Yad Pointer
Yad Pointer
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 925 Sterling Silver Filigree YAD TORAH POINTER Judaica - ID872  US $187.00
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 Enamel Torah Yad pointer, Silver, Judaica US $300.00
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Is it true in Judaism you cannot touch the Torah and you have to use a pointer?
Does this apply to all bibles or just the specially handmade one? And can only a Rabbi own one of those?
"Every word from these five books is written in Hebrew on a scroll made out of lambskin. The Torah is always written by hand, and it takes one year to read it (a little bit is read every week). On the last day of the reading, there is a huge celebration (a Jewish holiday called "Simchat Torah"), and then the rabbi starts reading it all over again. No one is allowed to touch the Torah with his or her hand (to help read it, you use a pointer called a "yad"), and if it touches the ground, it must be buried just as a person would be. That's how holy the Torah is."
http://www.soyouwanna.com/site/syws/judaism/judaism.html
No, absolutely not. It is true that one is not allowed to touch the Torah. Frankly, I don't remember if it's because of the holiness or because eventually fingers will lead to smudging, which would render the Torah non-kosher.
Having said that, if you touch it you touch it. It's not that big a deal. If the Torah touches the ground, in theory the congregation is supposed to fast for 30 days, and perhaps in more traditional synagogues that is true, but I guarantee that it doesn't mean that one has to bury it.
[edit] Well, it wasn't that I didn't remember; as with many things in Judaism, there are multiple opinions:
"You are not supposed to touch the parchment on these scrolls; some say because they are too holy; some say because the parchment, made from animal skins, is a source of ritual defilement; others say because your fingers' sweat has acids that will damage the parchment over time." (see link below).