The one overriding halacha of the dyo (sofer’s ink) is that it must be absolutely black, through and through.  No other color can be mixed in, nor can it have any composite colors.  Black – pure and simple.

Although there are several ink recipes batted about amongst the Rishonim and Acharonim, everyone today makes ink from three basic ingredients:

• Kuma = Gum Arabic, acts as a binder to keep the ink attached to the klaf
• Kankantum = Iron Sulfate (although the Mishna Berura 32:8 seems to identify this a copper sulfate; I’ve seen this in other places too)
• Mei Afatzim = Gall Nut Juice

The most curious ingredient of the lot is Gall Nut juice.  “What is a gall nut?” you may ask…

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The Gemora in Megilla 16b learns that it is a halacha le-Moshe mi-sinai that certain types of safrus (holy writing) must be written with shirtut (sometimes pronounced sirtut) -  guidelines scored onto the parchment f0r the lines of text and the upper, lower, left and right margins.

While  all of the Rishonim agree that this law applies to mezuzos, yet not to tefillin, there is a dispute between Rashi and  Rabbeinu Tam (Rashi’s grandson) as to whether or not a Sefer Torah must be written with guidelines.

The Acharonim, however, bring proof from the Talmud Yerushalmi and Maseches Sofrim that the halacha is like Rashi that a Sefer Torah has the same law of a mezuza: it must have guidelines or else it is posul.

Now, I mentioned above that tefillin do not require guidelines.  While this is the fundamental law, the Rama in O.C. 32 tells us that the custom has become to use guidelines for all safrus, including tefillin.

How are these guidelines made?

A long time ago sofrim used an instrument called a sargel to score lines on the klaf.  This was simply a stick with a sharp thorn affixed to it.

A Friend's Sargel

Although modern technology makes scoring much easier,  a few sofrim still use sargelim today.

Nowadays, when a sofer orders klaf it arrives pre-scored by a machine.  The machine scoring is excellent, and guarantees identical lines from page-to-page without fail.   I’m sure it also makes the klaf-makers job a lot easier!

Next in this series: Making ink (messy, messy, messy…)

As most people know, Torah scrolls and other sacred writings are all written upon parchment. However, the parchment used for Jewish holy writings is very, very different from parchment used anywhere else.

The Torah states in Shemos 13:9, Lemaan tihiyeh Toras HaShem be-ficha, “So that the Torah of HaShem should be in your mouth.”

The Gemora in Shabbos 108a learns from this verse that the Torah must literally be mutar beficha, permitted to place in one’s mouth, meaning that the materials which comprise a Sefer Torah must come from those animals and sources that are Kosher. Therefore, the hide upon which a Sefer Torah is written must be from a kosher animal. The animal from which the hide is obtained doesn’t need to actually be shechted, which would make it literally possible to eat the hide, but the animal must only be of a kosher species. It is therefore possible to write upon the hides of deer, cattle, and kosher birds. Theoretically, one could even make kosher parchment from the skin of kosher fish! However, the Rishonim tell us not to use fish skin because “de-nafish zuhamei,” it “contaminates” continually. The meaning of this statement is a little unclear. According to some, it means that fish skin never stops smelling like…well… dead fish, and it is thus inappropriate to use them as parchment for holy writing. Others understand it to mean that the natural oils in the skin continually seep out even long after the skin is cured. These oils will eventually ruin anything written on the hide. Either way, we don’t use fish skin even though it is technically permitted.

Once the animal is flayed, the hides are soaked in water for two days to clean and soften the skin.

About to Place the Hide in Water

After that, the hides are immersed in a lime-water bath to remove the hair.

(See “More” for More Photos!)
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At shul this Shabbos, a fellow asked me a question that I have heard a few times in the past: “Is it true that if you make a mistake when writing a Sefer Torah, that you have to start all over again?”

The answer is: “Well, not quite…”

There is a very big difference between writing a Sefer Torah and writing tefillin or mezuzos.   When relaying the mitzvos of mezuzos and tefillin, the Torah (Devarim 6:6) opens with the words:

והיו הדברים האלה אשר אנכי מצוך היום על לבבך

These words shall be…

Our sages understand this statement to mean that the words of tefillin and mezuzos “shall be” as they are in the Torah – meaning written in the order in which they are given in the Torah.  The result is the halacho of ki-sidran, the law of the letters being written “in order.”

In tefillin and mezuzos, if one makes a mistake in a letter and only catches it after finishing his writing, he cannot go back and correct it because the corrected letter would have been written out of order.  In such a case, the section of the tefillin or the mezuzah is now posul – unfit for use. (more…)