily determine which scroll to use by lifting the mantel and checking the index on each Torah scroll.

[0025] In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to the specific exemplary embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.