Moroccan Torah Scrolls: Theorizing a Diasporic Afterlife

Webster-Kogen, Ilana

Abstract

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.

Citation

Webster-Kogen, I. (2022). Moroccan Torah Scrolls: Theorizing a Diasporic Afterlife. Contemporary Jewry, 42(2), 157-176. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12397-022-09420-7

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 20, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Mar 1, 2022
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jan 26, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 1, 2022
• Journal: Contemporary Jewry
• Print ISSN: 0147-1694
• Electronic ISSN: 1876-5165
• Publisher: Springer
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 42
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 157-176
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12397-022-09420-7
• Publisher URL: https://rdcu.be/cH2FR