This is not a Torah crown of the usual form, modeled on the regalia of kings and queens; the artist eschewed any association with crowns that were meant to be worn. Still, this work is a Torah crown in the sense that it is a unified ornament that encompasses both the staves of the Torah scroll and that includes some references to the traditional type of crown. Like the older examples, Zabari's work is a three-dimensional form that circumscribes space. Its three-dimensionality is underscored by pendant pearls, which establish successive points from which to measure the space defined by the form. When the crown is carried in procession, the pearls shake and the silver curves quiver to lend the kinetic sense that was conveyed on older crowns by pendant bells.

In the purity of its forms, in its emphasis on the beauty of materials, and in its avoidance of extraneous decoration, the Zabari crown conforms to the modernist aesthetic. It is also a totally modern work in its emphasis on function. Whereas on older crowns, the utilitarian tubes that fit the crown to the staves of the Torah are hidden beneath an ornamental exterior, on the Zabari crown they are in the open, an important element of the design. They draw attention to the staves, known in Hebrew as "trees of life," which, to the artist, are an important part of the Torah, second only to the parchment. He sees the crown as an ornament for the staves as much as an ornament for the scroll.

The exuberant curves of the Zabari crown link it to decorative arts of the 1950s and 1960s, when curved, organic forms dominated. At the same time, they express the sense of celebration traditionally associated with crowns, which are used in the larger world at times of pomp and circumstance and in many synagogues only on festivals. In recognition of the joyful character of the holidays, the crown replaced the finials used week after week, on ordinary Sabbaths.