“Torah Scroll of Rhodes” – Rhodes Jewish Museum

New Information about the Torah Scroll from Rhodes, January 28, 2026

Key Takeaways from Dr. Annett Martini’s Presentation: The Torah Scroll from Rhodes in Comparison with Other Sephardic Scrolls: Tagin and Otiyyot Meshunnot as Tools for Dating

Most Torah scroll dates listed in library catalogues have been estimated without the aid of material analysis and should therefore be viewed with caution.
The Rhodes Torah Scroll presents a particularly unusual case because it was dated twice using Carbon-14 analysis: In 2001, a laboratory in the University of Buenos Aires dated the parchment to around 1210 CE, with error tolerance of 110 years. (approximately 1100–1320 CE). Then, in 2025, a new analysis conducted by the Curt-Engelhorn-Zentrum Archäometrie in Mannheim, Germany, dated the parchment to a later period, between 1533 and 1636 CE.

Rather than focusing on the technical details of radiocarbon dating and its limitations, Dr. Annett Martini, proposes approaching the origin of the Rhodes Torah Scroll through codicology (the study of manuscripts as physical objects) and paleography (the study of historical handwriting).
Based on the second C14 result and stylistic analysis, she carefully places the origin of the Rhodes Torah Scroll in the early 16th century. If this dating is correct, the Scroll was likely not written in medieval Spain but by a Sephardic scribe in the Ottoman Empire or in Rhodes, after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492.
Dr. Martini suggests that certain unusual features in the Rhodes Scroll, such as variability in the decorative crowns (tagin) and unusual or atypical letter forms (Otiyyot Meshunnot), may reflect a transitional period following the expulsion. During this time, traditional knowledge of precise scribal conventions may have been disrupted by displacement, cultural change, and interactions among different diaspora communities (Sephardic, Ashkenazic, Greek, Turkish). This environment may have encouraged the move toward a more standardized scribal tradition. From the 16th century onward, distinctive features like the tagin and special letter forms largely disappeared. The Rhodes Torah Scroll appears to illustrate this broader historical shift. For more info about Dr. Annett Martini’s presentation, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq4AESlwu1U

In 2003, the Rhodes Jewish Historical Foundation acquired a short-term permission from the Chalom Temple in Buenos Aires to exhibit and analyze the ancient Torah in the United States in order to promote the education and preservation of the Jewish history of Rhodes.

Prior to its arrival in Los Angeles, the Sefer Torah was scientifically measured by the University of Buenos Aires using the Carbon-14 dating analysis and was found to be approximately 800 years-old.

In 2003 and 2004 the “The Torah Scroll from Rhodes”, was taken on exhibit around the United States. It was shown to appreciative audiences in Atlanta, Seattle and Portland and several venues around the Los Angeles area.

Images from the Torah Scroll of Rhodes Exhibition in the US. After the presentations, the Torah was brought back to the Chalom Synagogue in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Investigative study

It was speculated that its geographic origin was from Spain from before the Spanish Inquisition. Therefore, during 2003 and 2004, a study was conducted by the Rhodes Jewish Historical Foundation focusing on the peculiarities of its ancient Judaic religious writing styles.

Featured in the Rhodesli Jewish Calendar (September 2010), this incredible Torah was viewed and analyzed by several rabbis and sofers (scribes of religious writings). Based upon several factors, it was concluded that this Torah was from the Sephardic Jews at the time of Maimonides.

An investigative study conducted under the aegis of the Rhodes Jewish Historical Foundation has concluded that the Sefer Torah from the Island of Rhodes was originally from and used by the Sephardic Jews of the Iberian Peninsula.

Therefore, we can imagine that this Torah was likely brought from the Iberian Peninsula to the Island of Rhodes by the Sephardic Jewish refugees when they fled Spain and Portugal.

Since 2019, the Chalom Temple has loaned the Sefer Torah of Rhodes to the Holocaust Museum of Buenos Aires. According to Cecilia Martinez of La Nacion, “to facilitate its exhibition to the public while complying with the safety and care requirements that an object of these characteristics requires.”

For download: 2003 Ke Haber Newsletter

Expert Analysis on the Torah Scroll from Rhodes:

While present in Los Angeles, the Torah was analyzed by a scribe “sofer” who is an expert in evaluating the age and origin of ancient Hebrew writings. I interviewed Rabbi David Rue and selected highlights for people interested in understanding the distinguishing features of this ancient scroll. This summary of excerpts is about 10 minutes in length and is now presented for everyone to appreciate.

Examples of the Religious Writing Style:

We have learned that there are many different indications which give clues as to a Sefer Torah’s age and Sephardic origin. The following are some of the simpler to understand examples without getting too technical:

* All modern Torahs have 42 lines per column, while the Torah Scroll of Rhodes has 45 lines per column.

* The letter “lamed” is now written with a “cap” at the top, while the Torah Scroll of Rhodes has no “cap” on top.

* The letter “yud” in the Torah Scroll of Rhodes is written with an extra point or protrusion downward from the left center of the letter.

* When the letters “nun” and “yud” are next to each other they are separate letters in new Torahs, while the Torah Scroll of Rhodes has the “nun” extend below the “yud”.

* In order to justify the margins in modern Torahs only certain letters are elongated. In the Torah Scroll of Rhodes most letters are elongated.

* The “open” spacing between the words in the Torah show that it follows the Sephardic style of the Rambam called “petuhot”. For the last 400 years all Torahs have been written with the “closed” style (called “stumot”).

Examples of Differences Between the Ancient and Modern Judaic Religious Writing Characteristics:


“Old” nun extends under the yud. “Old” yud with extra left lower stem.“	“New” nun, yud. New yud without extra stem.	“Old” lamed without “cap”.	“New” lamed with “cap”.

An Example of Elongated Letters in the Torah:

Script from the Exodus portion of the Torah. The words were elongated in order to show even margins.

Expert Analysis of the Torah Scroll from Rhodes:

August 2003 in the library of the Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel in Los Angeles, of Rabbi David Rue analyzing the Hebrew characters and spacing of the Sefer Torah with Aron Hasson observing.

Rabbi Rue is a “sofer” (scribe) with over twenty years of experience in Israel analyzing the age and origins of ancient Torahs in the museums of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

It was recognized that this Torah did not utilize a strict alignment (justified text of the columns), instead it follows a style that has not been used for over 600 years.

The following video is an interview of Rabbi David Rue analyzing the Torah: