Sefer Torah

Sefer Torah at old Glockengasse Synagogue, Cologne.

A Sefer Torah (Hebrew: ספר תורה‎; plural: ספרי תורה‎ Sifrei Torah ; "Book(s) of Torah" or "Torah scroll(s)") is a handwritten copy of the Torah, the holiest book in Judaism. It must meet extremely strict standards of production. The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Torah reading during Jewish prayers. At other times, it is stored in the holiest spot within a synagogue, the Torah ark, which is usually an ornate curtained-off cabinet or section of the synagogue built along the wall that most closely faces Jerusalem, the direction Jews face when praying.

The text of the Torah is also commonly printed and bound in book form for non-ritual functions. It is then known as a Chumash ("five-part", for the five books of Moses), and is often accompanied by commentaries or translations.

Usage

Torah reading from a Sefer Torah is traditionally reserved for Monday and Thursday mornings, as well as for Shabbat and Jewish holidays. The presence of a minyan is required for the reading of the Torah to be held in public during the course of the worship services. As the Torah is sung, following the often dense text is aided by a yad ("hand"), a metal or wooden hand-shaped pointer that protects the scrolls by avoiding unnecessary contact of the skin with the parchment.

Production

A Sterling Silver Torah Case. In some traditions the Torah is housed in an ornamental wooden case

According to halakha, a sefer Torah is a copy of the formal Hebrew text of the Torah hand-written on gevil or klaf (forms of parchment) (see below) by using a quill (or other permitted writing utensil) dipped in ink. Producing a sefer Torah fulfills one of the 613 commandments. “The k'laf/parchment on which the Torah scroll is written, the hair or sinew with which the panels of parchment are sewn together, and the quill pen with which the text is written all must come from ritually clean —that is, kosher— animals.”[1]

Written entirely in Hebrew, a sefer Torah contains 304,805 letters, all of which must be duplicated precisely by a trained sofer (“scribe”), an effort which may take as long as approximately one and a half years. An error during transcription may render the sefer Torah pasul (“invalid”). According to the Talmud, all scrolls must also be written on gevil parchment that is treated with salt, flour and m'afatsim in order to be valid. Scrolls not processed in this way are considered invalid (Hilkoth Tefillin 1:8 & 1:14, Maimonides).

The calfskin or parchment on which the sacred Hebrew text is written is mounted into a wooden housing called עץ חיים (Tree of Life) in Hebrew. The housing has two rollers, each of which has two handles used for scrolling the text, four handles in all. Between the handles and the rollers are round plates or disks which are carved with images of holy places, engraved with dedications to the donor's parents or other loved ones, and decorated with gold or silver.

Most modern Sifrei Torah are written with forty-two lines of text per column (Yemenite Jews use fifty one). Very strict rules about the position and appearance of the Hebrew alphabet are observed. See for example the Mishnah Berurah on the subject.[2] Any of several Hebrew scripts may be used, most of which are fairly ornate and exacting. The fidelity of the Hebrew text of the Tanakh, and the Torah in particular, is considered paramount, down to the last letter: translations or transcriptions are frowned upon for formal service use, and transcribing is done with painstaking care.

Some errors are inevitable in the course of production. If the error involves a word other than the name of God, the mistaken letter may be obliterated from the scroll by scraping the letter off the scroll with a sharp object. If the name of God is written in error, the entire page must be cut from the scroll and a new page added, and the page written anew from the beginning. The new page is sewn into the scroll to maintain continuity of the document. The old page is treated with appropriate respect, and is buried with respect rather than being otherwise destroyed or discarded.

The completion of the Sefer Torah is a cause for great celebration, and honored guests of the individual who commissioned the Torah are invited to a celebration wherein each of the honored guests is given the opportunity to write one of the final letters. It is a great honor to be chosen for this.

It is a mitzvah for every Jewish male to either write or have written for him a Sefer Torah. Of the 613 commandments, one - the 82nd as enumerated by Rashi, and the final as it occurs in the text the Book of Deuteronomy (31:19) - is that every Jewish male should write a Sefer Torah in his lifetime. (Deuteronomy 31:19)

In modern times, it is usual for some scholars to become soferim and to be paid to complete a Sefer Torah under contract on behalf of a community or by individuals to mark a special occasion or commemoration. Because of the work involved, these can cost tens of thousands of United States dollars to produce to ritually proper standards.

A printed version of the Torah is known as a Chumash (plural Chumashim). They are treated as respected texts, but not anywhere near the level of sacredness accorded a Sefer Torah, which is often a major possession of a Jewish community. A chumash contains the Torah and other writings, usually organised for liturgical use, and sometimes accompanied by some of the main classic commentaries.

Types of material permitted to use for a Sefer Torah

A 200-year-old Yemenite Sefer Torah, on Gevil, from the Beith Keneseth Rambam in Jerusalem. The Sofer was from the Sharabi family

There are three types of specially processed animal skin or parchment: gevil (a full, un-split animal hide), Klaf (also Qlaf or K'laf), and duchsustos, the latter two being one half of a split animal hide; arguably either the inner layer (adjacent to the flesh), or the outer layer (on which the hair grows). These are Hebrew words to describe different types of parchment, although the term duchsustos is Greek. These are used for the production of a mezuzah, megillah, tefillin, and/or a Sefer Torah (“Torah scroll”). A kosher Sefer Torah should be written on gevil. If klaf is used in place of gevil, the Sefer Torah is still kosher, but this should not be done at the outset (l'chatchila). A Sefer Torah written on duchsustos is not kosher.

Ingredients used in making ink for Hebrew scrolls today.

After preparation, the scribe must mark out the parchment using the sargel (“ruler”) ensuring the guidelines are straight. Only the top guide is done and the letters suspended from it.

The use of gevil and certain types of parchment has allowed some sifrei Torah of antiquity to survive intact for over 800 years.

The ink used in writing scrolls had to adhere to a surface that was rolled and unrolled, so special inks were developed. Even so, ink would slowly flake off of scrolls. If the ink from too many letters is lost, a Torah scroll is no longer used.

External decorations

A Sterling Silver Torah Breast Plate - or Hoshen - often decorate Torah Scrolls.
A set of sterling silver finials (rimmonim) are used to decorate the top ends of the rollers.

A completed Sefer Torah is treated with great honor and respect. While not in use it is housed in the Torah ark (Aron Kodesh or Hekhal), which in its turn is usually veiled by an embroidered parochet (curtain) as it should be according to Exodus 26:31-34. The scroll itself will often be girded with a strip of silk (see wimpel) and "robed" with a piece of protective fine fabric, called the "Mantle of the Law". It is decorated with an ornamental priestly breastplate, scroll-handles (‘etz ḥayyim), and the principal ornament—the "Crown of the Law", which is made to fit over the upper ends of the rollers when the scroll is closed. Some scrolls have two crowns, one for each upper end. The metalwork is often made of beaten silver, sometimes gilded. The gold and silver ornaments belonging to the scroll are collectively known as kele kodesh (sacred vessels), and somewhat resemble the ornaments of the High Priest of Israel (Kohen gadol). The scroll-handles, breastplate and crown often have little bells attached to them. A yad, or pointer, may also be hung from the scroll, since the Torah itself should never be touched with the bare finger. This ornamentation does not constitute worship of the Sefer Torah, but is intended to distinguish it as sacred and holy, as the living word of God. Special prayers are recited when the Sefer Torah is removed from the ark (see Torah reading), and the text is chanted, rather than spoken, in a special melodic manner (see Cantillation and Nigun). Whenever the scroll is opened to be read it is laid on a piece of cloth called the mappah. When the Sefer Torah is carried through the synagogue, the members of the congregation may touch the edge of their tallit to the Sefer Torah and then kiss it as a sign of respect.

In the Mizrachi and Romaniote traditions, the Sefer Torah is generally not robed in a mantle, but rather housed in an ornamental wooden case which protects the scroll, called a "tik". On the other hand, most Sephardi communities — those communities associated with the Spanish diaspora, such as Moroccan Jews, the Spanish and Portuguese Jews (with the exception of the Hamburg tradition[3]), and the Judaeo-Spanish communities of the Ottoman Empire — do not use tikim, but rather vestidos (mantles).

Inauguration of a Torah scroll

Torah scrolls are escorted into a new synagogue in Kfar Maimon, Israel, 2006

The installation of a new sefer Torah into a synagogue, or into the sanctuary or beth midrash of a yeshiva, rabbinical college, university campus, nursing home, military base, or other institution, is done in a ceremony known as inauguration of a Torah scroll (Hebrew: הכנסת ספר תורה‎‎, "ushering in a Torah scroll"), which is accompanied by celebratory dancing, singing, and a festive meal. This practice has its source in the escorting of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, led by King David. As described in the Books of Samuel, this event was marked by dancing and the playing of musical instruments.[4] Both the kohanim and David himself "danced before the Ark" or "danced before the Lord".[5][6] It is considered a tremendous merit to write (or commission the writing of) a Sefer Torah, and a significant honor to have a Sefer Torah written in one's honor or memory.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Essential Torah: A Complete Guide to the Five Books of Moses by George Robinson. (Schocken, 2006) ISBN 0-8052-4186-8. pp.10–11
  2. ↑ Mishnat Soferim The forms of the letters translated by Jen Taylor Friedman (geniza.net)
  3. ↑ Mosel, Wilhelm: “Synagoge der Portugiesisch-Jüdischen Gemeinde in Hamburg (Synagogue of the Portuguese-Jewish Community in Hamburg), situated at the rear of No. 6 of the former Zweite Marktstraße, later Marcusstraße.”
  4. ↑ II Samuel 6:14–15.
  5. ↑ Davidson, Baruch S. (2015). "Dedicating a New Torah Scroll". Chabad.org. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  6. ↑ van der Zande, Petra (2012). Remember Observe Rejoice: A Guide to the Jewish Feasts, Holidays, Memorial Days and Events. Tsur Tzina Publications. p. 104. ISBN 9789657542125.
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