1media/000 10b_thumb.jpg2020-07-29T12:07:20-07:00Queens College Special Collections and Archivese5d75124350046eec0e648a38e4b73292f02c4b0377133These silver rimmonim (finials) decorate Torah scrolls in the Ark. They were made in Ioannina, but the silversmith was probably not Jewish. Rimmonim and other decorations of the Torah scrolls are customary as a way of fulfilling Hiddur Mitzah; the glorification of the commandment. The first such finals in the Middle Ages were probably decorated with pomegranates (rimmonim), hence the name. Small bells are attached so that there is music when the Torah scrolls are carried in procession.plain2020-12-01T08:43:48-08:00Queens College Special Collections and Hellenic American Projectcirca 1999-2010Vincent Giordano Collection on the Greek-Jewish Community in New York City and Ioannina, GreeceShared under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/Lower East Side, (New York, N.Y.)Giordano, VincentQueens College Special Collections and Archivese5d75124350046eec0e648a38e4b73292f02c4b0
These silver rimmonim (finials) decorate Torah scrolls in the Ark. They were made in Ioannina, but the silversmith was probably not Jewish. Rimmonim and other decorations of the Torah scrolls are customary as a way of fulfilling Hiddur Mitzah (the glorification of the commandment). The first such finals in the Middle Ages were probably decorated with pomegranates (rimmonim), hence the name. Small bells are attached so that there is music when the Torah scrolls are carried in procession.
