Sefer Torah - Production

Production

According to Jewish law, a sefer Torah (plural: Sifrei Torah) is a copy of the formal Hebrew text of the Five Books of Moses 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 mitzvot (Judaism’s 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.”

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 (the oral law of the Jewish People), all scrolls must also be written on gevil parchment that is treated with salt, flour and m'afatsim (a residual of wasp enzyme and tree bark) in order to be valid. Scrolls not processed in this way are considered invalid (Hilkoth Tefillin 1:8 & 1:14, Maimonides). In addition, the Talmud (in tractate Bava Batra 14b & Gitten 54b) states that Moses used gevil for the Torah scroll he placed into the Holy Ark.

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). Very strict rules about the position and appearance of the Hebrew letters are observed. See for example the Mishna Berura on the subject. 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. In the Torah's 613 Mitzvot (commandments) the 613th is that every Jewish male should write a Sefer Torah in their lifetime.(Deut. 31:19)

In modern times, it is usual for some scholars to become sofers, or trained scribes, 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 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 commentary.