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SCRIBES

One of the most honored professions in Jewish life is being a scribe: a sofer. It has been the profession of many great men in Jewish history, chief among them the great Ezra who succeeded in rebuilding the Second Commonwealth and Temple. The word sofer in Hebrew literally means "one who counts." Since a scribe in essence "counts" the holy letters and words of the Torah as he writes them, the word came to describe the scribe who writes these holy parchments. The scribe writes the Torah, the parchments inserted into the boxes of tefilin and the parchment inserted within the case of mezuzot affixed to the doorposts of Jewish homes and premises. Because of these three primary products of a scribe, he is usually called a sofer stam - the word stam being the acronym for sefer torah, tefilin, mezuzot. Scribes are also employed to write gittin - bills of divorce, which must be written individually by hand for each particular case of divorce. A scribe writes with a quill made from the feather of a fowl and uses ink specially prepared for the task. His work is most exacting, time-consuming and painstaking. No mistakes are allowed and in today's technologically advanced world there are special computer driven programs that check the work of the sofer for accuracy and correctness. The parchment used for a sefer Torah and tefilin and mezuzot is also specially prepared and is derived from the hide of an animal that is kosher. The hide undergoes a process of flattening, thinning and bleaching to turn it into usable white parchment. There have been many instances of deerskin being used to make the parchment and therefore those sifrei Torah have a brownish background for the black lettering of the words of the Torah itself.

The lettering of the Torah, tefilin and mezuzot is in a squarish script called in the Talmud by the name of "ktav ashuri" "Assyrian script." Tradition assigns this script back to Moshe and Sinai. There are very strict halachic rules regarding the formation of each of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In addition, there are a number of variant traditions regarding the formation of the letters of the alphabet. The most common script is called Beit Yosef since it is the form prescribed by Rabbi Yosef Caro in the Shulchan Aruch - the primary work of Jewish law. However, the great kabalist Rabbi Yitzchak Luria Ashkenazi, promoted a script that differs slightly from Beit Yosef script in nine letters of the alphabet. This script is called Ktav Ari, Ari being the Hebrew acronym for Rabbi Yitzchak Luria. Most Ashkenazic, non-Chasidic Jews, as well as most Sephardic Jews use the Beit Yosef script while most Chasidic and kabalistically-oriented Jewish communities use the Ktav Ari script. There is a third variation of Ktav Ashuri called Ktav Vellish. This script was in use in medieval central Europe, especially Bohemia and also in certain Yemenite and Near Eastern communities. It does not enjoy wide popularity and use today. In addition to all of the above, the scribe must attach "crowns," little exclamation point like lines to the tops of seven letters of the Hebrew alphabet when writing a sefer Torah. As one can readily deduce by now, the task of a scribe is certainly a most exacting one. It requires infinite patience, good writing and artistic skills and immense powers of concentration. It is not a task for the faint of heart and weak of hand.

No matter what variation of script is used, the scribe himself leaves his individualistic imprint on the parchment. No two scribes write the script exactly the same and people interested in purchasing a Torah or tefilin or mezuzot naturally search for a scribe whose calligraphy appeals to them. Until the latter part of the twentieth century, most scribes wrote in a bold and thick hand, so that the white background of the parchment upon which the letters were written went almost unnoticeable. However, over the past few decades, under the lead of scribes here in the Land of Israel, the writing of the letters has taken on a much lighter, airier and finer tone. It is probably customer demand more than any other reason that has driven this change. A sefer Torah is a costly artifact - new ones usually cost $35,000-$50,000 - and require a great deal of time to produce. The Talmud taught us that Ezra blessed the scribes that they should never become rich. This blessing has been fulfilled but the scribes themselves are a blessing and treasure to all of Israel.

Berel Wein