What is the point of all the scribal laws? Why must the Torah be copied by hand? Why must the sofer endure such a long and arduous process?

The answer to these questions requires us to understand the purpose of the sofer.

Soferim are more than just copyists; they are entrusted with the duty of safeguarding and accurately transmitting the Torah text from generation to generation.  This intense duty of transmission is what the laws of safrus really address, not the mere aspects of transcription.

If the ultimate goal of the copyist is to simply produce a copy of the text, then we could merely use a xerox machine to accomplish our goal.   Alternatively, if you are feeling “old-fashioned,” you could build a robot to scribble out the Torah with quill,  ink, and parchment.

But this is not what the halacha wants of us. The halacha wants the scribe to set his hands, eyes, mind, and heart  upon every single stroke of every single letter of every single word of the Torah.

As the scribe writes, each word must be said aloud.  Additionally, every holy name, before it is written, must be sanctified with the statement: “Behold! I write this for the sake of the Holiness of the Name of G-d.”

Upon completion of a new scroll, every letter must be checked to make sure that its form is correct. Every word must be checked for correct spelling. The layout must be checked to ensure that the text is clearly divided into the requisite number of paragraphs. This process is repeated numerous times before the Torah can be consecrated for ritual use.

Any unrepaired or uncorrected defect  and halacha may requires the scroll to be buried.  The very existence of a defective scroll threatens our mesorah, our chain of transmission, and must be put far beyond the reach of human hand or eye.

To produce a kosher scroll, the sofer must anguish, both in body and soul, over every stroke of the quill…

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A big yasher koach (”More power to you!”) to Mr. Nathan Bradbury and Family for sponsoring Sunday’s writing! Attached below is a picture of the section completed as per their sponsorship: the bottom 21 lines of column 25, which covers Eliezer’s taking of Rivkah as a wife for Yitzchok.

As always, we appreciate your sponsorship and support in this important and meaningful endeavor. For more information on sponsorship opportunities, click HERE.

Check back tomorrow for a fascinating look into the Tikkun ha-Soferim…

Bottom of Column 25

All of Column 25 (not yet metuyag...)

[Due to a dead digital camera, I haven't been posting over the past week. But, we're all repaired and back online now, so ENJOY!]

Finished the 6th yeria (columns 20 to 23) this evening.   All in all, everything went swimmingly except for one oddity.  I had to do some scraping and correcting in the first and fourth columns of the sheet.  For some reason, after scraping and sanding the in the first column, an odd, very dark splotches appeared…

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This week I got a very large shipment of new klaf, parchment.

The quality of the klaf, ultimately, contributes most to the longevity of a Sefer Torah.   For that reason, I am exceptionally finicky when it comes to vetting my parchment.  I first grade the parchment by color as either…

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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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