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id	eprints-36577
recordtype	eprints
institution	SOAS, University of London
collection	SOAS Research Online
language	English
language_search	English
description	Torah scrolls are more than ritual objects; when used in a congregation, they take on semi-human characteristics and are given special agency. For Sephardic communities, some scrolls bear witness to the history of migration and trade that has uprooted them over five centuries. This article examines Torah scrolls originating in Morocco or used today by Moroccan communities, arguing that they take on a different meaning for the community depending on whether they are used, displayed, or guarded. We consider the difference in social meaning between chanting from a scroll and venerating it, and how Moroccan Jewry is impacted by efforts in Morocco, Israel, and the diaspora to ascribe ownership of the Torah via networks of patrimony and belonging. Offering an ethnographically informed analysis of Torah scrolls in London, Essaouira, and Tel Aviv, this article demonstrates that Torah scrolls serve as productive members of the communities that own them when they facilitate a thorough understanding of the migration networks that create communities.
format	Journal Article
author	Webster-Kogen, Ilana
author_facet	Webster-Kogen, Ilana
authorStr	Webster-Kogen, Ilana
author_letter	Webster-Kogen, Ilana
title	Moroccan Torah Scrolls: Theorizing a Diasporic Afterlife
publisher	Springer Nature
publishDate	2022
url	https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/36577/