Thanks to its use in Isaiah 56:5, the Hebrew word yad, literally “hand,” has acquired the additional meaning of “memorial.” It is thus fitting that, after her husband’s untimely death 30 years ago, Clay Barr decided to memorialize him by starting a collection of Jewish ritual items that too are known as yads. Menachem Wecker explains:

Barr, who is in her early eighties, has gifted a minimum of 150 Torah yads, or hand-shaped pointers, to the Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Torah pointers enable the reader (ba’al kri’ah) to follow along in the scroll without touching the parchment, which is religiously anathema.

For centuries, yads were made of silver and adorned with baroque embellishments. Barr’s collection includes pointers that date back some 325 years. She owns one with a ruby ring dated around 1700; an Italian pointer likely made in the 17th or 18th century; a 1789 German wood yad with three movable spheres; and an 18th-century Dutch silver one.

In addition to assembling antiques, Barr has also recruited artists to make custom items for the collection:

Her father worked in the concrete business, so Barr commissioned the Israeli designer Marit Meisler to create a cast concrete yad in 2011. Barr’s grandson made a Torah pointer out of a toilet-paper roll and a chopstick, which “has caused a sensation,” she told JNS. And she recently received a yad she commissioned out of Lego.

Israel’s goals of freeing the hostages and defeating Hamas (the latter necessary to prevent further hostage taking) are to some extent contradictory, since Yahya Sinwar, the ruler of the Gaza Strip, will only turn over hostages in exchange for concessions. But Jacob Nagel remains convinced that Jerusalem should continue to pursue both goals:

Only consistent military pressure on Hamas can lead to the hostages’ release, either through negotiation or military operation. There’s little chance of reaching a deal with Hamas using current approaches, including the latest Egyptian proposal. Israeli concessions would only encourage further pressure from Hamas.

There is no incentive for Hamas to agree to a deal, especially since it believes it can achieve its full objectives without one. Unfortunately, many contribute to this belief, mainly from outside of Israel, but also from within.

Recent months saw Israel mistakenly refraining from entering Rafah for several reasons. Initially, the main [reason was to try] to negotiate a deal with Hamas. However, as it became clear that Hamas was uninterested, and its only goal was to return to its situation before October 7—where Hamas and its leadership control Gaza, Israeli forces are out, and there are no changes in the borders—the deal didn’t mature.