Miniature Sephardic travel Torah scroll

This small Torah scroll of reduced format was copied for private use or travel, at a time when displacement made access to a communal scroll for reading difficult. Like any Sefer Torah, it had to be written by hand by a qualified scribe (sofer) on parchment, in strict observance of the rules governing the copying of the sacred text. In the Sephardic tradition, this miniature scroll was kept in a small rigid case (tik), a replica of the large cylindrical cases of the Oriental rite. Both a ritual and practical object, it testifies to the care taken to ensure the availability of the sacred text, even in the course of travel.