The Fifth Yeria & Columns 16 to 19

The fifth yeria is done and the the sixth is well under way as I type – There was a few days down-time this week as I awaited a new shipment of klaf (parchment).   I mostly used the time to proofread what had been written so far and to clean up a few passages.   Enjoy these pics, and check back soon!

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Yeria #5 - Almost complete...

Today I wrapped up column 19 and made some edits to the earlier columns.

Tomorrow I will have to check the whole yeria against the tikkun (copyists manual), make any corrections or edits, and then complete adding taggim and dots….
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Today’s writing went exceptionally well as I transcribed the exodus of Lot and his family from the doomed cities of Sodom, Amora, and its other condemned neighbors.

The humidity was excellent and I didn’t have to do any fiddling with the kulmus (quill) to keep it on track.

Please enjoy these photos, and check back tomorrow for the complete column…
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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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Amud 18 - click to enlarge view

Column 18