While we do not place vowel markings in a Torah scroll, there is a tradition to place dots over the letters of certain words in ten verses:

• Bereishis (Genesis) – 16:5; 18:9; 19:33; 33:4; 37:12.

• Bamidbar (Numbers) – 3:39; 9:10; 21:30; 29:15;

• Devarim (Deuteronomy) – 29:28

What is the purpose of these dots?

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Shalom, all!

Here are some pictures from today’s writing – there are a few lines left in order to reach today’s quota, but this is the progress thus far.   A friend sent me an interesting question today, asking why the lines of writing, and even some of the constituent strokes of the letters, don’t look perfectly straight in the photos posted.

Under the heat of my drafting lamp and of my arms on the parchment, the parchment wrinkles and warps.  So, in the photos. you are not seeing erratic lines on a flat surface, rather you are seeing straight lines on an erratic surface…

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From http://www.neighborsgo.com/stories/44627

Levine Academy Students Learn the

Art of Writing Ancient Texts

Rabbi Bloomenstiel shows the Levine Academy Kindergarten students a 500-year-old section of the Torah

In an age when email has replaced posted mail, when desktop publishing has replaced typesetting, when an iPod has replaced a CD, and when a Kindle has replaced the printed book, there is one thing has not been touched by time or technology: the writing of the Sefer Torah – the Five Books of Moses. A scribe of the 21^st Century creates the Torah in exactly the same manner as a scribe from thousands of years ago; both governed by extremely strict rules to ensure that the Torah is kosher or proper/pure.

On Tuesday, October 20, Torah Scribe Rabbi Avraham Bloomenstiel captivated the Levine Academy students by sharing the secrets of this ancient craft. Unlike any other document or book, he told the students, the Torah must be created by following a set of very stringent guidelines…
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Columns 12, 13, & 14

Completed column 14 this evening -  The writing had a bit of trouble at the start of this column because my quill underwent some weather-related warping.  After some gentle trimming and coaxing, things came together in the second half of the column.   By this Saturday night, I should be able to complete the writing, tagging, checking, and clean up of this sheet.  Then it is on to page 5!

Please enjoy these photos…
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