The scribe prepares the parchment by scratching 43 horizontal lines on it and two vertical ones at each end.
This allows for a standard 42 lines of writing. Each sheet of parchment contains three to eight columns of writing. Certain letters might be stretched within a column to justify the left margin. There are some places in the Torah where certain letters are larger or smaller than standard, or where the text is written in a different type of column. Each deviation from the norm carries a special meaning. The two outer columns symbolize the sea parted on either side, with the middle column representing the children of Israel marching on dry ground.
Visually, this sets the section apart from the surrounding columns. Such changes were instituted by the Masoretes — scribes of the 7th-9th centuries who standardized the biblical text — to highlight the importance of certain passages.
All of the writing and layout must be done exactly to specification in order for the scroll to be kosher. Writing a Torah scroll is a holy task.
In preparation, the scribe immerses in a mikvah ritual bath. Before beginning a new scroll, he recites a formula declaring his intent to write the scroll for a holy purpose. He then crosses it out with a number of strokes in order to fulfill the commandment of blotting out the name of Amalek, a biblical enemy of the Jewish people Deuteronomy The scribe cannot write a Torah scroll from memory, and must refer to a written book called a tikkun correction guide.
Memorization is permitted for the writing of other ritual items. Whenever he writes the name of God, the scribe focuses on the task by declaring out loud his intention to honor God by writing the holy name. One other ritual item written by a scribe is the megillah Book of Esther , which is read on Purim. However, in addition to ritual items, scribes also write legal documents such as a get bill of divorce or ketubah marriage contract.
The writing of all these items requires strict adherence to traditionally established form. The only place where the scribe has artistic license is in doing calligraphy for and decorating the ketubah. In this instance, creativity fulfills the precept of hiddur mitzvah , enhancing the joyous commandment by beautifying the item associated with fulfilling it.
An Edmonton man by the name of Howie Sniderman heard about this predicament and took it upon himself to solve it. He located and managed to secure a Torah scroll from a now defunct Edmonton congregation. Then in December , amidst joy and celebration, Sniderman packed the scroll in a container designed to hold golf clubs and shipped it off to its new home on the island of Papua, Indonesia. We rely on the support of readers like you.
Please support us. Torah Portion. This Week's Torah Portion. Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy. Rosh Hashanah Rosh Hashanah. Yom Kippur Yom Kippur. Sukkot Sukkot. Simchat Torah Simchat Torah. Chanukah Chanukah. Purim Purim. Passover Passover. This is usually a cow. It can take up to 18 months to complete the whole process from the complex preparation of the animal skins to the writing of the final words. Great accuracy is needed when the sofer writes the scroll.
If he makes any mistakes it can make the whole scroll pasul invalid. The completed scroll is known as a Sefer Torah from sefer which is the Hebrew for book. A Sefer Torah is so sacred to Jews it is said that if one is accidentally dropped in the synagogue the whole congregation must fast for 40 days. When Jewish communities have suffered persecution, great efforts would be made to preserve these scrolls.
This demonstrates just how symbolically and physically important the Torah is to Jews. Alongside the written law Jews believe God also told Moses the spoken or oral law. The letter Pei as well as being the Hebrew word for mouth is the 17th letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Pei has a numerical value of 80 which Jews believe is the age that Moses was when he led them out from slavery in Egypt. Although given at the same time this law was to be passed down orally from generation to generation.
It is the information Jews need to practise fully the commandments in the written law. It was codified in the 2nd Century C. Search term:. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets CSS enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience.
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