The oldest complete Spanish Torah scroll will be up for sale at Sotheby's Judaica auction on November 24.
The scroll, the only Spanish Torah to include the kabbalistic traditions of curved letters, has an estimated worth of $300,000-$500,000.
Yitzchok Reisman, a world-renowned sofer (scribe), discovered the 730-year-old scroll about 10 years ago, and was able to date it and identify its origin.
Reisman has collected Torah scrolls from around the world for 50 years, and says this is one of the most significant scrolls he has ever encountered.
The scroll is written in typical 13th-to-14th century Central Northern Spanish style Hebrew script. Reisman points specifically to the narrow "peh" and the left legs of the letters "kuf" and "hey," which touch the horizontal stroke.
"There just aren't Torahs of that age to study," Reisman told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.
Scholars are especially interested in unique tagin, or crowns, set in the Spanish scroll. These tagin have never been found in other scrolls.
The Torah is complete and in a near-kosher state.
"It's in rather good shape," Reisman said. "It was used not long ago, but I don't think it could stand regular synagogue handling."
While Reisman does not have the facilities to take care of the valuable antique, he hopes the winning bidder will find a good home for the ancient scroll.
"I hope it will go somewhere where it will be honored, and they will take care of it," he said.
