Our modern Torah scrolls differ significantly from ancient Torah scrolls.   For example, Today’s seforim are written on klaf (parchment), while ancient scrolls were written on gvil (sheets of leather).

Another feature of ancient scrolls is the presence of unusual, additional, or altered taggim and/or letter forms.   These unusual features were almost always predicated upon kabbalistic traditions and reasoning…

Examples of Odd Taggim and Letter Forms From the Ancient Sefer ha-Taggim

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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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In this final (at least for now…) post on taggim we are going to take a look at some unusual examples of taggim and, at the end, some of the deeper reasons for these special “crowns”.

Example #1

These examples of decorated taggim are from a 17th century German Torah scroll in the possession of Yitzchok Resiman, a well-known sofer in New York.

Most of the taggim throughout the scroll are simple, tiny lines without heads (not the “zayins” we described previously).   However, the taggim at the tops of several columns at at the beginnings of several section are embellished, appearing almost like small heraldic shields. 

And a closer view…

Check here for more pictures of taggim oddities…
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Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: “When Moshe ascended to the heavens he    found the Holy One, Blessed is He, sitting and binding taggim, crowns, to letters.

Moshe said before him: ‘Master of the World, who is holding you back from giving the Torah just as it is?’

He replied to Moshe: ‘There is a certain man who will exist in the future, at the end of many generations, Akiva ben Yosef  [Rabbi Akiva] is his name, who will expound mountains of halachos from each and every point…’” …

… Said Rava: “Seven letters require three ziyunin [taggim] each.  And they are: Sha’atnez Getz“

When Moshe arrived in the heavens, he found that G-D had already completed his Sefer Torah.  Does Moshe’s question, “Master of the World, who is holding you back from giving the Torah just as it is?” imply that the Torah was fit to be given even without affixing taggim/crowns to the letters?

See more here…
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You may have noticed that certain letters in the Sefer Torah script are ornamented with tiny  “crowns” like this:

The Letter "Shin" - Note the three-pronged crown on the leftmost head

The halacha (law) is that the Hebrew letters shin (ש), ayin (ע), tes (ט), nun (נ), zayin (ז), gimel (ג), tzaddi (ץ) all must be crowned with taggim.  These letters are known by the mnemonic שעטנ”ז ג”ץ ,  sha’atnez getz.  Both the basic and final forms of the nun and the tzaddi require taggim.

The source for this unique requirement is Menachos 29b:

אמר רב יהודה אמר רב: בשעה שעלה משה למרום, מצאו להקב״ה שיושב וקושר כתרים לאותיות, אמר לפניו: רבש״ע, מי מעכב על ידך? אמר לו: אדם אחד יש שעתיד להיות בסוף כמה דורות ועקיבא בן יוסף שמו, שעתיד לדרוש על כל קוץ וקוץ תילין תילין של הלכות

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אמר רבא: שבעה אותיות צריכות שלשה זיונין, ואלו הן: שעטנ״ז ג״ץ

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Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: “When Moshe ascended to the heavens he    found the Holy One, Blessed is He, sitting and binding taggim, crowns, to letters.

Moshe said before him: ‘Master of the World, who is holding you back from giving the Torah just as it is?’

He replied to Moshe: ‘There is a certain man who will exist in the future, at the end of many generations, Akiva ben Yosef  [Rabbi Akiva] is his name, who will expound mountains of halachos from each and every point…’” …

… Said Rava: “Seven letters require three ziyunin [taggim] each.  And they are: Sha’atnez Getz”

See more here…
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