Before Torah scribe is brought to the synagogue, it has to be placed (sewed) to the wooden handle, used for the convenience of rolling and unrolling the scroll during the service. The handles are called etzey hayyim - the trees of life. Sometimes if a donor donates the Sefer Torah to a synagogue, his name is curved on the round protection shield ornamented with colored wood and stones.

When the text is finished and the parchment sewed to etzei hayyim, the scroll is fixed by a velvet gartle (belt) that prevents it from getting loose and unrolling. Finally, the scroll is covered by a special velvet or linen cover laboriously embroidered. Ornaments on the cover constitute an entire chapter in the history of Jewish ritual art. They vary according to the place and the epoch and may represent sometimes-real cheuf de oeuvres of the Jewish people's art.

Sefaradim, contrary to Ashkenazim, use special cases instead of covers. Besides, they do not take Sefer Torah from the case but rather read it from out of the case, where Torah stands horizontally. Sefardic cases are made of wood and exuberantly embellished by minting metallic plates.