Rimmonim
/ˌrɪməˈniːm/noun
Decorative finials, traditionally shaped like crowns or pomegranates, placed on the wooden rollers of a Torah scroll.
Did you know?Rimmonim may echo the biblical image of pomegranates adorning the High Priest’s robe, where their bells and fruit-like forms symbolized sacred ritual and divine presence.
Etymological Timeline
2nd Millennium BCE
Akkadian
nurmû
“Pomegranate; an early recorded Semitic form associated with the fruit.”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
רִמּוֹן (rimmōn)
“Pomegranate; also used as a personal name and place name in the Hebrew Bible.”
Late Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
רִמּוֹנִים (rimmōnīm)
“Pomegranates, the masculine plural of rimmōn.”
Rabbinic Hebrew
Hebrew
רִמּוֹנִים (rimmōnīm)
“Pomegranates and, by extension, pomegranate-shaped ornaments or finials.”
Medieval Jewish usage
Hebrew/Yiddish
rimmonim
“Ornamental finials fitted to the handles of a Torah scroll.”
Modern English
English
rimmonim
“Decorative Torah-scroll finials, usually used as a plural noun.”