tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32937496401639758852024-03-02T18:28:52.789+01:00YK's Sofer Blog - Jewish Scribe - לבלר סופרA Jewish Music Blogger turned to a Sofer, I've set to myself a long term goal: writing my own Sefer Torah. In this Safrut (jewish scribal art) blog you will find revealing articles about this ancient art and you will also keep track of my progress.YKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10778564250634479028noreply@blogger.comBlogger137125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293749640163975885.post-69333827094105129592023-05-31T11:57:00.000+02:002023-05-31T11:57:10.419+02:00Rabbi Menachem di Lonzano and the Masora<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLBu873y7wQdDSiGAOwzQ1fMMPG_ajuLhtG81SZshWYGayU7gllBPCS-m7Q6myG4EN8D1QBZqeWvudejsMDxey35j1hDOTb4VR49oQKZblmjPTUrlojqSX4DMJKezpihj7_vEgC8zzJvajdZd1QK7A0kpC_LtACZUirqJObzKn3MmmW-U1nuTBFXU_/s785/or%20torah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="785" data-original-width="544" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLBu873y7wQdDSiGAOwzQ1fMMPG_ajuLhtG81SZshWYGayU7gllBPCS-m7Q6myG4EN8D1QBZqeWvudejsMDxey35j1hDOTb4VR49oQKZblmjPTUrlojqSX4DMJKezpihj7_vEgC8zzJvajdZd1QK7A0kpC_LtACZUirqJObzKn3MmmW-U1nuTBFXU_/s320/or%20torah.jpg" width="222" /></a></div><p></p><p class="x_p2" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In our quest to understand how our Torah’s text became standardized, all roads lead to Rabbi Menachem di Lonzano and this post will focus on his work. </span></p><p class="x_p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br aria-hidden="true" /></p><p class="x_p2" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">While we have explored the establishment and popularization of the Tiberian Masoretic text in the 9 and 10th centuries <a href="https://lavlor.blogspot.com/2022/08/review-of-yosef-ofers-mesora-on.html" target="_blank">in this older post</a>, its adoption by Jewish communities around the world was rather slow and gradual. </span></p><p class="x_p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br aria-hidden="true" /></p><p class="x_p2" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">There were competing Masoras like the Babylonian Masora and other local traditions that were still present in Torah scrolls in many synagogues. The communities were often isolated from each other and had little access to or knowledge of the Tiberian Masora.</span></p><p class="x_p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br aria-hidden="true" /></p><p class="x_p2" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rabbi Menachem Lonzano (1550-1623) was the leading Masora expert in the 16th century and was able to gain access to important codices and manuscripts, in an attempt to harmonize and standarize the Masora used by Jews in Europe and Arabic lands.</span></p><p class="x_p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br aria-hidden="true" /></p><p class="x_p2" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">An orphan from an early age, Rabbi Lonzano had a very difficult life steeped in infirmity and poverty. He often writes that he grew up miserable and that after marriage he couldn’t provide for his wife and kids in Jerusalem. </span></p><p class="x_p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br aria-hidden="true" /></p><p class="x_p2" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rabbi Lonzano was forced to wonder from city to city collecting money for his family. <span class="x_Apple-converted-space" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span>But his dire conditions didn’t stop his phenomenal scholarship and research capabilities, and as a true bibliophile he would use any spare income to buy important manuscripts in his travels. Additionally, his journeys afforded him the opportunity to learn new languages which would come handy when learning Torah and obscure words. </span></p><p class="x_p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br aria-hidden="true" /></p><p class="x_p2" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rabbi Lonzano’s works cover the spectrum of Jewish tradition - Talmud, <span class="x_Apple-converted-space" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span>Midrash, Masora, music and even Kabbala, which was in its early days then. He was a contemporary of Ari’s disciples Chaim Vital and Israel Najara, and Rabbi Lonzano had no qualms to disagree with them in Kabbalah matters and occasionally, <span class="x_Apple-converted-space" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span>even with the Ari himself - something almost no one dared to do given the Ari’s stature as the Kabbalist par excellence. </span></p><p class="x_p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br aria-hidden="true" /></p><p class="x_p2" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">When asked how he could disagree with the Ari, Rabbi Lonzano reasoned that if the Ari was mistaken it must have been “in his early days, before the Holy Spirit was accessible to him”. </span></p><p class="x_p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br aria-hidden="true" /></p><p class="x_p2" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">He often repeated the motto that is commonly attributed to Maimonides, that one should accept the truth from wherever it comes from, preaching intellectual honesty. </span></p><p class="x_p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br aria-hidden="true" /></p><p class="x_p2" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">His vast knowledge of lesser known manuscripts, Midrashim and responsa, coupled with his mastery of Greek and Arabic, afforded Lonzano a unique perspective and he wasn’t afraid to speak his mind against anyone. </span></p><p class="x_p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br aria-hidden="true" /></p><p class="x_p2" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">His combative personality got him into a public spat with the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem and son of the famous <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_ben_Jacob_Cordovero" target="_blank">Moshe Cordovero</a> (Ramak) from Safed. Rabbi Gedalia Cordovero was initially very friendly with Rabbi Lonzano, who initially helped him get the rabbinical post in Jerusalem, but it wasn’t long before Rabbi Lonzano declared that Cordovero had tricked him (details elude me) and he even composed poem wishing for Cordovero’s fall and demise. While they reportedly came to terms, the poem survives and is a testament of Rabbi Lonzano’s unrelenting personality. </span></p><p class="x_p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br aria-hidden="true" /></p><p class="x_p2" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">His unwillingness to submit or give up seemed to suit him well towards fulfilling his lifelong dream - to publish the optimal Torah text according to the most reliable sources. Rabbi Lonzano secured a letter of recommendation from eminent Rabbis in Europe to gain access to the codices of the Syrian, Lebanese and Egyptian communities, and he would not take a no for an answer. </span></p><p class="x_p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br aria-hidden="true" /></p><p class="x_p2" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">He even visited the famed Geniza of Cairo, searching for an ancient scroll attributed to the prophet Ezra stored in an attic there. As is well known, that community believed that anyone entering the attic would be cursed by dying within a year. Rabbi Lonzano didn’t care for it and retrieved the scroll, which turned out to be what he called “a fake” - and he didn’t die from the curse. </span></p><p class="x_p2" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></p><p class="x_p2" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">His research was primarily based on the opinions of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meir_Abulafia" target="_blank">Rabbi Meir Abulafia</a> (Rama), <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menachem_Meiri" target="_blank">Menhachem Meiri</a>'s Kiryat Sefer, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Kimhi" target="_blank">Rabbi Kimchi</a>'s grammatical work, along with many other older manuscripts he had in his possesion.</span></p><p class="x_p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br aria-hidden="true" /></p><p class="x_p2" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">After extensive travels, Rabbi Lonzano gathered just enough money to publish his Torah codice, called <a href="https://hebrewbooks.org/23878" target="_blank">Or Torah</a>, but he had to make a hard choice, as his family back in Jerusalem had no means to subsist and he had to choose between publishing the book or send the money back home. </span></p><p class="x_p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br aria-hidden="true" /></p><p class="x_p2" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">He decided to go ahead and publish, perhaps betting that if successful he would sell enough copies to sustain his family for the years to come but also because he knew the importance of his breakthrough work. </span></p><p class="x_p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br aria-hidden="true" /></p><p class="x_p2" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">While in Italy to publish his book, he stayed in the home of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jedidiah_Norzi" target="_blank">Rabbi Yedidya Norzi</a> </span><span style="color: #202122; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">(1560–1626)</span><span style="color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">, who reviewed Rabbi Lonzano’s </span><span class="x_Apple-converted-space" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">manuscript and was greatly impressed by the project. A gifted grammarian and researcher himself, Norzi decided to conduct his own expanded study, in the footsteps of Lonzano, expanding it to the whole Tanach (Lonzano’s work only covers the Pentateuch). This book was initially called Geder Poretz but it was only published years later in 1742 with a new name - Minchat Shai</span><span style="color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">. </span></p><p class="x_p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br aria-hidden="true" /></p><p class="x_p2" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdu1azSB5WhbY4SRNJM0MI_eedD2n-5eI2S2lof4SJcOew0VIHw067RRiqeuy7h9kWmDm_aM-6gff1uNa6gtZ5Y7vduQ1i4uH1wRvp4aoNljysni1DeKGFFTvwTTLmYAm0kXI3XoYVQgxc66-m-2ctfCC716df4BE7mXjWlOqsq76yEmvCe8nPwKG3/s366/cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="New edition of the Minchat Shai" border="0" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="270" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdu1azSB5WhbY4SRNJM0MI_eedD2n-5eI2S2lof4SJcOew0VIHw067RRiqeuy7h9kWmDm_aM-6gff1uNa6gtZ5Y7vduQ1i4uH1wRvp4aoNljysni1DeKGFFTvwTTLmYAm0kXI3XoYVQgxc66-m-2ctfCC716df4BE7mXjWlOqsq76yEmvCe8nPwKG3/w236-h320/cover.png" title="New edition of the Minchat Shai" width="236" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New edition of the Minchat Shai</td></tr></tbody></table><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rabbi Lonzano published his Or Torah at the end of his life and it quickly became the standard guide for all scribes and communities, Ashkenazi and Sephardi alike, as the most well researched reference in the topic of Masora. </span></p><p class="x_p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br aria-hidden="true" /></p><p class="x_p2" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">One of the major decisions he dealt with relate to Shirat Hayam’s layout, explored<a href="https://lavlor.blogspot.com/2022/07/shirat-hayam-last-two-lines.html" target="_blank"> in a previous post in depth</a>, and Rabbi Lonzano decided in favor of the Rama in detriment to the older (and more accurate) minhag that was still in use in many communities. </span></p><p class="x_p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br aria-hidden="true" /></p><p class="x_p2" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rabbi Lonzano was convinced that this was the original opinion of the Rambam and blamed any manuscript discrepancies to scribal typos (see below) - even though modern scholarship has proven that the Rambam had in fact a different layout. However his ruling took root and it’s the prevailing custom of Ashkenazim and Sephardim until today. </span></p><p class="x_p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br aria-hidden="true" /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnRgzF836UDntM-sveoHUxf6l0C2UvOkfCSfCjsSls3yrUmMyMR5HEPH6K9PiL7l-Sob6Ip8Wkz_-I7rZZa9M8LYdYjZPv0qn2rDe0sFQc2XNBJJcLhvbtOAr_5pTCu6lI-i-b9nsOe5MVG934rNP2B-Zx7tP3Lptp6XKVdJyPDYOnm7EY7mSAn8T8/s800/IMG_2928.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="181" data-original-width="800" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnRgzF836UDntM-sveoHUxf6l0C2UvOkfCSfCjsSls3yrUmMyMR5HEPH6K9PiL7l-Sob6Ip8Wkz_-I7rZZa9M8LYdYjZPv0qn2rDe0sFQc2XNBJJcLhvbtOAr_5pTCu6lI-i-b9nsOe5MVG934rNP2B-Zx7tP3Lptp6XKVdJyPDYOnm7EY7mSAn8T8/w640-h144/IMG_2928.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="x_p2" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rabbi Lonzano clearly enjoyed unprecedented influence in the field of Mesora, and Rabbi Norzi’s expanded work further cemented Rabbi Lonzano’s opinions and research. </span></p><p class="x_p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br aria-hidden="true" /></p><p class="x_p2" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Today, the Minchat Shai is the standard guide that is used for all Torah and Prophet’s scrolls. It is a very similar work to the Or Torah and even though it was published some 150 year later, its user friendly format and the fact that it covers all Tanach have made the Minchat Shai more popular than Rabbi Lonzano’s Or Torah.</span></p><p class="x_p3" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br aria-hidden="true" /></p><p class="x_p2" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rabbi Lonzano, who overcame serious physical and financial troubles, cast his name as the Mesora’s most influential scholar of the past centuries. There aren’t many resources online about his story, and I hope I helped fill the void with this post, which was based on <a href="https://www.magnespress.co.il/book/Masorah_and_Text_Criticism-3796" target="_blank">Prof Jordan Penkower’s book on this topic. </a></span></p><p class="x_p2" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/518IlfSdcqL._SR600%2C315_PIWhiteStrip%2CBottomLeft%2C0%2C35_SCLZZZZZZZ_FMpng_BG255%2C255%2C255.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="600" height="350" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/518IlfSdcqL._SR600%2C315_PIWhiteStrip%2CBottomLeft%2C0%2C35_SCLZZZZZZZ_FMpng_BG255%2C255%2C255.jpg" width="600" /></a></div><br /><span class="x_s2" style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span><p></p>YKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10778564250634479028noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293749640163975885.post-87631583605564739142022-09-19T17:17:00.010+02:002022-09-20T10:37:53.869+02:00Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried - From the Keset Hasofer to the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPGU6MT5HfOgBypzy0Ds3bsZcCx9qClTqCmOKHiITakVn9Cwoay-xRDUFiB8InY5GBMf2n5FARz0W6ZpfvkIKmxwWNSUmSfgyoUFhZMJb1dXP0sSaq4ooXGbOL0ehVxBI5H8L8yHvBvHyzmnLjfNuYjs4TR-000v6RNjyA-uDKP8OrLG5BFYTD5_yB/s322/230px-Shlomo_Ganzfried.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="322" data-original-width="230" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPGU6MT5HfOgBypzy0Ds3bsZcCx9qClTqCmOKHiITakVn9Cwoay-xRDUFiB8InY5GBMf2n5FARz0W6ZpfvkIKmxwWNSUmSfgyoUFhZMJb1dXP0sSaq4ooXGbOL0ehVxBI5H8L8yHvBvHyzmnLjfNuYjs4TR-000v6RNjyA-uDKP8OrLG5BFYTD5_yB/w229-h320/230px-Shlomo_Ganzfried.jpg" width="229" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">The most influential work in the field of Safrut is undoubtedly the Keset Hasofer, written by Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried, and I therefore think it’s relevant to have a post about him (I did write briefly about him and my vintage Keset Hasofer copy in an<a href="http://lavlor.blogspot.com/2009/02/keset-hasofer-and-my-amazing-find.html" target="_blank"> older post</a>)<br /></span><p></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Born in Ungvar and orphaned at an early age, the young Shlomo was recognized as an “ilui” (child prodigy) and he was eventually fostered by the city’s chief rabbi.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Life in the 19th century Kingdom of Hungary was relatively peaceful and there were close to one million Jews living in its lands. Ungvar was an important Jewish community of around 5000 people, which at that time was a very large number. Today Ungvar is called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzhhorod" target="_blank">Uzhhorod</a>, part of modern day Ukraine, bordering Slovakia. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" height="250" loading="lazy" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d5542206.75512234!2d19.19024594335692!3d47.29175796866949!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x473919b944b6e3d9%3A0xda6ae0130042a3c!2sUzhhorod%2C%20Zakarpattia%20Oblast%2C%20Ukraine!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sbe!4v1663594803092!5m2!1sen!2sbe" style="border: 0;" width="600"></iframe></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After getting married, Rabbi Ganzfried tried his luck in the wine business and shortly thereafter was offered a position as a Rabbi of a small village called Brezovica in 1830, but the pay was low and he was looking for ways to supplement his income. He started to write summary works in specialty fields such as Safrut and Shchita, proving to be specially talented at summarizing difficult topics in a easy to read fashion. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rabbi Ganzfried brought the manuscript of his Keset Hasofer (which means "A Scribe's Inkwell" and is taken from <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Ezekiel.9.3?lang=bi" target="_blank">Ezekiel 9:2</a>) to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_Sofer" target="_blank">Rabbi Moshe Schreiber / Hatam Sofer</a>, who also lived in Hungary and was in his later years, widely acclaimed as the greatest sage of his generation. The Hatam Sofer gave him a glaring Haskama and his full backing for the adoption of the Keset by all scribes, which in the subsequent edition got a similar endorsement by the foremost Hasidic leader of that time, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaim_Halberstam" target="_blank">Divrei Chaim of Zanz. </a></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidGWYdqcu4SRQ87KK3DBzagtWG2xv_Sb1Xr8WorJlmJzAlcbKppjPfoB2Wt9JCslDgHllSRv_7yIALX38MJIISQHkz9d-VuuCU-Q01x55UBpI9jIzY_C6ObdxPnf4I0ulIj5slR6HxlUMhswzsRAhX_ZPWo1YglEXhg77uKOIJVOP63Fxjoe2C3kXH/s1600/02012008142.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidGWYdqcu4SRQ87KK3DBzagtWG2xv_Sb1Xr8WorJlmJzAlcbKppjPfoB2Wt9JCslDgHllSRv_7yIALX38MJIISQHkz9d-VuuCU-Q01x55UBpI9jIzY_C6ObdxPnf4I0ulIj5slR6HxlUMhswzsRAhX_ZPWo1YglEXhg77uKOIJVOP63Fxjoe2C3kXH/s320/02012008142.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My 1902 edition of the Keset</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilezdcxFYsKHLcAtB2x_zKYut2qRUYZvUMqrRvN-rgQCju-cujXsqTnw9S5OfwrTGw0NnbdjUE74Fro-QnSirYTkswmx1SIC-5srlvPiiQu6whussDUAELTmVe3dHHFBn6JIEdzSV9Bc1uJCvv_vAQOphlOZ4bsuOIF8W93Mx58kJPmDZcoeN6kZed/s1600/02012008144.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilezdcxFYsKHLcAtB2x_zKYut2qRUYZvUMqrRvN-rgQCju-cujXsqTnw9S5OfwrTGw0NnbdjUE74Fro-QnSirYTkswmx1SIC-5srlvPiiQu6whussDUAELTmVe3dHHFBn6JIEdzSV9Bc1uJCvv_vAQOphlOZ4bsuOIF8W93Mx58kJPmDZcoeN6kZed/s320/02012008144.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This is an edition published and stamped by his son, Yosef Ganzfried</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Unlike Shechita and Rabbanut, the field of Safrut up to that time had no established framework of study and the Hatam Sofer sensed the opportunity to use the Keset Hasofer as the mandatory “bar” for all new and existing Sofrim. These are his words:</span></p><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #222222;"></span></p><blockquote><p style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #222222;"><i>I order all my students who are required to obey me, that from the moment of printing of this book, they </i></span><i style="color: #222222;">will not allow or provide any certificate of approval to any scribe unless he masters this book and knows it </i><i style="color: #222222;">well ... and a scribe who does not master this book will be deposed from his profession. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(tranl. by Prof Marienberg)</span></i></p></blockquote><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This was an interesting new development in the scribal field, and a good hand no longer guaranteed a scribe’s success - now the scribe needed to be an expert of the Halachic side of Safrut in order to sell a Mezuza, Torah or Tefillin.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The Halachot of Safrut are complex and can change over time, and scribes looking for practical guidance couldn't rely on the classic compendiums like Shulchan Aruch but had to look for scattered references in different works like the more ancient Kiryat Sefer, from the Meiri, and others. For instance, the Ashkenazi scribes in Europe don't use reeds, which are not commonly found in Europe but feathers and that is actually subject to Halachic debate. The Keset goes through these issues, noting the prevaling customs and, when necessary, justifying them Halachically in the notes. In fact, while the original edition featured only the basic handbook, in subsequent editions Rabbi Ganzfried added notes and extra information about open/closed parshiot and spellings (based on the Rama and the Minchat Shai, which were Masora experts and the major deciders of our Torah text version - we explored this topic <a href="https://lavlor.blogspot.com/2022/07/shirat-hayam-last-two-lines.html" target="_blank">in this post last month</a>).</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Up to this day, anyone wishing to become a Sofer must first be tested in his proficiency in the Keset Hasofer, either by a tutor, a local Rabbi or one of the specialized institutions in the Israel and US - just like the Hatam Sofer intended 200 years ago. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It was surprising to see these Gedolim not only endorsing but requiring all scribes to purchase a sefer of a small town Rabbi who didn’t come from a prestigious Rabbinic family, had no political connections and wasn't even a scribe, and this early success gave Rabbi Ganzfried a first breakthrough in the Rabbinic world. A few years later, he got a prestigious position as a Dayan in his hometown Ungvar, which allowed his family to live in better conditions and allowed him to put to use his mastery of Halacha in this important city. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rabbi Ganzfried’s work as a Dayan seems to have brought him in the fore of the lives of his constituents, and in time he realized there was a need for a everyday Halachic work targeted for the general Jewish population, who were by and large not capable of learning the Shulchan Aruch and its lengthy commentaries. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rabbi Ganzfried selected the most relevant everyday Halachot, and omitted a large part of the Shulchan Aruch, which is long, detailed and include many subjects not commonly studied by the laymen. He called it "Kitzur Shulchan Aruch", which is actually not at all a summary of the Shulchan Aruch but a standalone handbook of the most vital everyday Halachot - similar in style to his Keset Hasofer for scribes. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.greenfieldjudaica.com/itemimageslarge/Kitzur%20Shulchan%20Aruch.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="557" height="800" src="https://www.greenfieldjudaica.com/itemimageslarge/Kitzur%20Shulchan%20Aruch.jpg" width="557" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As he had shown in his previous works targeted at Halachic niches, this “populist” sefer was easy to understand and became an instant classic, being printed 14 times in the author’s lifetime - a feat difficult to match. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While other similar works appeared around the same time, such as the Chaye Adam <span style="font-size: x-small;">(who as the joke goes chose this name to preempt anyone trying to make a summary of his work, because no one will name it Kitzur Chaye Adam - it would mean “shorten a person’s life”)</span>, the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch proved to be more user friendly and had the perfect combination of length, depth and relevancy - perfect for brief study groups in the Shtetl synagogues, where the Kitzur quickly became the standard best seller. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Many editions expanded and added notes to the Kitzur, most notably the <a href="https://www.eichlers.com/kitzur-s-aruch-misgeret-hashulchan-halacha.html" target="_blank">Misgeret Hashulchan edition</a> and the Chazon Ish's appendix that include the Mitzvot relevant for those living in Israel (these were altogether ommited by Rabbi Ganzfried). </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There's even a Daf Yomi style daily schedule for a year-long cycle I used in my high-school years. In fact, the Kitzur was the very first Sefer I picked up to learn by myself, when I was 13 years old and didn't know much Hebrew.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.shemayisrael.co.il/kitzur/Page1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="800" height="445" src="https://www.shemayisrael.co.il/kitzur/Page1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A steadfast traditionalist, Rabbi Ganzfried was an opponent of the<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neolog_Judaism" target="_blank"> Hungarian Neolog</a> movement and even criticized the German model of orthodoxy headed by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hildesheimer_Rabbinical_Seminary" target="_blank">Hildesheimer’s Seminary</a> in Berlin, which combined Jewish and secular studies. I’ve heard that his son eventually did attend this very institution but I believe the reference is to his grandson <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrik_Br%C3%B3dy" target="_blank">Chaim (Henrik) Brody</a>, who was also born in Ungvar and ordained at the seminary, before becoming the Chief Rabbi of Prague and one of the leaders of the Mizrachi movement. </span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYM_Lqr-cXj6cX5QZfhWtNXKhfGA4IiBsIChd-hX2Arnyd9yrq2HmYGpoUzS1RRCcdl2zHsPKT-kTPKu_gemLKyBB7bSrfgseal-YWV-Da5FvvUlcwMe0MRQCOlzH-s07524y6G6tXbsWjNm7bt0VdFf6m7jDWvUHKMCdbGUfK1SVdYcAaCEaILtXE/s4996/Henrik_Br%C3%B3dy._Prague_1913_(FL12169331).jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4996" data-original-width="3161" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYM_Lqr-cXj6cX5QZfhWtNXKhfGA4IiBsIChd-hX2Arnyd9yrq2HmYGpoUzS1RRCcdl2zHsPKT-kTPKu_gemLKyBB7bSrfgseal-YWV-Da5FvvUlcwMe0MRQCOlzH-s07524y6G6tXbsWjNm7bt0VdFf6m7jDWvUHKMCdbGUfK1SVdYcAaCEaILtXE/w126-h200/Henrik_Br%C3%B3dy._Prague_1913_(FL12169331).jpg" width="126" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Rabbi Chaim Brody</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rabbi Ganzfried’s early success with his Keset Hasofer was the stepping stone which gave him financial independence and, in his capacity as a Posek in Ungvar, a chance to write what is likely the most reprinted Halachic handbook of all time, the "Kitzur".</span></p><div><br /></div><div>_____</div><div><i>Rabbi Dr Dovid Katz recent <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/lu/podcast/jewish-history-with-rabbi-dr-dovid-katz/id1376833321" target="_blank">podcast on this story</a> is a great resource.</i></div><div><i>Prof Evyatar Marienberg's scholarly article was also very insightful, with many new references.</i></div>YKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10778564250634479028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293749640163975885.post-36076332323368766242022-08-29T13:21:00.007+02:002022-08-29T16:31:11.796+02:00A Review of Yosef Ofer’s “The Mesora on Scriptures and its methods”<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jdWjCutOEnCCYBDgH-MKIL_Znf9eB8CKiSfS3gGM_8BuNNFfXfT0d3RJMBSKtJcge--zy7PLDTQJr_TwpapYn-HvXjZCBXzwFUxaUDzhmQaVleC35LaYw4UUbvfMShBL33B5WofiZVEQKmGZw4wjsuFfnJw_Atpp7lw-jb70GBjGxnXikCkn3MwB/s1124/product_pages.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1124" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jdWjCutOEnCCYBDgH-MKIL_Znf9eB8CKiSfS3gGM_8BuNNFfXfT0d3RJMBSKtJcge--zy7PLDTQJr_TwpapYn-HvXjZCBXzwFUxaUDzhmQaVleC35LaYw4UUbvfMShBL33B5WofiZVEQKmGZw4wjsuFfnJw_Atpp7lw-jb70GBjGxnXikCkn3MwB/w228-h320/product_pages.jpg" width="228" /></a></div>A scribe’s work is centered around the scripture’s text, and in the course writing a Torah Scroll, every word is accorded a great amount of importance and holiness. I spend a lot of time with the Torah’s text and I have therefore developed a great deal of interest around the development of our Mesora - tradition - of the accepted Torah text. <p></p><p>After some research, it became clear that to understand how our text became universally accepted by communities around the world, the best course of action was to study the 10th century Tiberian Masoretes. While some scholars like <a href="https://books.google.be/books/about/Textual_Criticism_of_the_Hebrew_Bible.html?id=nF3bAAAAMAAJ&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y" target="_blank">Prof. Emanuel Tov</a> go further back all the way to the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are much older, the Tiberian Mesora was the point of harmonization of the text and we have many resources to study it today, more than ever before. </p><p><a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110594560/html" target="_blank">Yosef Ofer’s The Mesora on Scripture and Its Methods </a>was translated from Hebrew in 2018 and it is a great study. It’s a detailed, balanced and informative account that is surprising easy to read, occasionally delving into intricate grammatical minutiae. Ofer is a student of Rabbi Mordechai Breuer Z"L, a leading expert of the Mesora and Aleppo Codex, and I always prefer to learn from professors who have a religious background and reverence to the text, so Ofer's book is a great choice.</p><p>Although the study of Talmud and scripture is widespread in religious communities today, the study of the <i>development </i>of our holy text has almost become taboo, and most institutions will stick to the story that the text as we have it is immaculate and that’s the end of the discussion. </p><p>The basic description of the work of the Masoretes goes heads on against this assumption, as their occupation was precisely determining the most accurate text according to their traditions and manuscripts, and there were differences in the texts used around the communities at that time. The work of the Masoretes was the attempt to harmonize and define the ultimate text, culminating in the writing of the Aleppo Codex by Ben Asher, the definitive Codex endorsed by Maimonides. </p><p>While we may have the impression that the Tiberian Mesora is not really necessary for the study of scripture today, the truth is that many commentaries often refer to it. Rashi, as pointed out by Ofer in pages 248-250, occasionally mentions the “Mesora Gedola” when giving an explanation to a verse, the Radak often mentions the Masoretes - and most students will not understand the reference unless they know the basics of the Tiberian Mesora. </p><p>I found very interesting Ofer’s discussion about the alternative Mesora - the Babylonian Mesora studied in the Yeshivot in Bavel around the 9/10th century. The cantillation signs created by the Tiberian Masoretes differ greatly from their Babylonian counterparts, both in form and usage. The Babylonian Mesora fell in disuse, even though it was the tradition used in the circles that created the Talmud - the academies of Sura and Nahardea. The differences in question are rather minor although still significant - plene and defective spellings, arrangements of the two songs of the Torah (<a href="https://lavlor.blogspot.com/2022/07/shirat-hayam-last-two-lines.html" target="_blank">Shirat Hayam</a> and <a href="https://lavlor.blogspot.com/2022/05/shirat-haazinu-70-or-67-lines.html" target="_blank">Haazinu</a>) and kri/ktiv special words, which are written but pronounced differently. </p><p>The Tiberian cantillation signs became the norm, even if the actual way of pronouncing them differ from community to community - Ashkenazi, Sephardi and Yemenite ways of reading are all unique. See below the cantillation names in Hebrew; I wish Ofer would have spent some time going through them and their terminology.</p><p><span>(It's worthwhile to note that the Vilna Gaon frequently used the names of the Tiberian cantillation signs in order to find meaning in the text - <a href="https://lavlor.blogspot.com/2009/04/brief-dikduk-dvar-torah-on-pessach-and.html">see here </a>one of my original posts on this and the <a href="http://parsha.blogspot.com/2011/03/mercha-kfula-in-parshas-shmini.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FOLwxu+%28parshablog%29" target="_blank">ensuring discussion in the great parshablog</a>).</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDrWZdvybNEJoRi8fThQGvAPwjCg7uDMWEqpVgGd6SD3_fmJ2CObc6zi_9lF5kZiO-7E-CnnlNU_GQsf_1sc5O3Cskwu7HcC6OcaQUuqrQKN-M305AHSWBT_tvDxRXDpXDUtvEpF1hjJ0rsH95aSLpP8bs-oCw5Go4mku128Tlax5cclcMhkHHjIKo/s480/hqdefault.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDrWZdvybNEJoRi8fThQGvAPwjCg7uDMWEqpVgGd6SD3_fmJ2CObc6zi_9lF5kZiO-7E-CnnlNU_GQsf_1sc5O3Cskwu7HcC6OcaQUuqrQKN-M305AHSWBT_tvDxRXDpXDUtvEpF1hjJ0rsH95aSLpP8bs-oCw5Go4mku128Tlax5cclcMhkHHjIKo/s320/hqdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><p></p><p>Ofer notes that the Masoretes did not explore the topic of <a href="https://lavlor.blogspot.com/2009/03/petuchot-and-setumot.html" target="_blank">open and closed passages</a>, which is subject to many discussions (Rambam vs Rosh, for example) and have serious Halachic ramifications. Clearly, the Masoretes specialized in the correct spelling of the words exclusively, ignoring open/closed passages and also any attempts to explain why letters were spelled plene or defective. The goal was solely to preserve the correct text, nothing else. </p><p>And this approach did not sit well with Ibn Ezra, who openly criticized the Masoretes’ focus and resistance to elucidate the text according to their notes as mentioned in the book. </p><p>Ofer did not speak about the debate whether Ben Asher, the most famous masorete, was a Rabbinic or Karaite Jew. I find this discussion pertinent in the context of the religious implications of the Masoretic text, and I assume he did not discuss this topic because we lack evidence to make a credible analysis, however there's academic research on this topic (<a href="https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1810/301724/[2212943X%20-%20Intellectual%20History%20of%20the%20Islamicate%20World]%20The%20Role%20of%20the%20Karaites%20in%20the%20Transmission%20of%20the%20Hebrew%20Bible%20and%20Their%20Practice%20of%20Transcribing%20It%20into%20Arabic%20Script.pdf?sequence=3" target="_blank">see here a great r</a>esource from Prof Geoffrey Kahn) and the overall interchange between Rabbinical and Karaite communities. It's very interesting that both Rabbinic and Karaite communities adopted the Tiberiam Mesora unconditionally, even though the two sects were in constant disputes.</p><p>Ofer mentions briefly the influence of Rabbi Meir Aboulafia, who’s opinion impacted the texts currently used by Sephardim and Ashkenazi Torah Scrolls. However I wish this would be developed further, as Aboulafia was single-handedly responsible for the unified, common text of Sephardi and Ashkenazi communities - no small feat considering that the Ashkenazi communities were far away from him and very fragmented. He lived not long after Ben Asher in the 11th century and I would assume his impact on the text is relevant to the understanding of the spread of the Masoretic text. </p><p>I like how Ofer teaches the reader like a student, first by going through examples and then by leaving open questions about the theme explored. It feels like a real lecture, and now I know how to read masoretic notes and abbreviations thanks to his exercises. </p><p>Now I’m looking for a study of the post Masoretic text and how it was kept, and this will require a study of Rabbi Meir Aboulafia, Rabbi di Lonzano and the Minchat Shai - they are the Halachic reference for the text we use today. Professor Ofer has another book on the Minchat Shai so I hope to have a chance to study it soon and continue in the quest to understand not only how the Masoretic text was set but also how it came all the way down to our hands today. For the topic of the Tiberian Mesora in itself, Yosef Ofer's work is very thorough and a real gem.</p>YKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10778564250634479028noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293749640163975885.post-21068140209502754152022-07-18T13:34:00.012+02:002022-07-28T13:33:43.416+02:00The Last Two Lines of Shirat HayamThis post is related to my <a href="https://lavlor.blogspot.com/2022/05/shirat-haazinu-70-or-67-lines.html" target="_blank">last post on Shirat Haazinu - </a>you might want to read that first.<div><br /></div><div>The Talmud in <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Megillah.16b.11?lang=bi&with=Halakhah&lang2=en" target="_blank">Megillah 16b</a> states:</div><div><i style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="he" lang="he"></span></span></i></div><blockquote><div><i style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="he" lang="he">אָמַר <span style="color: #336699;">רַבִּי חֲנִינָא בַּר פָּפָּא</span>, דָּרֵשׁ רַבִּי שֵׁילָא אִישׁ כְּפַר תְּמַרְתָּא: כּל הַשִּׁירוֹת כּוּלָּן נִכְתָּבוֹת אָרִיחַ עַל גַּבֵּי לְבֵינָה</span></span></i></div><div><span face=""Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;">Rabbi Chanina (...) says all songs a</span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">re written a small brick (writing) above a brick (blank space), and a brick above a small brick.</i></div></blockquote><p>The Talmud here is referring to the classic brick-and-mortar layout which is featured in all Torah Scrolls throughout time - 30 lines beggining with Az Yashir ending at Betoch Hayam. The layout is easily attainable up to the last two lines, which are much longer and therefore present a problem for the scribe - how should they be written?</p><p>Looking at historical and more recent scrolls, one can find <u><b>three</b></u> completely different arrangements of the last two lines, and the underlying discussion is if the two last lines are at all part of the Shirat Hayam. Unlike the other lines, the last two are not written in poetic language, and seem to revert back to the narrative preceding the Shirat Hayam - perhaps an indication that this section is different from the rest.</p><p>The <u>first</u> Mesora we have relies on this understanding and it has the last two lines written in regular prose, without any special layout or spacing. This tradition was popular in earlier times specially in Ashkenaz and proponents of this opinion bring a proof from our prayers in Shacharit, which repeats Hashem Yimloch LeOlam Vaed in the 27th line. This repetition indicates the ending of the song, similar to <a href="https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%AA%D7%94%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D_%D7%A7%D7%A0/%D7%9B%D7%AA%D7%99%D7%91#%D7%95" target="_blank">Psalm 150</a> which has the last pasuk repeated in morning prayers כל הנשמה תהלל יה הללו־יה, indicating the end of the psalms of praise. In any event, this structure is straightforward and easy to write - see below some examples:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlFYVQ3QYdjsMqzEqxzz_2L0SWx5wDoMJ6R04vH1s42--YdLNvT1TA-e0HaCbJmOxHnn-ZbAhLzR37sfYET5jqZ42z3LQTpSOgmqUXmZ6MFwAewCJqgJzcTYpr6tfzcxz4pm3jmViI_As6hdt_cPbcCmUJSlMjd4ylKiipBh-GwVLIzT-bgB1kMRIx/s1189/IMG_2924.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1189" data-original-width="538" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlFYVQ3QYdjsMqzEqxzz_2L0SWx5wDoMJ6R04vH1s42--YdLNvT1TA-e0HaCbJmOxHnn-ZbAhLzR37sfYET5jqZ42z3LQTpSOgmqUXmZ6MFwAewCJqgJzcTYpr6tfzcxz4pm3jmViI_As6hdt_cPbcCmUJSlMjd4ylKiipBh-GwVLIzT-bgB1kMRIx/w181-h400/IMG_2924.PNG" width="181" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJsV0e0dOdpWXn5FDFTmagAXt9_zB3oqqCX7nSnE8OvSyNdf-thyvNn1KaWoKGH8ScVXK2jqJhSW31MlmvcXUZwHs_AlPQVZOdmrHzn3nIDEgs82qH3gnxh_k5bTPHdUpZYedYFEisYRwo1XS0R-pe3y2Wglix75p52X1QPvaJwlYSb5G1iGLcHIml/s1637/%D7%A1%D7%A4%D7%A8%20%D7%AA%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%94%20%D7%A2%D7%A8%D7%A4%D7%A8%D7%98%20%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%94.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1637" data-original-width="1400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJsV0e0dOdpWXn5FDFTmagAXt9_zB3oqqCX7nSnE8OvSyNdf-thyvNn1KaWoKGH8ScVXK2jqJhSW31MlmvcXUZwHs_AlPQVZOdmrHzn3nIDEgs82qH3gnxh_k5bTPHdUpZYedYFEisYRwo1XS0R-pe3y2Wglix75p52X1QPvaJwlYSb5G1iGLcHIml/s320/%D7%A1%D7%A4%D7%A8%20%D7%AA%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%94%20%D7%A2%D7%A8%D7%A4%D7%A8%D7%98%20%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%94.jpg" width="274" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg3IrQ1M_KJZSwvgGH3t_cEWNb4ky50gPT9A6yEjxTHWSc5rXy861oZZiLKyq04NX4oSRwjqJqIO21kZlrY8aF1rF4tMP_RyWx6G3MpCrE4rns6UKrEBy_wDgU2dz9Fkw3MLJMdWZrSp5t9n_BjUHeEmg49dkIw_FytXtuQTxw8s9HahuVhCrOkf6S/s1618/%D7%A1%D7%A4%D7%A8%20%D7%AA%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%94%20%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%94.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1618" data-original-width="1400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg3IrQ1M_KJZSwvgGH3t_cEWNb4ky50gPT9A6yEjxTHWSc5rXy861oZZiLKyq04NX4oSRwjqJqIO21kZlrY8aF1rF4tMP_RyWx6G3MpCrE4rns6UKrEBy_wDgU2dz9Fkw3MLJMdWZrSp5t9n_BjUHeEmg49dkIw_FytXtuQTxw8s9HahuVhCrOkf6S/s320/%D7%A1%D7%A4%D7%A8%20%D7%AA%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%94%20%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%94.jpg" width="277" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>This layout has fallen out of use in the last few hundred years, even though there's Halachic basis for it and it also seems to "fit" well in the overall symmtry of the text.<div><br /></div><div>The <u>second Mesora</u> is assymetrical, and divides these two lines with <i>one</i> blank space causing the text to look different than the preceding lines. This layout is found in the most important historical Torahs and codices, including the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leningrad_Codex" target="_blank">Leningrad Codex</a> , the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bologna_Torah_Scroll" target="_blank">Bologna Torah</a> and finally <a href="https://www.pthu.nl/over-pthu/organisatie/medewerkers/p.sanders/downloads/bar-nd15-sanders.pdf" target="_blank">Ashkar fragment</a> <i>(the oldest witness of them all - it only has a few pages and Shirat Hayam is one of them, and you can see the layout of the last two lines if looking attentively).</i></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Leningrad Codex:</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfqvBLO0gbC78-eHEGPTbOAb-UWJZeKkSTCHxkiz9B3xdTGFHOQakkS_iBaFYVRqtPdwEU7fQgOA57VRjmJfFxUpZBC7GfWZfZtdiLPl3iS8cHFV6s-5QRfX5iFfJ44TWNmuY22nyHYdsgZQlMCsxlq0msAls7RnyPQhsu4yYn4AkPuTV7W253K-1D/s962/IMG_2918.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Leningrad Codex" border="0" data-original-height="962" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfqvBLO0gbC78-eHEGPTbOAb-UWJZeKkSTCHxkiz9B3xdTGFHOQakkS_iBaFYVRqtPdwEU7fQgOA57VRjmJfFxUpZBC7GfWZfZtdiLPl3iS8cHFV6s-5QRfX5iFfJ44TWNmuY22nyHYdsgZQlMCsxlq0msAls7RnyPQhsu4yYn4AkPuTV7W253K-1D/w213-h320/IMG_2918.jpg" title="Leningrad Codex" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Bologna Torah:</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgdUZBfVMXoBGZGyYIryLNMu-R1-lRnBp3neZMp3EwGy7zVIDiYG-eYyVfQKHtxeus7hcCJcPM3Iwp9DK6mHO9wLTEsqnVE9AyCtu6NhGITtUsj0w1nMp-UgbH_GhidaSrLJsvqvD6vhWV32gi-TChF8P7Vevv3d740pjdbb-Et9L8DjmzgRXeSp0c/s3072/IMG_2923.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgdUZBfVMXoBGZGyYIryLNMu-R1-lRnBp3neZMp3EwGy7zVIDiYG-eYyVfQKHtxeus7hcCJcPM3Iwp9DK6mHO9wLTEsqnVE9AyCtu6NhGITtUsj0w1nMp-UgbH_GhidaSrLJsvqvD6vhWV32gi-TChF8P7Vevv3d740pjdbb-Et9L8DjmzgRXeSp0c/s320/IMG_2923.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Ashkar fragment - hard to see but look closely</i></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv98Nm3ecSkCBAqVF2110BdABGKwotAGkVh953CILiTV6nofrwNh5ye58xs-o3ryBNXrkhSv5PZ9bjtXeUmiaBlks4Y_M0F2Qhrvgjlulpi8yQ4-oxHJmLv7WWqPytCtupUdchzTr4fsEjTjh6WDMkpysrHwd8tBE3GwXucCbGFgqtCZQFeHMzcyLO/s337/Untitled.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="269" data-original-width="337" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv98Nm3ecSkCBAqVF2110BdABGKwotAGkVh953CILiTV6nofrwNh5ye58xs-o3ryBNXrkhSv5PZ9bjtXeUmiaBlks4Y_M0F2Qhrvgjlulpi8yQ4-oxHJmLv7WWqPytCtupUdchzTr4fsEjTjh6WDMkpysrHwd8tBE3GwXucCbGFgqtCZQFeHMzcyLO/s320/Untitled.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFgipKtusrtOb3SPZlEAXH8KCnpzfCrxUsdvCjGEaX9A-WedtizV7NYoQ2WSNYBowwguK2jzGMEpXQkdeBJLi6ciqXToZhJNFPSUVQtTr3cVGl2aOUBjT1yHsv87s-9Sdz9N2qyH0i78XoWL5qTkRqIzrFGaY3aS6lTXeSPvR8I79uNkaQNguv-oSS/s768/IMG_2925.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="768" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFgipKtusrtOb3SPZlEAXH8KCnpzfCrxUsdvCjGEaX9A-WedtizV7NYoQ2WSNYBowwguK2jzGMEpXQkdeBJLi6ciqXToZhJNFPSUVQtTr3cVGl2aOUBjT1yHsv87s-9Sdz9N2qyH0i78XoWL5qTkRqIzrFGaY3aS6lTXeSPvR8I79uNkaQNguv-oSS/s320/IMG_2925.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3pfaLZw0hvDertWafcEpDIWJ3n-OfSsQthqxb-pCvBYqV7GSHIVycCeoT1tNeQaJqHjIYybkR0Fox0Bd6BbLjKOhuU-mCdkQIxgVrpkBXAxaImaW3TVYiy_Dl3E1Kg0qQRJfb6Ip-C-oqQNMbNjO6IZ8JjeanR957e7h4mQV0LFop05wJk346MKOT/s1222/IMG_2916.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1222" data-original-width="801" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3pfaLZw0hvDertWafcEpDIWJ3n-OfSsQthqxb-pCvBYqV7GSHIVycCeoT1tNeQaJqHjIYybkR0Fox0Bd6BbLjKOhuU-mCdkQIxgVrpkBXAxaImaW3TVYiy_Dl3E1Kg0qQRJfb6Ip-C-oqQNMbNjO6IZ8JjeanR957e7h4mQV0LFop05wJk346MKOT/s320/IMG_2916.JPG" width="210" /></a></div><div><div><br /></div><div><p>The Yemenite Torah scrolls have this layout too, and that's always a reliable indication of how ancient and well established this Mesora was in earlier times.</p><p>We now turn to the <u>third layout</u>, mentioned by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menachem_Meiri" target="_blank">Rabbi Menachem Meiri</a> in his scribal work Keriat Sefer. The Meiri brings that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meir_Abulafia" target="_blank">Rabbi Meir Halevy Aboulafia</a> (<a href="https://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=41282&st=&pgnum=44" target="_blank">source here</a>) he had in his possesion a booklet that was allegedly a reliable copy of the Rambam's text but Rabbi Aboulafia was unconfortable about the featured layout of the last two lines of Shirat HaYam found there, which looked like this:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR8RXj_eXl9OGoUUyMeB2bjnkr3tZq1LhxDqGtj_aFqClKcNiBr1nksg8OWd2ppT0nqb8zkH6gXeOi-XhzSMYWlGXCihhWgTK5Ij7SeVNq2LMClKZ6GQ9maDdBSgt1Gw6tYcSbe0FfgibKE-IclLGxRUMeWg-wyr_JjkuKxevEzMYcV7tWXBGtWmkL/s781/rama.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="98" data-original-width="781" height="80" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR8RXj_eXl9OGoUUyMeB2bjnkr3tZq1LhxDqGtj_aFqClKcNiBr1nksg8OWd2ppT0nqb8zkH6gXeOi-XhzSMYWlGXCihhWgTK5Ij7SeVNq2LMClKZ6GQ9maDdBSgt1Gw6tYcSbe0FfgibKE-IclLGxRUMeWg-wyr_JjkuKxevEzMYcV7tWXBGtWmkL/w640-h80/rama.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Rabbi Aboulafia (known as the "Rama") held that this layout cannot be correct because in all preceding 3 stanza lines lines of the Shira, the first and last stanzas only have only one word, and in this layout there are three (את מי הים) in the beggining and two words in the end (בתוך הים). He therefore used a different but similar layout when writing his own two Torahs, in this way:</p><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3C2ZXk-twXYSkp0BjYgNQPCUBKL7W_NPJRBCO5XK0BH-CWb82wbglOrmDRGebujMJsey1BdgUVSZspSqFzvSQXgmh4xAk4bse_CmkcXFpb0AaT4G0UoNIV-5fbDGnzyA9ekeyHTrxe6TkhwMyEdwYeELCU0GkpknqTbNf6Jzj3dsJoVlm2Mpd2_3g/s899/IMG_2917.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="899" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3C2ZXk-twXYSkp0BjYgNQPCUBKL7W_NPJRBCO5XK0BH-CWb82wbglOrmDRGebujMJsey1BdgUVSZspSqFzvSQXgmh4xAk4bse_CmkcXFpb0AaT4G0UoNIV-5fbDGnzyA9ekeyHTrxe6TkhwMyEdwYeELCU0GkpknqTbNf6Jzj3dsJoVlm2Mpd2_3g/s320/IMG_2917.JPG" width="320" /></a></p><p>His influential scribal work <a href="https://www.hebrewbooks.org/40176" target="_blank">Masoret Seyag LaTorah</a> championed this layout and discussed it in detail, and being very well respected by Sephardic and Ashkenazi communities alike, Rabbi Aboulafia's layout quickly became the dominant layout in the Jewish world, even though today there are many questions surrounding this custom. </p><p>Here are some examples of scroll utilizing the Rama's layout:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>13th century Sephardic scroll sold by <a href="https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/f-sefer-torah-pentateuch-in-hebrew-manuscript-scr-38-c-bk360do1h8" target="_blank">Sotheby's</a>:</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2KrYp3HUKSlGqKNTE8RBpHU1fMLsFJf_lyFT6eV1wp-s89w22Wr1kHfkmjN_RVY7rvLNSu7RUaiBsy45g3XkkmiuEuWyUwjxDL_l2vjB4W9rRKy20LtY3jFFGATF2L-AoMlg9r8eehSZuSvzLdC6nB-ZRrRJic8wM_UZ2lYGkxk49ORKc7qPupaO2/s600/sothebys.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2KrYp3HUKSlGqKNTE8RBpHU1fMLsFJf_lyFT6eV1wp-s89w22Wr1kHfkmjN_RVY7rvLNSu7RUaiBsy45g3XkkmiuEuWyUwjxDL_l2vjB4W9rRKy20LtY3jFFGATF2L-AoMlg9r8eehSZuSvzLdC6nB-ZRrRJic8wM_UZ2lYGkxk49ORKc7qPupaO2/s320/sothebys.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><i>Another 13th century Sephardic scroll, <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2018/important-judaica-n09955/lot.213.html" target="_blank">sold by Sotheby's for 250,000usd, and in the item's description</a> it is noted that the scribe followed Rabbi Aboulafia's layout:</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCEIvAsmodQP1L_sfITQ3SyIANqjd0-yHa_5wop61Io9wzGk-10WU2hZW5Xx0XR31cb1ENeNzBM6YmbiAQpeSvCOlo5yBWWnayK1p3R7F1NlkHuMeNhIH7al2POzS1M-SroTgOjtSOTTCej7OycbXJw-lmE6CMvUxQPHHoefkPPGBm-I8ePi4yRxJ2/s626/sothebys2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="626" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCEIvAsmodQP1L_sfITQ3SyIANqjd0-yHa_5wop61Io9wzGk-10WU2hZW5Xx0XR31cb1ENeNzBM6YmbiAQpeSvCOlo5yBWWnayK1p3R7F1NlkHuMeNhIH7al2POzS1M-SroTgOjtSOTTCej7OycbXJw-lmE6CMvUxQPHHoefkPPGBm-I8ePi4yRxJ2/s320/sothebys2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5gm2VMCVsKeF3dy-MnYhWhKQdbLQCzGOQxat03lwPdqMIZjk7NT4ofSxfajoVNlDL_a19ZnvmD0VZdJr0rI-MLU1j-HqKwcbr87sGgMYknny4bBV-SkNek-KYidw0ZJjio2V0ax_C8T14h0ShjsRfLtvAce_OULYGWXBjjDmqgOWGcXHGhn44htNW/s1080/IMG_2919.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="620" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5gm2VMCVsKeF3dy-MnYhWhKQdbLQCzGOQxat03lwPdqMIZjk7NT4ofSxfajoVNlDL_a19ZnvmD0VZdJr0rI-MLU1j-HqKwcbr87sGgMYknny4bBV-SkNek-KYidw0ZJjio2V0ax_C8T14h0ShjsRfLtvAce_OULYGWXBjjDmqgOWGcXHGhn44htNW/s320/IMG_2919.JPG" width="184" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEEJmY9YHx_GdAdNeqZIJCPf2tri-yVbqT6sI4_VMwnxwClMzJycH-6C1cFqawE7ik4F1WHgSKwguva9lgXH4Ps6i6CrorK0QBQxwhkRGr-LG6RbDGNAe7JSeSVMKCV0AwXUktH82k2nnFuxFuypAHwMh2DcTugeyOY9kOFPSsxbvc3-tYU2JCtkLi/s4032/IMG_2920.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEEJmY9YHx_GdAdNeqZIJCPf2tri-yVbqT6sI4_VMwnxwClMzJycH-6C1cFqawE7ik4F1WHgSKwguva9lgXH4Ps6i6CrorK0QBQxwhkRGr-LG6RbDGNAe7JSeSVMKCV0AwXUktH82k2nnFuxFuypAHwMh2DcTugeyOY9kOFPSsxbvc3-tYU2JCtkLi/s320/IMG_2920.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHKcfVo3FGO_2oiD6wGfcRkh_yc6DfWMv8TdXWuR0lXNOKEFnLmGbUkR8klh-awaKJN7EbX8xJklwzD8byMWrWHPF09xHXMQpQfxMmsaPDZR5MRWLn68IHWAt87WKTATskLYwBC--c0Kal6yOQYfOm4TFsLCitsmIvjJ9AZOtHRrV6Ca1e_Rh-Ld5w/s640/IMG_2921.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="631" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHKcfVo3FGO_2oiD6wGfcRkh_yc6DfWMv8TdXWuR0lXNOKEFnLmGbUkR8klh-awaKJN7EbX8xJklwzD8byMWrWHPF09xHXMQpQfxMmsaPDZR5MRWLn68IHWAt87WKTATskLYwBC--c0Kal6yOQYfOm4TFsLCitsmIvjJ9AZOtHRrV6Ca1e_Rh-Ld5w/s320/IMG_2921.JPG" width="316" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK2Rr_JTm4kwl9rOPM8aXlVUD1wtJo-8HILbWrCxLSsEoAMWcR2F9_2UdlBjvflSI0wOp1oWxSKl9zxDKd9-rAN2MGqEoYXo8ekw8YTC7GLcE3tAGV54MxheUyDC5-cEZv_8KIxsQnTCxlolHWygj9CXaFQtF54dZ4hkIqCvK2Rm3QYEpCrKvULhGC/s1200/IMG_2922.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK2Rr_JTm4kwl9rOPM8aXlVUD1wtJo-8HILbWrCxLSsEoAMWcR2F9_2UdlBjvflSI0wOp1oWxSKl9zxDKd9-rAN2MGqEoYXo8ekw8YTC7GLcE3tAGV54MxheUyDC5-cEZv_8KIxsQnTCxlolHWygj9CXaFQtF54dZ4hkIqCvK2Rm3QYEpCrKvULhGC/s320/IMG_2922.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1A_3tfs71deCI4tSi7iiyXKW00hMlNlDzURcvWHgiMnkAozagf6I-AVoDt-Y_XJ1J22nlw0-RpaaLToEZ9sC_KOoFHnQ9SO2ATlLAkPsmZ6lvHRrSqTc-U_xgQ2ja4p0mZsOqA0cjBJBhwCyGixZElV-FM6RKfFWJY8E7u987RX6e3YvCSKHnKGOg/s1600/IMG_2926.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1055" data-original-width="1600" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1A_3tfs71deCI4tSi7iiyXKW00hMlNlDzURcvWHgiMnkAozagf6I-AVoDt-Y_XJ1J22nlw0-RpaaLToEZ9sC_KOoFHnQ9SO2ATlLAkPsmZ6lvHRrSqTc-U_xgQ2ja4p0mZsOqA0cjBJBhwCyGixZElV-FM6RKfFWJY8E7u987RX6e3YvCSKHnKGOg/s320/IMG_2926.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: left;">The Sefer Torah of another rishon, the Rabbeinu Nissim of Girona (Ran) has survived <i>(although recent scholarship challenges this attribution - <a href="https://www.academia.edu/45680776/Torah_Scroll_Associated_with_Rabbi_Nissim_of_Girona" target="_blank">see here</a> for a detailed analysis)</i> and we can see this layout there too - an indication that in Sepharadic lands this layout was already widespread at this time. It's interesting to note that Rabbeinu Nissim actually tweaked the layout just a little - the very last word of the Shira - הים - is not written all the way in the end of the page, but indented a little before. Professor Penkower (<a href="הים" target="_blank">here, page 25</a>) explains that this was done in the context of creating a Parasha Petucha, but that's beyond the scope of our discussion. See here a pic I took years back when visiting the<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="background-color: white;">National Library of the Hebrew University, and look closely at the very last word - it's written before the end of the line:</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfUe6CO5kci7c7yjfKgVb4xhuyrUSgJKMAT-t1shf9un3E1Eaq7YzZFBFtrg2rvXfdhB_uBw6-HN7aC_Px1SVQDkOcmXEjemjTXPG8xJ3cXCh5OT0tAVZUdux8keiG8lrsUbRjB3PnL2HQaNwfr4R-uOk6nhK3Z953BUjNm_cWHqJOI6y-_ObgBkY2/s1600/13012009045.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfUe6CO5kci7c7yjfKgVb4xhuyrUSgJKMAT-t1shf9un3E1Eaq7YzZFBFtrg2rvXfdhB_uBw6-HN7aC_Px1SVQDkOcmXEjemjTXPG8xJ3cXCh5OT0tAVZUdux8keiG8lrsUbRjB3PnL2HQaNwfr4R-uOk6nhK3Z953BUjNm_cWHqJOI6y-_ObgBkY2/s320/13012009045.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p></div><p>Coming back to the second layout, we should revisit the Rambam's opinion. As we have seen, Rabbi Aboulafia's booklet was attributed to the Rambam and it allegedly featured the last line divided in three, but this booklet seems to be problematic at least in this very specific instance.</p><p>Scholars today agree that the Rambam used the <u>second layout</u> in the Mishne Torah and not the Rama's, as he based his text on the famous Aleppo Codex. While the Shirat Hayam part of the Aleppo Codex dissapeared in 1948, research has shown conclusively that the codex had the same layout as the other ancient scrolls we have today (Leningrad, Bologna) and therefore it's no surprise that the Yemenite tradition follows that same layout.</p><p>However when you look at our versions of the Mishne Torah, you <i>don't </i>see the second layout - you see the Meiri's layout. See below:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik3Uq8mB9l-YirIbUNTcxP_kZ25q42-9KQlrvjDw29I0xsuIc-F4WcsENUrIKD2JtnFXpbT9XuKOqqoDw8ta4PG8UaM4U_4_pz-ki6hMW5PjTGnzuJIGnAJZBSODj0w8CoG-tBbFEwXM6HIXmfevYQwVa3i8BBb_NPXyTr3_vDlB_fbpONj8r1T6QT/s4032/IMG_2927.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik3Uq8mB9l-YirIbUNTcxP_kZ25q42-9KQlrvjDw29I0xsuIc-F4WcsENUrIKD2JtnFXpbT9XuKOqqoDw8ta4PG8UaM4U_4_pz-ki6hMW5PjTGnzuJIGnAJZBSODj0w8CoG-tBbFEwXM6HIXmfevYQwVa3i8BBb_NPXyTr3_vDlB_fbpONj8r1T6QT/w400-h300/IMG_2927.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Interesting to see that my copy has a note:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnRgzF836UDntM-sveoHUxf6l0C2UvOkfCSfCjsSls3yrUmMyMR5HEPH6K9PiL7l-Sob6Ip8Wkz_-I7rZZa9M8LYdYjZPv0qn2rDe0sFQc2XNBJJcLhvbtOAr_5pTCu6lI-i-b9nsOe5MVG934rNP2B-Zx7tP3Lptp6XKVdJyPDYOnm7EY7mSAn8T8/s3477/IMG_2928.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="785" data-original-width="3477" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnRgzF836UDntM-sveoHUxf6l0C2UvOkfCSfCjsSls3yrUmMyMR5HEPH6K9PiL7l-Sob6Ip8Wkz_-I7rZZa9M8LYdYjZPv0qn2rDe0sFQc2XNBJJcLhvbtOAr_5pTCu6lI-i-b9nsOe5MVG934rNP2B-Zx7tP3Lptp6XKVdJyPDYOnm7EY7mSAn8T8/w640-h144/IMG_2928.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><blockquote><i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menahem_Lonzano" target="_blank"></a></i></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><i>Rabbi Menachem di Lonzano wrote in his <a href="https://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=19348&hilite=9dcdf242-3c2b-4fe8-8bd1-c7156265a1ce&st=%d7%91%d7%aa%d7%95%d7%9a+%d7%94%d7%99%d7%9d&pgnum=44" target="_blank">Or Torah</a>: Don't heed to the layout found in (other) editions of the Rambam because they are mistaken and are not the layout written by the Rambam - the printers made the layout from their own heart.</i></blockquote><p></p><blockquote><p><i> *In this edition we have printed the correct layout as seen in Or Torah (the publishers)</i></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><p><i></i></p></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote>Clearly <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menahem_Lonzano" target="_blank">Rabbi di Lonzano</a>, an influential Masora expert of the 16th century, was sure that the Rambam had the Ashkenazi/Sephardi (Aboulafia) layout, but this is most certainly incorrect as we mentioned above. And by the same token, the printers' correction of the layout was a mistake too, in effect causing a censhorship of the original design used by the Rambam - similar to the censorship of Shirat Haazinu discussed in my previous post. </div><div><br /></div><div>Now it's possible to appreciate the work of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabsai_Frankel" target="_blank">Shabtai Frankel</a>, a Rabbi and businessman who funded a Kolel dedicated to researching and fixing mistakes in the Rambam's Mishne Torah. His acclaimed edition is a real gem for situations like ours - see below how he printed this page, opposed to my edition above:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSje6T9YaYhr-dOiqULX84DFBGjMq9UE6PxtIpc3knargJBItWmvC8zV8feRQdbEwbxREvzogUkIOrqSog3B4UDsnsc9UMMtaIb2dD9_0pFS9V3Swy_wjw5C8RZ40LvDmPbL6Dwktz_gIriXI9nQZb69Nsbk740dUe1BQZrhXFBQV8NO4aYIaAUtA0/s4032/IMG_3010.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSje6T9YaYhr-dOiqULX84DFBGjMq9UE6PxtIpc3knargJBItWmvC8zV8feRQdbEwbxREvzogUkIOrqSog3B4UDsnsc9UMMtaIb2dD9_0pFS9V3Swy_wjw5C8RZ40LvDmPbL6Dwktz_gIriXI9nQZb69Nsbk740dUe1BQZrhXFBQV8NO4aYIaAUtA0/s320/IMG_3010.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">See here a zoom of the last lines lines:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjayHLiHPfRVqRtzbrdyq-2TKfw_98o9KutnlnbfgLGm5RhQn1hkkI8xHTr80PhnIozupgcp9_lOx27f_Hazuh-zIIMKZ_qmSyiOZJhUuVv2JYJzMlpAPyDdpj6k6Bt4-fVch72X1aqepZNijUgVLbKYmgHCAp4xp29V2NC7OOiJwZDmK-LO9sW9hr3/s1085/IMG_3011.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="1085" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjayHLiHPfRVqRtzbrdyq-2TKfw_98o9KutnlnbfgLGm5RhQn1hkkI8xHTr80PhnIozupgcp9_lOx27f_Hazuh-zIIMKZ_qmSyiOZJhUuVv2JYJzMlpAPyDdpj6k6Bt4-fVch72X1aqepZNijUgVLbKYmgHCAp4xp29V2NC7OOiJwZDmK-LO9sW9hr3/s320/IMG_3011.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Frankel uses the second layout we discussed above, which was featured in the Aleppo Codex and is also seen in the Leningrad Codex - and not the Ashkenazi/Sephardi layout as we have it in our Torah Scrolls. By the way, note how the last line is indented similar to Rabbeinu Nissim's Torah Scroll discussed above - I haven't seem a consensus about this indentation in the Aleppo Codex so this is surprising.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now note how afterwards Frankel elegantly mentions the layout "according to Rabbi Aboulafia's testimony" - the three stanzas the Rama saw in the booklet attributed to the Rambam (בתוך הים in one stanza), but not the Rama's ammended version, which he felt more confortable with but as we now know, was never written by the Rambam. Frankel's edition shies away from censorship and it's refreshing to see how openly his edition deals with this controversy, but this is a recent development.</div><div><br /></div><div>Throughout many centuries, the layout of the only two songs found in our Torah scrolls were <i>both</i> censored in our standard Mishne Torah versions in order to comply with the dominant Ashkenazi/Sephardi Mesora - directly against the Rambam's detailed and clear account of how the two songs should look like. This is a good example of the limited success of some of the Rambam's directives in the Mishne Torah - sometimes he succeeded to popularize Halachot but sometimes, like here, he failed <i>(see more about the scope of the Rambam's influence on Mesora <a href="https://openscholar.huji.ac.il/sites/default/files/jstudies/files/_file_1409486803.pdf" target="_blank">here, page 16</a> - article by Prof Yosef Ofer). </i></div><div><br /></div><div>It's also interesting to note that some scrolls will follow the Rambam's ruling in Shirat Hayam but not in Shirat Haazinu, although most will follow Rabbi Aboulafia in both songs. Dr Shlomo Zucker, when analyzing a unique <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2009/important-judaica-n08606/lot.142.html" target="_blank">old scroll auctioned by Sotheby's</a>, notes that these small nuances allow us to identify a Torah's origin:</div><div><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: BentonSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"></p></div><blockquote><div><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 18px;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">"The fact that the present scroll presents the Maimonidean division of the Song at the Sea and the Abulafian version of the Song of Moses is a clear indication that it was written in Spain. In Sephardic Torah-scrolls written after the expulsion in the lands of the Sephardic diaspora, both songs are always according to Meir ha-Levi Abul'afia, while only the Yemenites follow Maimonides' order in both songs."</span></i></p></div></blockquote><div>Rabbi Mordechai Breuer, one of the leading experts of the Aleppo Codex, conducted many studies of this codex versus the others and the result was always a clear superiority of the Aleppo Codex - exactly what the Rambam said almost 1000 years ago about this same codex, which he used for his own Sefer Torah. Rabbi Breuer even wondered if a new community in a new land should perhaps adopt his edition based on the Aleppo Codex for their Torah Scrolls, like the Rambam had hoped for (<i>source</i>: <i>Yosef Ofer, The Masora on scripture and its methods</i>).</div><div><br /></div><div>While the scribes did eventually adopt the Aleppo Codex as the basis for scrolls of the Neviim and Ketuvim - there was no unified Mesora until the appearance of this codex - in regards to the Torah scrolls history has taken a different path and everyone continues to follow our Mesora, based on the Rama's ruling. Or as Rabbi Sorkin puts it, using a play with words from <a href="https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/קטגוריה:שמות_יד_ח" target="_blank">Exodus 14</a>, <span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(77, 81, 86);"> ובני </span>ישראל<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(77, 81, 86);"> יצאים ביד </span>רמה - the Jewish People fulfill their obligation with the "Yad Rama" (name of another famous book from Rabbi Abulafia), i.e. we rely on the Rama's opinion to fulfil the Mitzva of Writing a Torah Scroll and this is the undisputed Halacha for almost a milennia.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">- this article was based extensively on the excellent <a href="https://www.academia.edu/39350166/%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%97_%D7%A2%D7%9C_%D7%92%D7%91%D7%99_%D7%9C%D7%91%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%94_%D7%A2%D7%9C_%D7%9E%D7%90%D7%9E%D7%A8_%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%95%D7%AA%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%95_%D7%91%D7%A2%D7%9C%D7%99_%D7%94%D7%AA%D7%9C%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%93_%D7%9B%D7%9C_%D7%94%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%AA_%D7%9B%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%9F_%D7%A0%D7%9B%D7%AA%D7%91%D7%95%D7%AA_%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%97_%D7%A2%D7%9C_%D7%92%D7%91%D7%99_%D7%9C%D7%91%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%94_%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%91%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%94_%D7%A2%D7%9C_%D7%92%D7%91%D7%99_%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%97_%D7%97%D7%95%D7%A5_%D7%9E%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%94_%D7%96%D7%95_%D7%A9%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%97_%D7%A2%D7%9C_%D7%92%D7%91%D7%99_%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%97_%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%91%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%94_%D7%A2%D7%9C_%D7%92%D7%91%D7%99_%D7%9C%D7%91%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%94" target="_blank">article by Y. M. Sorkin</a>, entitled </span></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">אריח על גבי לבינה.</span></div></div>YKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10778564250634479028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293749640163975885.post-50740933252930967392022-05-03T11:16:00.010+02:002022-07-20T11:42:29.017+02:00Shirat Haazinu: 70 or 67 lines?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-RhF8kM0V1xWLWsGvosAWaD3JyTheFEq4cbdO7Vz8kxcYJ-qPycNJCcW3mcuwHC2sH3N4MQd4TwEtoJRCvMQ9ZK0GeS6Tajq73dhZn4cBmw03VbihdPrYarozH7msmtF5ScCv2pVwkUjY2pfclIj5jFH-fNADn2fRh2ZXYDfFmhs4iHGjTWDuYIr-/s300/Haazinu-193x300.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="193" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-RhF8kM0V1xWLWsGvosAWaD3JyTheFEq4cbdO7Vz8kxcYJ-qPycNJCcW3mcuwHC2sH3N4MQd4TwEtoJRCvMQ9ZK0GeS6Tajq73dhZn4cBmw03VbihdPrYarozH7msmtF5ScCv2pVwkUjY2pfclIj5jFH-fNADn2fRh2ZXYDfFmhs4iHGjTWDuYIr-/w230-h320/Haazinu-193x300.jpg" width="230" /></a><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Song_of_the_sea.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="678" height="301" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Song_of_the_sea.jpg" width="220" /></a></span></div></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the few columns that stand out in a Sefer Torah is Shirat Hayam, with its “brick and mortar” shape, and Haazinu, with its “two towers” shape. As a general rule, the Torah Scroll has small blank spaces scattered around every column, and they serve to delineate paragraphs and to provide to the reader a moment of reflection.</span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have written about the importance of the correct placement of these blank spaces, called in Rabbinic parlance Parshiot Petuchot and Setumot, in an<a href="https://lavlor.blogspot.com/2009/03/petuchot-and-setumot.html" target="_blank"> older post</a> and I encourage you to look there too.</span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But as a whole, the Torah layout is a continuous prose in all its columns, save the two instances mentioned above. Both are songs, and it seems that the unusual layout is intended to highlight their poetic structure. Commentators offer more esoteric explanations, that the two towers Haazinu layout allude to the downfall of the wicked, which are mentioned in one of the stanzas (this explanation is also applied to the two tower layout of Haman's wicked sons in Esther's Scroll, <a href="http://lavlor.blogspot.com/2010/09/haazinu-and-bnei-haman.html" target="_blank">discussed here</a>).</span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Rambam dedicates many pages to the correct layout of all Parshiot in the Torah, and he writes that Shirat Haazinu should be divided in 70 lines. Look at the text in <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah%2C_Tefillin%2C_Mezuzah_and_the_Torah_Scroll.8.4?ven=The_Mishneh_Torah_by_Maimonides._trans._by_Moses_Hyamson,_1937-1949&vhe=Torat_Emet_370&lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en" target="_blank">Sefaria</a>:</span></div><blockquote><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>צוּרַת שִׁירַת הַאֲזִינוּ</b> - כָּל שִׁיטָה וְשִׁיטָה יֵשׁ בָּאֶמְצַע רֶוַח אֶחָד כְּצוּרַת הַפָּרָשָׁה הַסְּתוּמָה. וְנִמְצָא כָּל שִׁיטָה חֲלוּקָה לִשְׁתַּיִם. וְכוֹתְבִין אוֹתָהּ <b><u>בְּשִׁבְעִים שִׁיטוֹת</u></b>. וְאֵלּוּ הֵן.</span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div></blockquote><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That’s indeed how our Torahs <i>(see example pic at the top of this post)</i> are structured - both Ashkenazi and Sephardi scrolls - in accordance to the Rambam’s account and we would expect that to be the case, as the Rambam had in his possession the prized Aleppo Codex - the most authoritative codex according to our tradition.</span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Yemenite Jews have a handful differences in their Mesora of the Torah text, minor differences in the spellings but one very visible variance stands out. Their parshat Haazinu is written in 67 lines, unlike Ashkenazi and Sephardic scrolls.</span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When looking closely, they have a different arrangement in three stanzas, which are merged together forming a longer, more squeezed, line. Because of that, the layout of their Haazinu column is much less homogenic and the “two towers” are not perfectly aligned. See a picture of the Yemenite tikkun:</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg56eX8eYZoPHE1VUcZXhXInlQtqYzL4Xaki9vNKjv8HPP2aF72Qnb37yE1KHGEVLU3UwnQ881NsbLXO6RdrAzu2cBKcLGlfffLgMGccUG5VSxvNzToaOL_HfuuPBRtY4zaD5T7KzvP30Y/s1600/hazinu.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg56eX8eYZoPHE1VUcZXhXInlQtqYzL4Xaki9vNKjv8HPP2aF72Qnb37yE1KHGEVLU3UwnQ881NsbLXO6RdrAzu2cBKcLGlfffLgMGccUG5VSxvNzToaOL_HfuuPBRtY4zaD5T7KzvP30Y/w240-h320/hazinu.jpg" title="Yemenite Haazinu tikkun" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We all know the Teimanim follow the rulings of the Rambam closely, which in turn begs the question - how do they reconcile their Mesora with the Rambam?</span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Let’s turn to the Aleppo Codex again. As I discussed elsewhere, this codex is attributed to the Masorete Ben Asher, and was salvaged from the Aleppo synagogue pillaging in the 1947 Arab protests against the establishment of the State of Israel..</span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The local Sephardi community guarded the Codex closely, and very few outsiders managed to find a way to look at it. One of the few was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umberto_Cassuto" target="_blank">Humberto Cassuto</a>, a famous scholar who wanted to investigate if this Codex was indeed the one attributed to the Ben Asher lineage. Professor Cassuto was granted limited access and couldn’t study it throughly, but he cast doubt at the provenance of the Codex because he saw that the Haazinu of the Codex had 67 lines, and not 70 lines as discussed in the Rambam’s Mishne Torah.</span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Many scholars started to investigate this finding. It turned out that the Yemenites have a different reading of the Rambam and in their manuscripts it states that Haazinu has 67 lines - just like Professor Cassuto observed in the Codex, except he wasn’t aware that his own Rambam’s edition was corrupted. The very feature Prof Cassuto found to be suspicious turned out to be the best proof of the authenticity of the Codex. An early manuscript of the Rambam from Oxford's collection has the same version as the Yemenites, and that's how <a href="https://mechon-mamre.org/i/2308n.htm" target="_blank">Mechon Mamre has it in their online Rambam</a>:</span></div><blockquote><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="text-align: justify;">יא</b><span style="text-align: justify;"> צוּרַת שִׁירַת הַאֲזִינוּ (</span><a href="https://mechon-mamre.org/i/t/a0532.htm#1" style="text-align: justify;">דברים לב,א-מג</a><span style="text-align: justify;">)--כָּל שִׁטָּה וְשִׁטָּה, יֵשׁ בְּאֶמְצָעָהּ רֵוַח אֶחָד כְּצוּרַת הַפָּרָשָׁה הַסְּתוּמָה, וְנִמְצֵאת כָּל שִׁטָּה חֲלוּקָה לִשְׁתַּיִם; וְכוֹתְבִין אוֹתָהּ <b><u>בְּשֶׁבַע וְשִׁשִּׁים שִׁטּוֹת</u></b>. וְאֵלּוּ הֶן</span></span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div></blockquote><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Although almost all the Chumash part of the Codex was destroyed <i>(or hid away, as claimed by Matti Friedman’s great book<a href="https://lavlor.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-aleppo-codex-book-review-from.html" target="_blank"> discussed here</a>)</i>, the Haazinu pages observed by Prof Cassuto have survived and can be seen in the <a href="https://www.imj.org.il/en/collections/226966" target="_blank">Israel Museum</a> and <a href="https://barhama.com/ajaxzoom/viewer/viewer.php?zoomDir=/pic/AleppoWM/&example=viewer5" target="_blank">online</a>. See it here:</span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAqlrnBtSLWcFYWVh3rQFTMy-ZQUNmdIUbedtntGzGfRcYwzuFNkxfGMi1UYBc1LYLlGDnQyVkTWH83VfBHjxye5LxwH4SN8Q5cNG9CQEszN40y8aKIA1QeAxLQdIGuvCDD-00fA98c8n8-5ROiSg4X_WQuy7OFY72A-L4pPG7N7dvEq88mvXBQ1Jn/s859/haazinu1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="859" data-original-width="724" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAqlrnBtSLWcFYWVh3rQFTMy-ZQUNmdIUbedtntGzGfRcYwzuFNkxfGMi1UYBc1LYLlGDnQyVkTWH83VfBHjxye5LxwH4SN8Q5cNG9CQEszN40y8aKIA1QeAxLQdIGuvCDD-00fA98c8n8-5ROiSg4X_WQuy7OFY72A-L4pPG7N7dvEq88mvXBQ1Jn/s320/haazinu1.jpg" width="270" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFIZt_lFw-UL-qhtu0uLUz5v0C9DaukqPJXAc0__vciFG-eJABJISvAo9aiYp-yyg8gL_OwpTBiS5abAT2-16qCZpbcwdUm--AT0vAyHxzkxr0gCqejlasKyWm0_bBsyGV9ejnjGPeol0Ss2CsrZkthk4eya95K4qr9O4Ksa6oOIbXm3qrSYCNw5hu/s865/haazinu2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="865" data-original-width="727" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFIZt_lFw-UL-qhtu0uLUz5v0C9DaukqPJXAc0__vciFG-eJABJISvAo9aiYp-yyg8gL_OwpTBiS5abAT2-16qCZpbcwdUm--AT0vAyHxzkxr0gCqejlasKyWm0_bBsyGV9ejnjGPeol0Ss2CsrZkthk4eya95K4qr9O4Ksa6oOIbXm3qrSYCNw5hu/s320/haazinu2.jpg" width="269" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Yemenites kept the Rambam’s proposed Mesora (save one puzzling, small variance towards the end of Haazinu in the stanza starting with "<u>Gam</u> Betula" which the Yemenites start with the preceding "<u>Gam</u> Bachur" - the similar words seemed to have caused this confusion but perhaps there's a better explanation I'm not aware of). </span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Ashkenazi and Sephardi did not, and there was an obvious attempt to cover up the discrepancy between their tradition (70 lines) and the Rambam’s (67), and while a few expert scholars <i>(like 16th century <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menahem_Lonzano" target="_blank">Menachem di Lonzanu</a>, in his popular work <a href="https://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=19342&st=&pgnum=48" target="_blank">Or Torah - see here at the bottom</a>)</i> eventually noted conflicting versions of the Mishne Torah, this caused much confusion and eventually most scholars became convinced that the versions of the Mishne Torah with 67 lines were simply wrong because they didn't comply with the vast majority of the existing scrolls.</span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Ashkenazi and Sephardi structure of 70 lines has its source in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soferim_(Talmud)" target="_blank">Masechet Sofrim</a> 12 (<a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Tractate_Soferim.12.9?ven=The_Minor_Tractates_of_the_Talmud,_trans._A._Cohen,_London:_Soncino_Press,_1965&vhe=Talmud_Bavli,_Vilna_1883_ed.&lang=he&with=all&lang2=he" target="_blank">exact link here</a>, where it states the first word of every line totaling 70), which is one of the handful small tractates found in the Babylonian Talmud and is generally attributed to the Gaonic period. Even though the Codex was housed in Aleppo - a major Sephardic center - for a very long time, the Sephardic world adopted the 70 line tradition which was the most prevalent and based their text in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meir_Abulafia" target="_blank">Rabbi Meir Aboulafia</a>’s (who was an opponent of the Rambam) authoritative compendium <a href="https://www.hebrewbooks.org/40176" target="_blank">Masoret Seyag Latorah</a> - not the Aleppo Codex. Ironically, the Aleppo community guarded the Codex as its prized relic while following another Mesora for the Haazinu parsha <i>(credit for the great Prof Marc Shapiro for this insight).</i></span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A few scholars have attempted to conduct studies of Torah Scrolls from different pre-war communities in regards to their Haazinu structure, in order to discover how prevalent was the 70 line structure. Scholars have found that there were more than two options - some scrolls had a little more than 70 lines while others fewer than 67, some had no unique structure at all, while others had Haazinu in the brick and mortar layout of Shirat Hayam! It seems like the scribes generally knew that Haazinu had a special layout but had limited knowledge of how to write the special structure.</span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The difficulty in regards to Haazinu stems from this Talmudic passage in Megillah:</span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="he" lang="he"></span></span></div><blockquote><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="he" lang="he">אָמַר <a class="namedEntityLink" data-slug="rabbi-hanina-b-pappa" href="/topics/rabbi-hanina-b-pappa">רַבִּי חֲנִינָא בַּר פָּפָּא</a>, דָּרֵשׁ רַבִּי שֵׁילָא אִישׁ כְּפַר תְּמַרְתָּא: כּל הַשִּׁירוֹת כּוּלָּן נִכְתָּבוֹת אָרִיחַ עַל גַּבֵּי לְבֵינָה </span></span><span style="color: #222222; text-align: left;">חוּץ מִשִּׁירָה זוֹ וּמַלְכֵי </span><a class="namedEntityLink" data-slug="canaan" href="/topics/canaan" style="text-align: left;">כְנַעַן</a><span style="color: #222222; text-align: left;">, שֶׁאָרִיחַ עַל גַּבֵּי אָרִיחַ וּלְבֵינָה עַל גַּבֵּי לְבֵינָה. מַאי טַעְמָא — שֶׁלֹּא תְּהֵא תְּקוּמָה לְמַפַּלְתָּן</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> — </span></i></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>Said Rabbi Hanina bar Pappa, Rabbi Shila, a man of the village of Temarta, expounded: <b><u>all songs -- all of them -- </u></b>are written a small brick (writing) above a brick (blank space), and a brick above a small brick, except this song (Sons of Haman) and [the song of] the kings of Canaan, which are a small brick above a small brick and a brick above a brick.</i></div></blockquote><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Note that Haazinu is not mentioned as one of the exceptions, and you could infer from this passage that Haazinu should be written like all other songs - in a brick and mortar fashion! That is the likely explanation of why some older scrolls have this feature - perhaps some scribes based themselves in the simple understanding of this Gemara. The Noda Biyuda discusses the Halachic status of this layout and based on this understanding he tries to find a way to not invalidate these scrolls. See below how a Haazinu in brick-and-mortar shape would look like:</span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh917jjEaI4SQKRt8LPBFDo4ewOWSXwFl181MVhHkvatKVRUJdI_lMjFYGHFnU9LIc5WCnGQVABc7rMTro2Ey5jpZ5a-v8-49-946YMO5KxzrGZ1RkGfVY8VNeAdBm01mzVk6hTkmZeUuftG0pLR5997P2l4LqmBzzHrLZPjRvvqtd-VvQCo8Zyp6zs/s599/haazini5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="367" data-original-width="599" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh917jjEaI4SQKRt8LPBFDo4ewOWSXwFl181MVhHkvatKVRUJdI_lMjFYGHFnU9LIc5WCnGQVABc7rMTro2Ey5jpZ5a-v8-49-946YMO5KxzrGZ1RkGfVY8VNeAdBm01mzVk6hTkmZeUuftG0pLR5997P2l4LqmBzzHrLZPjRvvqtd-VvQCo8Zyp6zs/w378-h231/haazini5.jpg" width="378" /></a></div></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">However, the Masechet Sofrim is categorical, and clearly states that Haazinu is not to be written like Shirat Hayam, and that's the normative Halacha - even though the Masechet Sofrim is from the Gaonic period and hence, theoretically less authoritative than the Talmud which seems to imply that Haazinu should be written like all songs - in brick and mortar layout.</span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordechai_Breuer">Professor Mordechai Breuer</a>, one of the leading experts of the Aleppo Codex, attempted to harmonize the Talmudic passage above with the ruling of the Masechet Sofrim by developing the idea that Haazinu is not a real Song/Shira, and therefore not the subject of the Talmud's discussion above. In other words, Haazinu is in a category of its own and it's unlike Shirat Hayam, Bnei Haman and Shirat Devorah <i>(<a href="https://www.academia.edu/39350166/%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%97_%D7%A2%D7%9C_%D7%92%D7%91%D7%99_%D7%9C%D7%91%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%94_%D7%A2%D7%9C_%D7%9E%D7%90%D7%9E%D7%A8_%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%95%D7%AA%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%95_%D7%91%D7%A2%D7%9C%D7%99_%D7%94%D7%AA%D7%9C%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%93_%D7%9B%D7%9C_%D7%94%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%AA_%D7%9B%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%9F_%D7%A0%D7%9B%D7%AA%D7%91%D7%95%D7%AA_%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%97_%D7%A2%D7%9C_%D7%92%D7%91%D7%99_%D7%9C%D7%91%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%94_%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%91%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%94_%D7%A2%D7%9C_%D7%92%D7%91%D7%99_%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%97_%D7%97%D7%95%D7%A5_%D7%9E%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%94_%D7%96%D7%95_%D7%A9%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%97_%D7%A2%D7%9C_%D7%92%D7%91%D7%99_%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%97_%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%91%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%94_%D7%A2%D7%9C_%D7%92%D7%91%D7%99_%D7%9C%D7%91%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%94" target="_blank">see here</a> page 23 for further discussion and a great resource in this topic)</i>.</span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The complexity of this Talmudic passage is the best explanation of why there's not one single option when it comes to writing Haazinu - the Talmud is ambigious and the scribes had a tough time getting it right.</span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web (West European)", "Segoe UI", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">However, scholarly research has shown that in both Ashkenazi (Prof <span style="color: #202124;">Goshen-Gottstein) </span>and Italy (see <a href="https://jstudies.huji.ac.il/sites/default/files/jstudies/files/bible_-_26_-_07_-_kolodny.pdf">Prof. Orlit Kolodn</a><a href="https://jstudies.huji.ac.il/sites/default/files/jstudies/files/bible_-_26_-_07_-_kolodny.pdf" target="_blank">y here </a>with more details), the most common layout was undoubtedly the 70 line structure, as per the Masechet Sofrim. Less than 10% of the 250+ scrolls surveyed have the 67 layout, which means that the Rambam/Yemenite Mesora was actually not very popular. While the Rambam tried to push for the 67 Mesora in his very detailed account of how Haazinu should be written, it seems clear that already in his time this Mesora was not dominant and his initiative did not gain much traction in the wider Jewish world. The fact that the Rambam's manuscript was censored to conform with the 70 line Mesora is an indication that there was a push back to the Rambam's directive, and the censorship <i>(see more about this in Prof Marc Shapiro's "Changing the Immutable")</i> was a very efficient way to safeguard the prevalent Mesora of the Masechet Sofrim - it even fooled an expert scholar like Prof Cassuto.</span></div></div>YKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10778564250634479028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293749640163975885.post-23380671710046049982021-07-15T16:00:00.001+02:002022-07-01T14:13:40.363+02:00Rabbi Meir's Torah<p dir="rtl" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial Hebrew"; font-size: small; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"></p><blockquote><p dir="rtl" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"בתורתו של רבי מאיר מצאו כתוב, "והנה טוב מאד" (בראשית א, לא) - "והנה טוב מות" <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Bereishit_Rabbah.9.5?lang=he&with=all&lang2=he" target="_blank">(בראשית רבה וילנא, ט, ה)</a></span></p><p dir="rtl" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22.7px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p dir="rtl" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"ויעש ה' אלקים לאדם ולאשתו כות<wbr></wbr>נות עור וילבישם" (בראשית ג, כא). בתורתו של ר' מ<wbr></wbr>איר מצאו כתוב: "כותנות אור" <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Bereishit_Rabbah.20.12?lang=he&with=all&lang2=he" target="_blank">(בראשית רבה תיאודור-אלבק, כ, כ<wbr></wbr>א)</a></span></p></blockquote><p dir="rtl" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22.7px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This Medrash says that Rabbi Meir’s Torah had some variant readings distinct from our mainstream Mesora. Instead of <span>טוב</span> <span>מאד</span>, his text was <span>טוב</span> <span>מות</span>; instead of <span>כותנות</span> <span>עור</span>, he had <span>כותנות</span> <span>אור</span>. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22.7px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is a puzzling and difficult concept to understand. The Talmud (<a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Eruvin.13a?lang=bi" target="_blank">Eiruvim 13a</a>) says that Rabbi Meir was an expert Sofer, who learned by the foremost leaders of his generation - Rabbi Yishmael and Rabbi Akiva. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22.7px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While a small variant reading of <span>עור</span> and <span>אור</span> is a relatively minor issue, Rabbi Meir’s other variant - <span>טוב</span> <span>מות</span> - seems completely different and unrelated to the mainstream text. What can be the connection between <span>טוב</span> <span>מאד</span> and <span>טוב</span> <span>מות</span>, which was highlighted by Chazal as a point of variance between two traditions ?</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22.7px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I usually like to follow a somewhat scholarly approach in my posts, but to answer this question I will turn to Derash. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22.7px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There are many comments about the connection between <span>עור</span> and <span>אור, mostly based one </span>the <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Zohar.2.229b.4?vhe=New_Torat_Emet_Zohar&lang=bi" target="_blank">famous Zohar </a>that originally the skin of Adam was translucent, full of light, but after his sin it turned like our skin, hence the connection between the words. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22.7px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Exploring this concept further, I've heard in the name of Reb Tzadok Hacohen <span style="font-size: x-small;">|(please comment if you have the written source)</span> that specifically Rabbi Meir had the unique ability to understand the ultimate purpose of everything in this world and how all connects in a meta-physical reality. In his perception, <span>כותנות</span> <span>עור</span> was very clearly not just leather clothes but clothes hiding a spiritual light and Rabbi Meir could perceive that in all creation at any given time - not </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">only before Adam’s sin. For Rabbi Meir, all creation was connected and he saw how that worked.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22.7px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What about the connection of <span>מאד</span> and <span>מות</span>? </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22.7px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If we take Reb Tzakok’s insight a step further, that our traditions and Rabbi Meir's reflect two different worldviews, let’s analyze why this specific variant has been highlighted. Both <span>מאד</span> and <span>מות</span> start with the Mem, the middle letter of the Hebrew alphabet and the letter representing the present time. We can see that Rabbi Meir could start from the Mem and perceive the very end-objective of everything, and this is codified in the word <span>מות</span>, going from the Mem directly to the Tav - the final letter of the alphabet and the ultimate goal. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22.7px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">However, our perception is not like Rabbi Meir’s, and we cannot connect all the dots of the world around us. The best we can do is try to go back to how things started and from there try to find meaning. That’s the <span>מאד</span> - starting from the Mem, going to back to the Aleph which is the symbol of Hashem’s unity and then to the Daled, which is the letter highlighting how Hashem interacts with our world. That’s our approach to dealing with this world (see more about this concept in Ari Bergmann's podcast <a href="https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/19522889/height/360/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/backward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/0c0d0d/" target="_blank">here</a>).</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22.7px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hence we find a possible connection between the two readings and how they represent differing worldview approaches, as explored by Reb Tzadok. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">It turned out to be that Rabbi Meir’s approach was not tenable, and the mainstream text is indeed </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">טוב </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">מאד</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22.7px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course, this discussion leads to the question of how the Torah text can have variant readings, which in turn challenges the Rambam’s view that our Masoretic text is the “immaculate text”, without any changes through time. To read a great piece on this, which requires a more scholarly approach, see <a href="https://www.kotzkblog.com/2016/05/82-what-would-happen-if-moshes-torah.html">this great post</a> at the Kotzk Blog, discussing what would happen if we would find an authoritative old scroll that differs from our accepted Masoretic text. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22.7px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One possible conventional answer is brought by the Torah Temima (<a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Torah_Temimah_on_Torah%2C_Genesis.3.21.1?vhe=Torah_Temimah,_Vilna,_1904&lang=bi">source</a>), who writes that some understand the Medrash to be referring not to Rabbi Meir’s actual Torah Scroll but his written novelea, where he expounded the meaning of the Torah text. Or perhaps his marginal glosses written around his personal Torah Scroll. In other words, he had no actual variant Mesora. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22.7px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Be it as it may, as for the connection between <span>מאד</span> and <span>מות</span>, we have found that these variant readings can be understood not as a mere curiosity; it’s a hidden message highlighted by the Medrash, and up to us to understand its message.</span></p>YKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10778564250634479028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293749640163975885.post-7819718608126320772021-04-20T23:29:00.000+02:002021-04-20T23:29:04.295+02:00Lavlor Judaica - it's here!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKoq3WGxTQ_3s2GiFBXNCYI3UQcRdCvZ3jbTTbngYfYnCx8DEtucYfo4P5iAPKBDHN5iLjbYDksMq_y-heZhhGIueMJ-4RPqtt9JaSHDF0VH-_x_dkVDETGuH_4Xl4kVE1zapvarTsQLw/s790/8F0A840D-BCB4-4AC7-B3D8-D57B67F71346.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="790" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKoq3WGxTQ_3s2GiFBXNCYI3UQcRdCvZ3jbTTbngYfYnCx8DEtucYfo4P5iAPKBDHN5iLjbYDksMq_y-heZhhGIueMJ-4RPqtt9JaSHDF0VH-_x_dkVDETGuH_4Xl4kVE1zapvarTsQLw/s320/8F0A840D-BCB4-4AC7-B3D8-D57B67F71346.jpeg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFPsLQlYA9Fk0LSHFv26RzExW9JmthW7qUtjAJULmXFacfj8ZZRwnUcFBhQIOHXqrIcNdCtsv0S8BnjBW3ojIoDaWiTMJs8NAKyBDTm3z0As8qT77ygSzYypZlQE6pJlVE_3jSriZ6NZo/s668/B92024D2-78F2-4C37-B4DB-9B99723D6BFF.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFPsLQlYA9Fk0LSHFv26RzExW9JmthW7qUtjAJULmXFacfj8ZZRwnUcFBhQIOHXqrIcNdCtsv0S8BnjBW3ojIoDaWiTMJs8NAKyBDTm3z0As8qT77ygSzYypZlQE6pJlVE_3jSriZ6NZo/s320/B92024D2-78F2-4C37-B4DB-9B99723D6BFF.jpeg" /></a></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As a Sofer I have spent countless hours looking at letters and also studying different concepts and ideas brought down in Chazal in the field of Safrut. By definition a Sofer is a copyist, and my job is do write my Torah Scroll as uniformally and perfectly as possible, without much room for creative work.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When I started in Safrut, I even considered adopting the obsolete Mesora of Otiot Meshunot for my personal Torah, as these letters are a great medium for creative and artistic work. I quickly realized it was a bad idea, as the mesorah of these odd letters is lost and not in use, so how could I write a scroll with a lost mesora? The whole point of a Torah Scroll is adhering to the accepted mesora of our day, and that's what I did in the end.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm exploring my creative urge in Safrut in a different way. I developted a design concept that is rooted in a sofer's work and also in many commentaries in the Torah - the concept of the interplay between Black Fire (written letters of the Torah) and White Fire (invisble letters that surround the written letters). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">According to tradition, the white letters will be revaled in the future, and we can only ponder what they actually are. It's hard to visualize how these invisible letters will actually appear in the Torah Scroll, as our scrolls today are so simple and unidimensional. But the invisible letters are there, and it is said in the name of the Arizal that while all Jews have a corresponding letter in the Torah, this personal letter might be actually not a written letter but an invisible one located in the blank klaf (by the way, this is way many have the minhag of looking at the Torah Scroll at the time of Hagba in shul, as the Ari said that you might evetuallt peek at your letter and connect to it).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My design is an attempt to crystalize this interplay between visible and invisble letters, and I got inspired when writing <a href="https://lavlor.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-tefillins-four-legged-shin.html" target="_blank">my recent post on the Four Legged Shin</a> of the Tefillin. This odd letter is precisely one of the invisible letters which surround a normative written Shin, and it got me thinking how each letter from the Hebrew alphabet can relate to others. The most obvious combination is the famous Peh-Bet interplay, which scribes always make sure to create whenever writing a Peh in the Torah (with a small inner Bet). But there are many other possibilities, for example, a Yud inside a Kuf and so on. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My first design variation is called <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/74109734" target="_blank">Black and Color Fire</a>, which is the best way to visualize how a black letters might be surrounded by many other invisible letters (represented by the colored letters) at any given time.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then you have the fully colored design, called <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/74090805" target="_blank">Color Fire</a>, which is more uniform and perhaps more pleasing to the eye.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Lastly, I made a B&W version called <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/74204163" target="_blank">Black and White Fire</a>, which was the hardest but surely my favorite. It was a challenge to form the letters using only grayscale colors, because it's harder to spot the different letters around the canvas. It brings me back to the black and white scheme of the Torah Scroll, which is the pallete I always face when writing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">These designs are available for everyday items, as there's no reason why we should not be constantly reminded of the sanctity of the Hebrew letters and their relevance to our daily lives. While a Torah Scroll is mostly kept safe out of eyesight, my design is made with our modern world in mind and with the intention of bringing scribal ideas out in the wild. You have <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/i/mug/Shabbat-and-Yom-Tov-by-Lavlor-Judaica/74155287.9Q0AD" target="_blank">shabbos mugs</a>, <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/i/backpack/Black-and-White-Fire-by-Lavlor-Judaica/74204163.K1KHE?ref=explore-for-you-recently-viewed" target="_blank">backpacks</a>, <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/i/iphone-case/Black-and-Color-Fire-by-Lavlor-Judaica/74109734.PGM2E?ref=explore-for-you-recently-viewed" target="_blank">phone cases</a> and pillows. Soon you will be able to buy Mezuzot as well. It's more traditional then my wacky <a href="https://lavlor.blogspot.com/2020/12/mezuza-art.html" target="_blank">Banana art Mezuzah</a>, which was really my first attempt at creating a Judaica piece.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is my <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/people/Lavlor-Judaica/shop?asc=u" target="_blank">Judaica collection, Lavlor Judaica</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Z3nhkzAUVMCAbnRwb6y2ATV5GsjzHhMiDOXMPrlwc3EKmDjDpffHaoqdSI5LBBiardLQndwBPkkvpcRFEk7xloZU7wYI9bdj5tF_8VCaHxYrZPAksy1IgDPeIrVk0fcFTLKdV-UcAuc/s1000/work-74155287-classic-mug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Z3nhkzAUVMCAbnRwb6y2ATV5GsjzHhMiDOXMPrlwc3EKmDjDpffHaoqdSI5LBBiardLQndwBPkkvpcRFEk7xloZU7wYI9bdj5tF_8VCaHxYrZPAksy1IgDPeIrVk0fcFTLKdV-UcAuc/s320/work-74155287-classic-mug.jpg" /></a></div><div style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK_fknZpXG0T0tcL8aUvoh9GbuOk8nsscz3dZ5rG0iKOmaQCCSUcyOYfQsaDyLDzr-mVn5Rc9UY1A1ansGPJsB4cWAxOlVdzIJ_bKA34D9m6ce11c4gW4eZthM5oMdTwuG13AG6D4JV8c/s727/5D878EE1-85D6-4C06-AD8C-F86CC7950C3C.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK_fknZpXG0T0tcL8aUvoh9GbuOk8nsscz3dZ5rG0iKOmaQCCSUcyOYfQsaDyLDzr-mVn5Rc9UY1A1ansGPJsB4cWAxOlVdzIJ_bKA34D9m6ce11c4gW4eZthM5oMdTwuG13AG6D4JV8c/s727/5D878EE1-85D6-4C06-AD8C-F86CC7950C3C.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="727" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK_fknZpXG0T0tcL8aUvoh9GbuOk8nsscz3dZ5rG0iKOmaQCCSUcyOYfQsaDyLDzr-mVn5Rc9UY1A1ansGPJsB4cWAxOlVdzIJ_bKA34D9m6ce11c4gW4eZthM5oMdTwuG13AG6D4JV8c/s320/5D878EE1-85D6-4C06-AD8C-F86CC7950C3C.jpeg" /></a></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDRhqlpXpde1KKfaqokbFWtMmC2C7aixofbMu9kFyXOmdGGh3OexXn2aOmedXqPRFkOcM7Qi-i3O1lihybIs8nAkfQ08Xu9qCZYzGc4mP-gZsWil6Er7O-l5_hNi5vA0qz6Ir-ejHdcyE/s1000/work-74090805-apron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDRhqlpXpde1KKfaqokbFWtMmC2C7aixofbMu9kFyXOmdGGh3OexXn2aOmedXqPRFkOcM7Qi-i3O1lihybIs8nAkfQ08Xu9qCZYzGc4mP-gZsWil6Er7O-l5_hNi5vA0qz6Ir-ejHdcyE/s320/work-74090805-apron.jpg" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFrHNHoFHmwuzAJkPTkUPkaH7mor38T9MCfYPGob59VW6ayykT3dcLl2o0Eb12ut3RkEoNjjZOCyC4ZwWv3fKxKf_FfePcRZpfZ-OyCn83lP_HMQPAQwDmrpLqDGVKYCuBLjMlrY26X0A/s1000/574CCDCD-D244-44AB-AA44-FE7134FB3F13.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFrHNHoFHmwuzAJkPTkUPkaH7mor38T9MCfYPGob59VW6ayykT3dcLl2o0Eb12ut3RkEoNjjZOCyC4ZwWv3fKxKf_FfePcRZpfZ-OyCn83lP_HMQPAQwDmrpLqDGVKYCuBLjMlrY26X0A/s320/574CCDCD-D244-44AB-AA44-FE7134FB3F13.jpeg" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><br /><br /><br /> <p></p>YKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10778564250634479028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293749640163975885.post-55739049888486906062020-12-31T19:52:00.006+01:002021-01-03T19:53:09.606+01:00The Tefillin's Four-Legged Shin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">The Tefillin shel Rosh has the distinctive feature of possessing a regular Shin in its right side, and a bizarre four legged Shin in the opposite side. Considering that the Tefillin is a very popular and publicly displayed Mitzva, most people are aware of this strange four-legged Shin but few know the story behind it. We we will explore this topic in this post.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhteTqfvn8R23Qe5w6OyoHDZOlEuOij6oYMtZ07kHg1z-fcihTOHLTzBFPagacCK4KNf_8NItQfT7X5KxavvZbgaPhyphenhyphenO9pD2E3M4bMTIjELgVZnlLh9vH5RJhYIQNN_6LTNBFML0L4C_BU/s234/3479552_big.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="166" data-original-width="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhteTqfvn8R23Qe5w6OyoHDZOlEuOij6oYMtZ07kHg1z-fcihTOHLTzBFPagacCK4KNf_8NItQfT7X5KxavvZbgaPhyphenhyphenO9pD2E3M4bMTIjELgVZnlLh9vH5RJhYIQNN_6LTNBFML0L4C_BU/s0/3479552_big.jpg" /></a></div>The <a href="https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/שבת_סב_א" target="_blank">Talmud in Shabbat 62a</a> and in <a href="https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/מנחות_לה_א" target="_blank">Menachot 35a </a>brings in the name of Abaye that the "Shin, Daled and Yud of the Tefillin are all 'Halacha LeMoshe Misinai'" i.e. an oral tradition dating back to Sinai. The comentators note that there are allusions to the Daled and Yud in the Tefillin's knots, and these allusions are not literal but rather loosely based in the letters Daled and Yud - see diagram on the right. Only the Shin is clearly written as a full fledged letter.</div><div><br /></div><div>Before we delve into the Shin, which stands out from the other two letters, it's worthwhile mentioning the great controversy in regards to the Daled which is related to our topic - how to identify the letters in the Tefillin.</div><div><br /></div><div>Up to a few hundred years ago, all communities - Ashkenazi, Sephardi and Yemenite - had the same Daled-style knot in the back of the head and it looked like a <u>square</u> knot (also referred to as Double Daled knot) - see image below. Looking at the Original Daled (below), it's not immediatedly evident the resemblance to the letter Daled but if you consider two Daleds, connected to each other, you can arrive at that picture. Then it came the "new Daled", which is more like a single letter Daled and more immediatedly identifiable.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUhaO0Q2paxa1GKaYfxwh-XN6NSzM_sDZKHGyPXxr9UXr-pz_QXq_C-84oduOLEKzODkZeRW77MaMAXpXoNT1WkNfu-hB3TfTafX0bBQgkZXQXqtvUdgYDPpfdb3En2oyMfHKmUa1-hU/s290/unnamed.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="162" data-original-width="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUhaO0Q2paxa1GKaYfxwh-XN6NSzM_sDZKHGyPXxr9UXr-pz_QXq_C-84oduOLEKzODkZeRW77MaMAXpXoNT1WkNfu-hB3TfTafX0bBQgkZXQXqtvUdgYDPpfdb3En2oyMfHKmUa1-hU/s0/unnamed.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elazar_Fleckeles" target="_blank">Rabbi Fleckless</a> (1754-1826), a student of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yechezkel_Landau" target="_blank">Noda BiYuda</a>, writes in his response (<a href="https://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=19550&st=&pgnum=15" target="_blank">link here</a>) that we must keep the established square knot, and refrain from adopting the "new daled knot which has surfaced around 50 years ago... and we only have our tradition to rely on (square Daled)". We can gather that the new Daled shape (also called Single Daled knot) was introduced in the 18th century by the influence of Kabbalah, and Rabbi Fleckless (like his teacher) was a staunch traditionalist and fought any changes introduced by Hassidim based on Kabbalistic ideas (other changes include the Leshem Yichud prayers before Miztvot, which I explored in an <a href="http://lavlor.blogspot.com/2020/01/preparatory-prayers-in-safrut-overview.html" target="_blank">earlier post</a>).<div><br /></div><div>The new, single Daled knot proved to be very popular and with the expansion of the Hassidic movement in Europe and also with the wide adoption of Kabala by the Sephardic communities, the Single Daled eventually became the standard knot present in most Tefillins sold in the marketplace. I've seen this phenomena in my own family - while my grandfather has the square knot, most of my cousins today have single Daled knots in their Tefillins - only because the new Daled is the standard in the shops and they didn't pay attention. </div><div><br /></div><div>From this discussion, we can already glean that the letters in the Tefillin are very loosely based on the actual scribal letters used in scrolls and not meant to be actual letters. The same used to be the case with the Shin - it wasn't originally a full fledged letter as we have today in our Tefillins, and like the Daled knot - which with time evolved to be more clearly identified with the letter - the Shin also underwent transformations.</div><div><br /></div><div>While the Talmud does not elaborate on the nature of the Shin, early sources point out to a possibility that the original allusion to Shin was actually just the actual shape of the Tefillin shel Rosh - the four different compartments resemble the Shin when looked straight on (or from the back) - see picture to the right. Rav Elyakim, a tosafist (<a href="https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=8726&st=&pgnum=167&hilite=" target="_blank">quoted</a> by the 13th century work <a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/אור_זרוע" target="_blank">Or Zarua</a>), brings this possible explanation along with the more popular and accepted tradition - writing the shape of the Shin in the sides of the box. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkFfOIl7_Qcf2Qps3K-zy8J88-LGhP1BTwYpa29XYV5yAN7faSAU8hd0dPlujuJRV5GguJwHcvig-g-S61xajOFDpUcZ9VYijS873rSm_GahjWDiaJj6FbziK7uHzv0QT9PeXcAt6VGDM/s218/8C520AF6-A129-4A42-BC4E-2D8C66BCECC2.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The box itself alluding to the Shin" border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkFfOIl7_Qcf2Qps3K-zy8J88-LGhP1BTwYpa29XYV5yAN7faSAU8hd0dPlujuJRV5GguJwHcvig-g-S61xajOFDpUcZ9VYijS873rSm_GahjWDiaJj6FbziK7uHzv0QT9PeXcAt6VGDM/s16000/8C520AF6-A129-4A42-BC4E-2D8C66BCECC2.jpeg" title="The box itself alluding to the Shin" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Box itself looking like a Shin of 4 heads (black part)</i></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMtk1kzl9Yw7JdgkAT7nBCdVUMoLSvK50RyP9DNmz-F56JHw_gfeLNH_Eo6OcLYWeMvdovxkQ9rlifpBMI5-G_rH_gmS021urWrm0YPCcm9wAuB7CClQW-UKwIjme5EoVCLJTagzxSfE/s512/AB54CD44-44E6-49B4-A343-FA5FDDAF014F.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMtk1kzl9Yw7JdgkAT7nBCdVUMoLSvK50RyP9DNmz-F56JHw_gfeLNH_Eo6OcLYWeMvdovxkQ9rlifpBMI5-G_rH_gmS021urWrm0YPCcm9wAuB7CClQW-UKwIjme5EoVCLJTagzxSfE/s320/AB54CD44-44E6-49B4-A343-FA5FDDAF014F.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Also possible to observe a traditional Shin of 3 heads if you focus in between the compartments</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>Notwithstanding this novel Shin allusion brought by Rav Elyakim, the prevailing custom throughout the ages evidently is to write Shins on the sides of the boxes. The earliest clear mention of the Shins in the sides of the Tefillin is the <a href="http://www.daat.ac.il/encyclopedia/value.asp?id1=2667" target="_blank">Shimusha Raba</a> (who, by the way, has a different order of the four parshiot in the Tefillin unlike Rashi and R. Tam - <a href="http://lavlor.blogspot.com/2012/02/rashi-vs-rabbeinu-tam-round-3-tefillin.html" target="_blank">explored here</a>), an ancient work on Tefillin from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geonim" target="_blank">Gaonic</a> period (roughly 589-1000CE):</div><div><div class="page" title="Page 2"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p></p><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: FbFRealBelet;"></span></div></div></div></div><blockquote><div class="page" title="Page 2"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: FbFRealBelet;"><i>"צורה דשין דימינא ג' רישי, ודשמאלא ד'</i></span></div><span style="font-family: FbFRealBelet;"><div style="text-align: right;"><span><i>רישי, ואי אפיך לית לן בה"</i></span></div></span><p></p><p><i><span style="font-family: FbFRealBelet;"></span></i></p></div></div></div><blockquote><div class="page" title="Page 2"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: FbFRealBelet;"><i>"The shape of the right Shin is with three heads, and of the left is four heads. And if he made the opposite, it is of no concern"</i></span></p></div></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><div class="page" title="Page 2"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: FbFRealBelet;"></span></p></div></div></div><div></div></blockquote><div>Note how this passage only talks about three and four heads - that’s no coincidence; the original tradition was to write only the Shin lines without a base. The base of the Shin was the actual Tefillin Box base, serving as a flat base, as we learn from the talmud the the Shin should be touching the base (וצריך שיגיע חריץ למקום התפר) and the lines were not even very clear scribal letter - just lines (see below).</div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilYkMiXRemi30xpiJ1yNgDSE67_71OSXPDDEzqpqad0k3VajTFETm_r3b7zESrjRL6IKnaVBOKCaAqQ0JUzvqO5A9nMdOVhiGBk8h8v6hNSC1RtH63vhXIAko-d73GSEXJJDAPpsAfU4w/s385/Screen+Shot+2020-12-31+at+4.17.04+PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="385" data-original-width="231" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilYkMiXRemi30xpiJ1yNgDSE67_71OSXPDDEzqpqad0k3VajTFETm_r3b7zESrjRL6IKnaVBOKCaAqQ0JUzvqO5A9nMdOVhiGBk8h8v6hNSC1RtH63vhXIAko-d73GSEXJJDAPpsAfU4w/s320/Screen+Shot+2020-12-31+at+4.17.04+PM.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ancient Tefillin, where the Shins are only lines touching the box base (<a href="https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2F0.academia-photos.com%2Fattachment_thumbnails%2F64691554%2Fmini_magick20201015-5447-j10wzk.png%3F1602813677&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.academia.edu%2F44306122%2F%25D7%2599%25D7%2595%25D7%25A1%25D7%25A3_%25D7%2594%25D7%259C%25D7%2595%25D7%2599_%25D7%259C%25D7%2599%25D7%25A9_%25D7%25A1%25D7%2599%25D7%25A0%25D7%2599_1_1_&tbnid=ZMGtd2AtoZMJCM&vet=12ahUKEwj1zau4yfjtAhWKr6QKHaEWBeoQMygTegQIARBV..i&docid=q5pJNcpcxrjvSM&w=468&h=680&q=השי”ן%20שוקע&safe=active&client=safari&ved=2ahUKEwj1zau4yfjtAhWKr6QKHaEWBeoQMygTegQIARBV" target="_blank">source</a>). See another example <a href="http://lavlor.blogspot.com/2012/03/ancient-tefillin.html" target="_blank">here</a></i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkgd05VRsgokE_38pc6mxAn7mqNxKduzGT3D61uuNic43Hfw2DVZ9kQ6HI0idv1s4MrUKpJkR8LBxwTjXXueJ4-MHjS1su-p-fLy39eymtkK6H4bDngKsFVj5W3fNQiosKK0He-lYqRCw/s850/x5iea451p.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="850" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkgd05VRsgokE_38pc6mxAn7mqNxKduzGT3D61uuNic43Hfw2DVZ9kQ6HI0idv1s4MrUKpJkR8LBxwTjXXueJ4-MHjS1su-p-fLy39eymtkK6H4bDngKsFVj5W3fNQiosKK0He-lYqRCw/s320/x5iea451p.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A scribal shin without a base, as per <a href="https://net-sah.org/blog/24841" target="_blank">Yemenite custom </a></i></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div>As time passed, people started to made the Shin look more and more like the scribal shin, abandoning an allusion to an actual literal interpretation, leaving no mistake that this is a Shin. However, the Tefillin producers were carefull to always make sure the Shin is touching the base of the box even with the modified custom. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rabbi Yosef Karo writes explicitly, that "he heard that the Ashkenazi Jews make the Shins as simple lines... but we make them as actual printed letters... and go out to see what is the custom today (printed letters)". (<span style="font-size: x-small;">see<a href="https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/טור_אורח_חיים_לב" target="_blank"> source here,</a> midway through the page: <span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34); color: #202122;">ושמעתי שהאשכנזים נזהרים בכך, שמקמטים העור במלקט על ידי כפילה שכופל מהעור עד שנעשים סעיפי השיני"ן בחקיקת ירכות. אבל אנו נוהגים לעשות השיני"ן בדפוס, וגם בארחות חיים כתוב שיש אומרים שאין לחוש בזה, ופוק חזי מאי עמא דבר, עד כאן לשונו)</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMj3luSqOatA1jeFVFS7z3tDz5cA7JNVCy4Z7i7sqVD_yn8ixcI6lcM9Hs5_CpiChkcj6iEdBBaMhbmE34hMqVt1_0HKA8u7dpdMmsRk44g051CiuhZgWbAkxvPQZ9ZTnmLH7IBYPgeck/s815/9D9DC0E3-B972-4555-9BD8-41EAEF6ECA1D.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="815" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMj3luSqOatA1jeFVFS7z3tDz5cA7JNVCy4Z7i7sqVD_yn8ixcI6lcM9Hs5_CpiChkcj6iEdBBaMhbmE34hMqVt1_0HKA8u7dpdMmsRk44g051CiuhZgWbAkxvPQZ9ZTnmLH7IBYPgeck/s320/9D9DC0E3-B972-4555-9BD8-41EAEF6ECA1D.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>It is clear that the Shin in the Tefillin went through some significant transformation over time. Rabbeinu Simcha even writes that one should not "change from the old minhag of simple lines. If he wrote as an actual printed letter...we don't have the power to invalidate it" - a clear indication that he favors the early custom. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(in hebrew: <span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34); color: #202122;"> </span><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34); color: #202122;">וזה לשון הגהות בברוך שאמר, בשם רבינו שמחה: ושי"ן אין לשנותה ממנהג זקנים, שהיו עושין בקמט של עור הבית. ומיהו אם עשאה בדפוס, או כתבה בדיו על בית לבן, אין בידינו לפוסלה, עד כאן לשונו)</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Now that we have established the two options of displaying the two Shins - either simultaneously in the shape of the actual box of the Tefillin or as two actual letters in the sides - we must understand what is the need of showing the second Shin. </div><div><br /></div><div>There are two forms of writing in Hebrew. One is what is referred to as “Moshe Rabeinu’s writing”, which is the standard writing method of a quill and parchment. The other writing form is the Ktav of the Luchot - Decalog, which was not written as a Torah Scroll but through carving in stone - and it was a Godly work, delivered to Moshe at Sinai. In this form of writing, the letters are formed by the surrounding space made from stone. The letters themselves are hollow, nothing on their own. When writing a Shin, the surrounding space of the standard Shin looks like a four-legged Shin. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp9hUnAmr42HBITRu8-fn7bSabn1Pjo4iysqGbTSICb4uWmCqTEGECjHxL3BkNoyVoKfcNg7lwE5YNZwEihO9hJ_qflLaTI0ScfN6p_xQt_P21C9uzf-3sTj7aSZXiGMHwZS51T8KOWas/s211/Screen+Shot+2020-12-31+at+5.13.09+PM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="179" data-original-width="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp9hUnAmr42HBITRu8-fn7bSabn1Pjo4iysqGbTSICb4uWmCqTEGECjHxL3BkNoyVoKfcNg7lwE5YNZwEihO9hJ_qflLaTI0ScfN6p_xQt_P21C9uzf-3sTj7aSZXiGMHwZS51T8KOWas/s0/Screen+Shot+2020-12-31+at+5.13.09+PM.png" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6_pvd8o-GTOqAdS1YSxQqJT7srcXigV5b7V5Qlpa2136skv1Tf_zqyMoqdFAAninOtH6Vc7pnupfeZtpWY73HZMyzBW78D9aR7WR1Y8UBknNHgDl7sTn6_1g2wsxrBGbB1zjWJbJWvtY/s211/Screen+Shot+2020-12-31+at+5.04.39+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6_pvd8o-GTOqAdS1YSxQqJT7srcXigV5b7V5Qlpa2136skv1Tf_zqyMoqdFAAninOtH6Vc7pnupfeZtpWY73HZMyzBW78D9aR7WR1Y8UBknNHgDl7sTn6_1g2wsxrBGbB1zjWJbJWvtY/s0/Screen+Shot+2020-12-31+at+5.04.39+PM.png" /></a></div></div><br /></div><div>According to Kabbala, the written Torah is only a part of our Torah - the surrounding spaces (i.e. negative spaces) are also part of the Torah but they are not revealed to us readily. They are mostly concealed, but they can make up sentences and a whole different level of teachings. </div><div><br /></div><div>The extra Shin is there to symbolize the hidden Torah from the surrounding letters, perhaps to remind us we only have access to part of the Torah. We can only speculate about the novel letters and wordings that will be revealed in later days, but I have seen an interesting drawing that helps illustrate how many possibilities there can be. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6603KOdl4LICLgzMVc0p8IH7tPl8MgMMAJFqjIXdEfbqkcnXJtUkgcCxqK96oJ_SL7FlDlyEzF0U3XiG5v-pPaEBzwuPII3j9lrwPstJBBXJt_lGXKDoqbxp_sRyx3kVcjfFhtxABtfM/s750/YHVH-Shaddai-White-Line-1440-750x750.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="750" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6603KOdl4LICLgzMVc0p8IH7tPl8MgMMAJFqjIXdEfbqkcnXJtUkgcCxqK96oJ_SL7FlDlyEzF0U3XiG5v-pPaEBzwuPII3j9lrwPstJBBXJt_lGXKDoqbxp_sRyx3kVcjfFhtxABtfM/w200-h200/YHVH-Shaddai-White-Line-1440-750x750.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Interporsing possible wordings within letters</i></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHwR-qwGpa2iUw0wBjw5YqemsD1z8YCdGx-loknbwLKw8JL6x5d2sLk1LPPyf4YsG3aFCJBjTS9S9B4k1LC0F3YzFMMkfDDhNw8giUxM8ZbjH2mlxH-RqblSwkeNzMZ-FnNRP6mu0uUKU/s924/Pei-Bet.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Peh Bet" border="0" data-original-height="924" data-original-width="766" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHwR-qwGpa2iUw0wBjw5YqemsD1z8YCdGx-loknbwLKw8JL6x5d2sLk1LPPyf4YsG3aFCJBjTS9S9B4k1LC0F3YzFMMkfDDhNw8giUxM8ZbjH2mlxH-RqblSwkeNzMZ-FnNRP6mu0uUKU/w166-h200/Pei-Bet.jpg" width="166" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Famous interplay between Pei and inner Bet</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div>The Arizal (quoted <a href="https://www.yeshiva.org.il/wiki/index.php/הגבהה_(ספר_תורה)" target="_blank">here</a> ) says that a person should look at the Torah Scroll after the weekly portion, when the Torah is displayed to the congregation (hagba’a), because every Jew has a corresponding letter in the Torah and perhaps he will find his if he looks for it. </div><div><br /></div><div>I've also heard in the name of the Ari, a person who yearns for wealth will have a letter connected to a word or sentence in the Torah relating to money. Someone who is drawn to helping people or healing people will be drawn to a letter corresponding to this topic. But, says the Arizal, a Jew can have not a letter but an empty space surrounding the letter of the Parsha and that carries meaning and relates to the person in some esoteric way. Hence, the written and blank spaces in the Torah scroll are equally important, and that is the message of the two Shins in the Tefillin.</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7UG7G99V3hUS64oyqu0jG7EdeGgJh546oPOhtq5V7tSV3n9wIlq9kWAfkOAIq4_7vxXhA1IiTWHY-jJKLFn3TWg3QYH7wt2HGYEFD_CDc5ssx11j32WEyV3X_DFErePx_jYq9t819_Fc/s284/851016E5-C022-421B-AB8F-B831846B48B0.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7UG7G99V3hUS64oyqu0jG7EdeGgJh546oPOhtq5V7tSV3n9wIlq9kWAfkOAIq4_7vxXhA1IiTWHY-jJKLFn3TWg3QYH7wt2HGYEFD_CDc5ssx11j32WEyV3X_DFErePx_jYq9t819_Fc/s0/851016E5-C022-421B-AB8F-B831846B48B0.jpeg" /></a></div>I suspect that this can also explain one well established scribal tradition in the beginning of the Torah. While the tradition relating to extra tagim in the Torah as brought by the ancient Sefer HaTagim has been lost, scribes still do four extra tagim in the Bet of Bereishit - one of the very few surviving extra Tagim in our modern day Torahs. Perhaps these four lines convey the same message of the four-legged Shin of the Tefillin - it relates to the other writing form which was found in the Luchot. While our Torah Scroll is written in the traditional way, we keep tagim that look a four-legged Shin in the very first letter of the Torah to allude to the invisible Torah, just like we do in the Tefillin, because the written Torah and space surrounding it are actually one unit, although we only have access to the Torah we see in writing. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>As we have seen, the shape of the Shin in the Tefillin evolved through time and it carries a great deal of symbolism. The Shin is also the main feature of the Mezuza, which has the Shin Daled Yud inscribed in the outside of the parchment and the widespread custom is to write a Shin in the outside of the Mezuza case - similar to what’s done in the Tefillin shel Rosh. The Tefillin and Mezuza have this commonality, and they stand out in regards to the importance attached to the Shin, one of Judaism‘a most mystical and beautiful letters.</div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I conclude with the Talmud in <a href="https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/ברכות_ו_א" target="_blank">Brachot 6a</a>:<i><br /><a href="https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%98%D7%92%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%94:%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%99%D7%9F_%D7%91%D7%A8_%D7%A8%D7%91_%D7%90%D7%93%D7%90" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: Narkisim; text-decoration: none;" title="קטגוריה:רבין בר רב אדא"></a></i><blockquote style="text-align: right;"><i><a href="https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%98%D7%92%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%94:%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%99%D7%9F_%D7%91%D7%A8_%D7%A8%D7%91_%D7%90%D7%93%D7%90" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: Narkisim; text-decoration: none;" title="קטגוריה:רבין בר רב אדא">א"ר אבין בר רב אדא</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34); color: #202122; font-family: Narkisim;"> א"ר יצחק מנין שהקב"ה מניח תפילין שנאמר </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34); color: #202122; font-family: Narkisim;">(<a href="https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%98%D7%92%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%94:%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%A2%D7%99%D7%94%D7%95_%D7%A1%D7%91_%D7%97" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="קטגוריה:ישעיהו סב ח">ישעיהו סב, ח</a>)</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34); color: #202122; font-family: Narkisim;"> נשבע ה' בימינו ובזרוע עוזו בימינו זו תורה שנאמר </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34); color: #202122; font-family: Narkisim;">(<a href="https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%98%D7%92%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%94:%D7%93%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9D_%D7%9C%D7%92_%D7%91" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="קטגוריה:דברים לג ב">דברים לג, ב</a>)</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34); color: #202122; font-family: Narkisim;"> מימינו אש דת למו ובזרוע עוזו אלו תפילין שנאמר </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34); color: #202122; font-family: Narkisim;">(<a href="https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%98%D7%92%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%94:%D7%AA%D7%94%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D_%D7%9B%D7%98_%D7%99%D7%90" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="קטגוריה:תהלים כט יא">תהלים כט, יא</a>)</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34); color: #202122; font-family: Narkisim;"> ה' עוז לעמו יתן ומנין שהתפילין עוז הם לישראל דכתי' </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34); color: #202122; font-family: Narkisim;">(<a href="https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%98%D7%92%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%94:%D7%93%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9D_%D7%9B%D7%97_%D7%99" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="קטגוריה:דברים כח י">דברים כח, י</a>)</span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34); color: #202122; font-family: Narkisim;"> וראו כל עמי הארץ כי שם ה' נקרא עליך ויראו ממך ותניא </span><a href="https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%98%D7%92%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%94:%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%99_%D7%90%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%A2%D7%96%D7%A8_%D7%91%D7%9F_%D7%94%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%A7%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%A1" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: Narkisim; text-decoration: none;" title="קטגוריה:רבי אליעזר בן הורקנוס">ר' אליעזר הגדול</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34); color: #202122; font-family: Narkisim;"> אומר אלו תפילין שבראש</span> </i></blockquote><blockquote><i><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34); color: #202122; font-family: Narkisim;"></span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34); color: #202122; font-family: Narkisim;"></span></i></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34); color: #202122; font-family: Narkisim;">In short, the Talmud says that even God himself dons the Tefillin (!) and that the Tefillin relate to the passage "all the people of the world will see the name of Hashem in you, and they will fear you" - they will see the Tefillin shel Rosh and become fearful. Throughout the ages, the Tefillin has been a staple of Jewish life with <a href="http://lavlor.blogspot.com/2013/05/eiruvin-64-torah-scrolls-amulet-power.html" target="_blank">amulet-like status</a>, and archeologists even found them in Qumran, dating over 2000 years, and they look very similar to ours today - that alone, a great feat and giant testament of how well we kept our traditions, if if there were some minor tweaks in the body of the Tefillin.</span></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote><i><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34); color: #202122; font-family: Narkisim;"></span></i></blockquote></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(32, 33, 34); color: #202122; font-family: Narkisim;"></span></div><div></div></blockquote><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table></div></blockquote><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvn1h-rBh9E0hJAlHN-ZdiTTevFPz6DddpWuf0zBrxohEMj8ZVY7NHf-OU65lYH1xP5Cs8a0Xc7veUFw0ZqCOMBpzXbKwSUCgssd2kkfq407RO1Uikq8kxvpyDEIFZEAy8Nzsy0L1-do/s265/15685179_024_01_s005_i0001.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="193" data-original-width="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvn1h-rBh9E0hJAlHN-ZdiTTevFPz6DddpWuf0zBrxohEMj8ZVY7NHf-OU65lYH1xP5Cs8a0Xc7veUFw0ZqCOMBpzXbKwSUCgssd2kkfq407RO1Uikq8kxvpyDEIFZEAy8Nzsy0L1-do/s0/15685179_024_01_s005_i0001.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Tefillin found in Qumran (<a href="https://brill.com/view/journals/dsd/24/1/article-p112_5.xml?language=en" target="_blank">source</a>)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div>YKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10778564250634479028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293749640163975885.post-4054940571474400232020-12-01T23:12:00.020+01:002021-02-06T23:25:51.622+01:00Mezuza Art<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Mezuza Art! </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">How far can Judaica art go? </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">In my opinion, it hasn’t gone far enough. Of course, there must be respect and reverence to the subject matter - holy scrolls that need to be treated as such. With that said, it’s hard to find Judaica items that are modern or inspired in pop-art, for example. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Perhaps this has to do with the history of the Jewish people, who often needed to hide their religious items or at least be discreet. But in the present time such concerns no longer apply, and at the same time art has become ubiquitous and present in most homes - even if their Mezuza cases are passable. </span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I think modern art can elevate Jewish practice in a very unique way, infusing it with added symbolism and imagination. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Not long ago, M. Cattelan was able to elevate a simple banana into a 6 figure art piece (sarcastically called Comedian), which has become an instant pop art hit. This is my prototype for my house’s Mezuza case, which is suitable for 10cm Mezuza scroll. I needed a way to add the traditional Shin to the case, so I used the theme of Chiquita bananas, which is the most popular brand here in Europe. A mezuza case inspired by a banana pop artpiece? Why not. If we keep it respectful, a Mezuza Banana art case can be a tool towards elevating your home and perhaps showing that if a banana artpiece hung in a wall can fetcha whooping U$120,000 price tag, our Mezuzot are surely worth more. Or is this only good enough for Purim? </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXAgVNWGdrd1kTJLiU1F_pisVf0doYSB-sVp2Q0ASJO42swwIm3TZbQuGmgCbwNPY-D3gJZ9r-vh4UZxg4E7_FSOaq8Q7G0CSaT0yiqth8zHu_fVV9gdITFzV1nSnmp9hc_53JwSS4iOo/s4032/IMG_8955.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXAgVNWGdrd1kTJLiU1F_pisVf0doYSB-sVp2Q0ASJO42swwIm3TZbQuGmgCbwNPY-D3gJZ9r-vh4UZxg4E7_FSOaq8Q7G0CSaT0yiqth8zHu_fVV9gdITFzV1nSnmp9hc_53JwSS4iOo/w150-h200/IMG_8955.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7GzElyH78R6ai3tw0STU1WYuMV7bPxtU3JqtADt9-JSLhLixiAxFsczD7xkWViiucxO3kHvmQawPIGaUZcPnOGJIQZ3UhIim3lOF_99EIcqDQP2U8OndLXANUfmtklqONLp2yzS7FAx8/s4032/IMG_8960.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7GzElyH78R6ai3tw0STU1WYuMV7bPxtU3JqtADt9-JSLhLixiAxFsczD7xkWViiucxO3kHvmQawPIGaUZcPnOGJIQZ3UhIim3lOF_99EIcqDQP2U8OndLXANUfmtklqONLp2yzS7FAx8/w150-h200/IMG_8960.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbhDJIfTyIt1Q9DjFWaF8qil402c27k6Ki3UHAy_xQ91p9_wNFjXD2TDawBFAvH1JplT5hwRvJTyLZDRl714itZoYKCYa3uGdUZxR_KgiMQUSCRABLaX4DMnK-zQTCVfS21X2UB_7zono/s1440/B1014BDD-363F-482D-8627-EA2DFA2E93D1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbhDJIfTyIt1Q9DjFWaF8qil402c27k6Ki3UHAy_xQ91p9_wNFjXD2TDawBFAvH1JplT5hwRvJTyLZDRl714itZoYKCYa3uGdUZxR_KgiMQUSCRABLaX4DMnK-zQTCVfS21X2UB_7zono/w200-h200/B1014BDD-363F-482D-8627-EA2DFA2E93D1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMjRABctQ-TwwVWdQjoYiVS66FY0Q3A7f4nrf8MqrT2N1VXGOS9wRsdndFaEMh2TVUhxeut4_c6fc_Ob3xWm0iVYdNMocGOBnmqAz0sr6Qv0kg0NTAAp0-aJg08uadfyd71SLPmhFMLo/s1440/6BA982B7-6083-4433-9EDB-F63B6B14B710.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMjRABctQ-TwwVWdQjoYiVS66FY0Q3A7f4nrf8MqrT2N1VXGOS9wRsdndFaEMh2TVUhxeut4_c6fc_Ob3xWm0iVYdNMocGOBnmqAz0sr6Qv0kg0NTAAp0-aJg08uadfyd71SLPmhFMLo/w200-h200/6BA982B7-6083-4433-9EDB-F63B6B14B710.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p><br /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></p><p></p><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(38, 38, 38); color: #262626; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); clear: both; color: black; font-family: -webkit-standard; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></div>YKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10778564250634479028noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293749640163975885.post-53886721855402324412020-06-03T22:20:00.003+02:002022-05-24T15:27:26.855+02:00Pitum HaKetoret on Klaf - a Good Idea?<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYQ9HwFvwcCkM4boWTQqeSp0jt9e7FgNZW7oWduG801oGJs-V5rFhzw1eKg-iQBQtjb-pWWtZ76lgLDzICOuIh4gyDt1vl0PnYoEurwdhTaMbUDVfMCJTyHZI_Yn2uv87b1fUJJamZLXE/s1600/0000785_-_600.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="600" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYQ9HwFvwcCkM4boWTQqeSp0jt9e7FgNZW7oWduG801oGJs-V5rFhzw1eKg-iQBQtjb-pWWtZ76lgLDzICOuIh4gyDt1vl0PnYoEurwdhTaMbUDVfMCJTyHZI_Yn2uv87b1fUJJamZLXE/s200/0000785_-_600.jpeg" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">One of the most popular Judaica items today is the Pitum HaKetoret, an excerpt of the Tamud in Kereisos 6, written like a Sefer Torah in parchment in various layouts, often times together with a <a href="https://lavlor.blogspot.com/2012/03/menorah-shaped-lamnatazeach-full-post.html" target="_blank">Menorah-shaped Lamnazeach</a> alongside it. This is probably the cheapest Safrut item a person can buy, and it can be used daily in Shachrit and Mincha prayers. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuWdTZ6jk_qMz4yzV-sD7DEytHxQlcU7iedkeX0ivmtHt_tIf1RGW5aQEimY339hFObK8dHA_74kleSVu7dIIaIpHhntFx2rHQd2VkVYoGYNsiJ8Tx5SIiFaQ8RSjnnBF8q4N1BXNDbm4/s1600/il_570xN.791994937_8b9u.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="570" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuWdTZ6jk_qMz4yzV-sD7DEytHxQlcU7iedkeX0ivmtHt_tIf1RGW5aQEimY339hFObK8dHA_74kleSVu7dIIaIpHhntFx2rHQd2VkVYoGYNsiJ8Tx5SIiFaQ8RSjnnBF8q4N1BXNDbm4/s200/il_570xN.791994937_8b9u.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">This item always puzzled me. It’s an oddity to write Talmudic passages in parchment like a Torah or Megillot - there’s no precedent to this. The Ketoret has two passages of the Torah, and then a Baraita expanding on all the ingredients of the Ketoret as it was done in the Temple.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Before addressing this minhag of writing the Ketoret in Klaf, let’s step back and understand why we recite the Pitum Haketores every day and it’s importance.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Beis Yosef (<a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Tur%2C_Orach_Chaim.133?vhe=Orach_Chaim,_Vilna,_1923&lang=bi" target="_blank">OC 133</a>) writes that in the Siddur of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amram_Gaon" target="_blank">Rav Amram Gaon</a> (9th century) there was the full passage of Pitum Haketoret as in our Siddurim today - a testament of how old is the custom of reciting this passage in the prayers.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">It would seem that its importance is similar to all the other passages about the Temple services in our daily prayers - </span>as we cannot perform them in our days, we recite them and it's considered like we made the sacrifices, or in the words of the prophet <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Hosea.14.3?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en" target="_blank">Hoshea</a>, <span style="text-align: right;">וּֽנְשַׁלְּמָ֥ה פָרִ֖ים שְׂפָתֵֽינוּ, "</span><span style="caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">instead of bulls we will pay with our lips" - our prayers are today's sacrifices.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But there's a stringency in the Ketoret, already mentioned by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_Isserles" target="_blank">Rama</a> (16th century - source <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Shulchan_Arukh%2C_Orach_Chayim.132.2?ven=Sefaria_Community_Translation&vhe=Maginei_Eretz:_Shulchan_Aruch_Orach_Chaim,_Lemberg,_1893&lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en" target="_blank">here</a>), that a person must read it from a written text but not from memory, because of the halacha that in the times of the Temple, forgetting any of the ingredients of the Ketoret incense was punishable by death. As mentioned, we recite the Pitum Haketoret in order to emulate the Ketoret preparation, therefore a person must make sure not to forget any ingredients, and reciting it by heart will inadvertently cause you to skip something some day. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In fact, this is why Sephardim to this day, and Belz Hassidim, are careful to count with their fingers each ingredient while reciting the Pitum Haketoret - an extra layer of protection against skipping an ingredient (the source of this Minhag is Rabbi Chaim Vittal, the Arizal's prime disciple, in his Pri Etz Haim - </span><a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Pri_Etz_Chaim%2C_Gate_of_the_World_of_Action.5.4?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">). See video below where you can visualize this Minhag, as performed by an Iraqi Jew. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Therefore, we can say that there's definetly something different about the Pitum Haketoret, unlike other passages we recite in everyday prayers.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The emergence of the Zohar (see <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Zohar.2.218b.7?vhe=New_Torat_Emet_Zohar&lang=bi" target="_blank">Vayakhel</a>) and Kabbalistic minhagim in the 16th century brought the concept of reciting the Pitum Haketores to a whole new level, highlighting its esoteric value and protective properties (specially against plagues; that's why many are reciting it in the current Covid-19 epidemic, <a href="https://thelehrhaus.com/timely-thoughts/incensed-by-coronavirus-prayer-and-ketoret-in-times-of-epidemic/" target="_blank">see article</a>) to those who recited it, with the note that “there’s nothing as dear to Hashem as the Ketoret”. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Arizal popularized this concept and encouraged his followers to recite this passage twice daily, in Shachrit and Mincha, with maximum concentration, with the caveat that it should only be recited during the day but not in nighttime because of Kabbalistic considerations (although the Rama, mentioned above, and others specifically advised to recite it after Maariv). </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">In our Siddurim today, the Ketoret is printed twice in Shachrit - once in the very beggining, before Hodu, and a second time in the very end before Aleinu, but this came about because of conflicting opinions about the optimal placement for the Ketoret in the morning prayer, and Siddur printers opted to follow both opinions. Many people only recite it once in Shachrit, usually at the end, and once again before Mincha.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moshe_ben_Machir" target="_blank">Rabbi Moshe ben Machir</a>, another famous Kabbalist who lived in Safed at the same time, wrote in his important work Sefer Hayom (<a href="https://beta.hebrewbooks.org/reader/reader.aspx?sfid=41230#p=8&fitMode=fitwidth&hlts=&ocr=" target="_blank">source here</a>);</span></span><br />
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החושש עליו ועל נפשו ראוי להשתדל בכל עז בענין הזה ולכתוב כל ענין הקטורת<u> בקלף כשר בכתיבת אשורית</u> ולקרות אותו פעם אחד בבקר ובערב בכוונה גדולה ואני ערב</div>
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<i style="font-family: inherit;">He who is afraid for his life, should focus all his might in this topic and <u>write it in a Kosher parchement, in Ktav Ashuri script</u>, and recite it once in the morning and again in noon with great concentration. <u>And I am the guarantor</u>.</i></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is the earliest source recommending the writing of the Pitum Haketores in parchment, with Safrut lettering. Note his unusual wording "and I am the guarantor", meaning that he is personally attesting the protective powers of this passage if recited in the prescribed manner.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haim_Palachi" target="_blank">Kaf Hachaim</a> (19th century - source <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Kaf_HaChayim_on_Shulchan_Arukh%2C_Orach_Chayim.132.18?vhe=Kaf_Hachayim,_Orach_Chayim_vol._I-IV,_Jerusalem_1910-1933&lang=bi" target="_blank">here</a>), respected Kabbalist and Chief Rabbi of Turkey, also brings that the Ketoret "should be written like a Sefer Torah and it will bring him constant wealth", in addition to many other segulot associated with the Ketoret.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But there aren't many more sources to the Minhag of writing the Ketoret in klaf, and while all Kabbalists highlight the importance of the Ketoret, almost no one writes anything about writing it specifically in Klaf like a Torah Scroll. Perhaps this connected to the prohibition of writing a Torah scroll with only a few scattered passages, mentioned in the Talmud (Gittin 60a) and seemingly undisputed in practical Halacha, as quoted by the Rambam:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>מֻתָּר לִכְתֹּב הַתּוֹרָה כָּל חֻמָּשׁ וְחֻמָּשׁ בִּפְנֵי עַצְמוֹ וְאֵין בָּהֶן קְדֻשַּׁת סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה. אֲבָל לֹא יִכְתֹּב מְגִלָּה בִּפְנֵי עַצְמָהּ שֶׁיִּהְיֶה בָּהּ פָּרָשִׁיּוֹת. וְאֵין כּוֹתְבִין מְגִלָּה לְתִינוֹק לְהִתְלַמֵּד בָּהּ. וְאִם דַּעְתּוֹ לְהַשְׁלִים עָלֶיהָ חֻמָּשׁ מֻתָּר.: </i></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>It is permitted to write the Pentateuch, each book in a separate scroll. These scrolls have not the sanctity of a scroll of the Law that is complete. <u>One may not however write a scroll containing some sections</u>. Such a scroll may not be written for a child's instruction. This is permitted, however, where there is the intention to complete the remainder of the book. </i></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBf-FtKFTt96JFIdCfjum8VsAv5CDaI6f93_Uh8ZzjkqTSP8RzE3koCgMrR_EFUvbMPJAhd7alhm9tUjEg_PuYjWkipXxrVueLcDwlZiPCZ_TNRUeocIySrqyjHJIVnw3XNbshOWJOtF4/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-06-03+at+22.18.08.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="454" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBf-FtKFTt96JFIdCfjum8VsAv5CDaI6f93_Uh8ZzjkqTSP8RzE3koCgMrR_EFUvbMPJAhd7alhm9tUjEg_PuYjWkipXxrVueLcDwlZiPCZ_TNRUeocIySrqyjHJIVnw3XNbshOWJOtF4/s320/Screen+Shot+2020-06-03+at+22.18.08.png" width="213" /></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Shulchan Aruch follows suit (<a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Shulchan_Arukh%2C_Yoreh_De'ah.283.2?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en" target="_blank">here</a>), therefore casting serious doubts about the permissibilty of writing the Pitum Haketores, which has a few Biblical passages, in parchement like a Torah Scroll. It's perhaps no coincidence that we have no precedent to writing something like the Ketoret in Klaf, and the question is not anymore why there are so few sources to this Minhag but how is it at all permitted. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">This prohibition is also applicable in everyday issues like writing Psukim in wedding invitations, which are commonly adorned with passages like </span><span style="text-align: right;">אִם לֹא אַעֲלֶה אֶת יְרוּשָׁלַֽיִם עַל רֹאשׁ שִׂמְחָתִי or Kol Sasson veKol Simcha (see picture). Many scupulous individuals avoid writing it, or modify the passages slightly in order to avoid writing a scattered Pasuk </span>(<a href="https://rabbikaganoff.com/what-may-i-not-write/" target="_blank">see here </a>for an interesting article discussing this and other Halachic problems involved in Psukim in wedding invitations, by Rabbi Kaganoff) - and the Pitum Haketores, written in parchement and Ktav Ashuri like an actual scroll, would be even more problematic if written exactly like a Sefer Torah.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Perhaps the supporters of writing Ketoret in Klaf today utilize the Halachic heter of Es Laasos Lashem, which justifies writing Oral Torah even though there's a different, all encopassing prohibition of writing it in any form. This Halachic justification, which overrides the prohibition on the grounds that Chazal at the time of the Mishna felt that there was no other way to preserve the Torah, could be extended to the idea of writing a small scroll like the Pitum HaKetoret. This possibility is brought down by the Mizahav Umipaz (<a href="https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=48888&st=&pgnum=415&hilite=" target="_blank">link</a>), which has an excellent overview about many of the issues raised in this article.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Any way you slice it, it's difficult to find Halachic precedent to justify writing the Ketoret like a Sefer Torah and I haven't found many responsa on this issue. Perhaps this custom was not as widespread in previous generations. I was pointed to Rav Ovadia's responsa , in his magnum opus Yebia Omer (</span><span style="background-color: white;">ח"ט יו"ד סי' כג)</span><span style="background-color: white;"> who disapproves this minhag (rather surprising, as it goes against the Kaf Hachaim, and Rav Ovadia was often careful to justify established Sephardic customs) but says that if you already have a Ketoret written in Klaf, it's no problem to read from it - a paradoxical answer (see <a href="https://tablet.otzar.org/en/book/book.php?book=176290&width=-17&scroll=0&udid=15912250855685672&pagenum=23" target="_blank">this link </a>for a quite and discussion about Rav Ovadia's ruling).</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWgzt97vQyM0HEocBeaoB9V6GCBGAFoJT_29YbE2r_FT2Z071mgfCNNHilJD9o6vshs4xgFDwQJvLeVxtY-Oo4sOYxZAfCDwIz9DYtGQH9Oy1Ji-fg-pRzjj3KWDkqal_wxTZwq4Okn5g/s1600/fd4cf8b5-c9f2-4108-a9bd-5b63eeb732ed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWgzt97vQyM0HEocBeaoB9V6GCBGAFoJT_29YbE2r_FT2Z071mgfCNNHilJD9o6vshs4xgFDwQJvLeVxtY-Oo4sOYxZAfCDwIz9DYtGQH9Oy1Ji-fg-pRzjj3KWDkqal_wxTZwq4Okn5g/s320/fd4cf8b5-c9f2-4108-a9bd-5b63eeb732ed.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In practice, the Pitum Kaketores today is commonly a scribes' inauguration work because the Halachot of Torah, Tefillin and Mezuza do not apply to this novel scroll and therefore it's a good way to practice while not being afraid of making mistakes. One of my first works was indeed a Pitum Haketoret and guess what, I skipped a line but never thought it was a big deal (see picture). But as we have seen, there's one Halacha about this scroll that is more stringent than any other scroll - a Sofer cannot skip a word from the Ketoret ingredients lest he will be punishable by death! Baruch Hashem, it turns out that I skipped one of the very last lines, so without knowing at the time, I actually dodged a bullet by sheer luck.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After I got familiar with the issues discussed above, I have a whole different level of appreciation for the Pitum Haketores recitation - it is really a standout feature of our daily prayers. However, the sad reality is that, as the Rama <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Shulchan_Arukh%2C_Orach_Chayim.132.2?lang=bi&with=Responsa&lang2=en" target="_blank">predicted</a>, people run through this tefillah because it is at the end of morning prayers and everyone is rushing for their daily schedules. I don’t remember last time I davened in a Minyan that gives enough time to say it word by word - the Chazzan will always rush towards Aleinu. And as noted by the Kaf Hachaim, if recited without the proper focus and rhythm, it has no esoteric value and even worse, it can even cause a major transgression of skipping a word from the Ketoret. The Ein Maavar Yabok (17th century) <a href="https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=14051&hilite=7c627cc2-ef71-45ce-ac25-aa14eec00962&st=%D7%A7%D7%98%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%AA&pgnum=252" target="_blank">writes</a> that the Chazzan must recite the whole section aloud just like the Shemone Esre, in order to make sure the Shul will have enough time to recite the Ketoret.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Notwithstanding the obscure origin of this Minhag, the reality is that it is very widespread today and one can find a Pitum Ketoret in hanging in many synagogues around the world and also in private people's tefillin bags - Ashkenazi and Sephardi.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> While the Halachic weight seems to be against this practice, some authorities try to find Halachic loopholes </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;">(see Mizahav Umipaz </span><a href="https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=48888&st=&pgnum=429" target="_blank">here</a><span style="background-color: white;"> for some suggestions</span><span style="background-color: white;">) </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">in order to justify this widespread Minhag, which could perhaps be referred to as a "Minhag Israel Torah Hi" - a well established Minhag can have validity even if it's not well justified</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">. However, the most important thing to discuss is not whether the Ketoret should be written in parchement or not. What is crucial is having the proper state of mind, and knowing how important the Pitum Haketores is in our daily prayers.</span></div>
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YKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10778564250634479028noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293749640163975885.post-36333004409241555242020-01-23T18:28:00.003+01:002023-05-16T14:15:41.916+02:00Preparatory Prayers in Safrut - an Overview<div class="p" style="margin-bottom: 0.0000pt; margin-left: 0.0000pt; margin-right: 0.0000pt; margin-top: 0.0000pt; margin: 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
The Talmud in <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Berakhot.13a?lang=bi" target="_blank">Berachos 13a </a>mentions in passing a classic Talmudical dispute if Mitzvot need intent (מצוות צריכות כוונה) or not. For instance, if someone eats Matza in Pessach without any intent - just eats it - did he fulfill his obligation? This is a major topic of discussion that affects all Miztvot, and the Halacha seems to require a person to have some sort of intent, or at least not a negating intent, to perform the Miztva.</div>
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Many Rabbis encouraged the recital of a short pre-Miztva prayer, which usually is הרני מזמן את פי - a verbal declaration that the person is focusing in what he will shortly do. This concept is accepted by all streams of Judaism, as it is always a good idea to prepare ourselves and verbally declare that we are conscious before performing a Mitzva.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Kabbala movement brought this concept a step further, and added another dimension to the preparatory prayers - a prayer that our Mitzva will have a mystical impact in the celestial worlds. This prayer is called לשם יחוד, and it's mentions the Shechina, the Tetragammon and how this name is divided - all very complicated and deep Kabbalah concepts - and the inclusion of this in the daily prayers was novel and controversial. The actual basic Leshem Yichud text is:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "david" , serif;">לשם ייחוד קודשא בריך הוא ושכינתיה בדחילו ורחימו , לייחד שם י"ה בו"ה בייחודא שלים בשם כל ישראל</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"><i>For the sake of the unification between the Holy Blessed One and His Shechinah with fear and love, in order to unify the Name Yood Hey and Wav Hey in perfect unity, and in the Name of all Israel.</i></span></span></blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Y1RDLwX45qa4S-PgvrEhOQpGMHab7fZA_iomQmv7w3nwiqvZSukiSzv8gmuvoFgI21fHzsE2HtAQO4glL0oRD_hOZPwiz4Vu61XeMFx5WvDYtCiSDtK8WSWsZ-Nr-yVQ4zN2xx2ezjM/s1600/IMG_5305.PNG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="640" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Y1RDLwX45qa4S-PgvrEhOQpGMHab7fZA_iomQmv7w3nwiqvZSukiSzv8gmuvoFgI21fHzsE2HtAQO4glL0oRD_hOZPwiz4Vu61XeMFx5WvDYtCiSDtK8WSWsZ-Nr-yVQ4zN2xx2ezjM/s200/IMG_5305.PNG" width="166" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Rabbi Landau - Noda Biyuda</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Not all Rabbis were in favor of adding this prayer in everyone’s routine. Most notably, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yechezkel_Landau" target="_blank">Noda BiYehuda</a> (Rabbi Landau d. 1791, leader of the European Jewry in the 18th century) wrote a famous sharp condemnation of those promoting the Leshem Yichud and famously declared that <span style="color: #2a2e2e;">וחסידים יכשלו בם, paraphrasing the Pasuk </span><span style="color: #2a2e2e;"><a href="https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%9E%22%D7%92_%D7%94%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%A2_%D7%99%D7%93_%D7%99" target="_blank">ופושעים יכשלו בם</a> - in effect, calling the Hassidim sinners, for he contended that this Kabbalistic prayer couldn't be understood even by learned scholars therefore it was not appropriate to encourage the commonfolk to recite it. One should contextualize his harsh opposition to his era - a time when Hassidism was revolutionary to conservative leaders like Rabbi Landau </span><span style="color: #2a2e2e; font-family: "georgia" , "times" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(parentethically, Rabbi Landau's descendants attempted to remove this "name calling" in subsequent editions of the Noda BiYehuda, as the Hassidic movement grew and remained part and parcel of normative Orthodox Judaism - <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Noda_BiYhudah_I%2C_Yoreh_Deah.93.3?with=all&lang=bi" target="_blank">source</a> and <a href="http://onthemainline.blogspot.com/2010/08/jewish-oath-in-1737-part-ii-noda.html" target="_blank">blog post</a>).</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%9C%D7%A2%D7%96%D7%A8_%D7%A4%D7%9C%D7%A7%D7%9C%D7%A1" target="_blank">Rabbi Falkeles</a>, a disciple from Rabbi Landau, testifies that he once saw a pious man asking Rabbi Landau to use his beautiful Etrog for a bracha (Etrogim were very rare in Europe at that time, even more so nice Etrogim), and when he saw the man saying a Kabbalistic preparatory prayer - Yehi Ratzon - Rabbi Landau objected and declared that no one reciting any preparatory prayers had permision to ever use his Etrogim (source <a href="http://www.adathisraelshul.org/?catid=0&id=139" target="_blank">here</a>).<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx_BB9JCiGpQBigNPQvH1GaLGYVcdYCAlrqVkCnCMv4Euwim-w1lj47zO2Sl602jfSaF2peKCBaZkGFP9zZ3becxFJ8GnT4b76ufj5f31Fd_DBHYWlk_t9u1OX3loQaC6bryyTML5h0eg/s1600/IMG_5201.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx_BB9JCiGpQBigNPQvH1GaLGYVcdYCAlrqVkCnCMv4Euwim-w1lj47zO2Sl602jfSaF2peKCBaZkGFP9zZ3becxFJ8GnT4b76ufj5f31Fd_DBHYWlk_t9u1OX3loQaC6bryyTML5h0eg/s320/IMG_5201.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
Rabbi Landau, like the Vilna Gaon, held that a Bracha is in itself a preparation for the Miztva and therefore there was never any need of adding prayers before saying the blessing of any Miztva. When a Mitzva has no Bracha, for example when writing a Sefer Torah, then the Noda BiYehuda concedes that a preparatory prayer is warranted, in order to confirm a person's awareness, and his actual prayer was short and to the point (<a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Noda_BiYhudah_I%2C_Yoreh_Deah.93.3?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en" target="_blank">source</a>):<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "frank ruehl libre" , "taamey frank" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: right;">הנני עושה דבר זה לקיים מצות בוראי </span><span style="font-family: "frank ruehl libre" , "taamey frank" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: right;"><i>"I'm doing this in order to fulfill my Creator's Miztva"</i></span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Emden">Rabbi Jacob Emden</a>, a contemporary of Rabbi Landau and another influential (and <a href="http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/5730-emden-jacob-israel-ben-zebi-ashkenazi" target="_blank">controversial</a>) leader, did include the Leshem Yichud prayer in his popular Siddur, the Yavetz Siddur, however he noted that his father, the famous <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzvi_Ashkenazi" target="_blank">Chacham Tzvi Ashkenazi</a>, used to follow Kabbalistic guidelines but was careful not to do so publicly. In other words, Rabbi Emden addresses Rabbi Landau’s concern that this prayer is not intended for everyone and advises readers to recite it privately, like his own father used to do.<br />
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Notwithstanding the objection of some traditionalist leaders, most communities around the world adopted the custom of reciting the Leshem Yichud before Mitzvot, most notably the Sephardic Jews, who had always favored the adoption of Kabbala in their daily routine, and Hasidim, whose movement was sparked by Kaballa (also why the Siddurim of the Sephardim and Hasidim are so similar). And today, even non-Chassidic communities have accepted this prayer, and one can find this prayer in the ArtScroll siddur today before Pesukei DeZimrah, for instance. Eitan Katz, a popular Jewish Music singer, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4Lj4Q1Z8LY&feature=emb_title" target="_blank">even composed a Leshem Yichud song</a> (embedded below). We can safely say that the controvery died out over the centuries, and no one will scream at you for saying such prayer today, anywhere.<br />
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Most German Jews, who follow the Ashkenaz minhag did not adopt the Leshem Yichud as they generally followed the opinion of the Noda BiYuda. It’s also interesting to note that Belz Chassidim to this day have the custom of not saying Leshem Yichud before Birkat Sefirat HaOmer in the Yahrtzeit of the Noda BiYuda, which falls in Sefirat HaOmer, in deference to his position.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="p" style="margin-bottom: 0.0000pt; margin-left: 0.0000pt; margin-right: 0.0000pt; margin-top: 0.0000pt; margin: 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;"><br /></div><div class="p" style="margin-bottom: 0.0000pt; margin-left: 0.0000pt; margin-right: 0.0000pt; margin-top: 0.0000pt; margin: 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;"><b><u></u></b><blockquote><b><u>updated</u></b>: The previous Zanz Rebbe, the Shefa Chaim, is one of the only Hasidic personalities who sided with the Noda Biyuda and to this day, Zanz hasidim do not say Leshem Yichud on Sefirat Haomer. In the compendium of Zanz minhagim "Halichot Chaim", it's written that the Rebbe would never say Leshem Yichud on other mitzvot as well, with the notable exception of when arranging the Pessach Keara according to the Arizal. At that moment the Rebbe did say a special kabbalistic prayer, however not in other occasions.</blockquote></div><div class="p" style="margin-bottom: 0.0000pt; margin-left: 0.0000pt; margin-right: 0.0000pt; margin-top: 0.0000pt; margin: 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;"><br /></div><div class="p" style="margin-bottom: 0.0000pt; margin-left: 0.0000pt; margin-right: 0.0000pt; margin-top: 0.0000pt; margin: 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
After this general overview, I would like to focus in the impact of preparatory prayers in the field of Safrut specifically.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Chazal demand an extreme level of focus when writing Mezuza, Tefillin and Torahs (aka Sta”m), and pre-writing prayers and concentration are almost mandatory, not merely advised. The Keset HaSofer (פרק ד), which is the last word in Halacha for Sofrim, writes:<o:p></o:p></div>
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סת״ם צריכין לכתוב אותם בכוונה גדולה לשמה וצריך שיאמר כן בפיו... ואם לא הוציא כן בשפתיו אלא שחשב כן בלבו יש פוסלים אפי׳ בדיעבד.<br />
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<i>Sta”m must be written with a high level of concentration - lishma - and (the scribe) must say it verbally... if he didn’t say it with his lips but only thought in his heart there are those who invalidate the scroll </i><i><u>even Bedievad</u></i><i>.</i><i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Hence we can see that unlike other Miztvot, where we can find room for leniency, the lack of focus will invalidate the scribes’ entire work even before he gets started. Imagine a whole Sefer Torah invalidated on this account - a year’s work immediately deemed unfit.<o:p></o:p></div>
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According to accepted Halacha, the pre-writing prayer said when starting a Sefer Torah suffices for the whole scroll, even if the scroll will take many years to be completed. Without this initial sanctification, the validity of the whole scroll is in serious question. Even according to those who oppose preparatory prayers, as we have seen above, there's no Bracha for writing a Sefer Torah and therefore no existing framework for a demonstration of intent. Therefore, even they will agree that a Sofer <u>must </u>say loudly that he intends to perform the Miztva. </div>
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The same principle applies one step before, in the process of manufacturing the parchment for writing. The very first moment of the production requires a verbal declaration that the work is being done lishma - for the sake of the Mitzva. Therefore if the worker fails to make this declaration at the start, the resulting parchment will be invalid and the Keset HaSofer writes ואין להקל i.e. there’s no room for leniency. It's interesting that this is so, as the Miztva per se is the writing of the Sefer Torah while the parchment production is only an Hechsher Mitzva (enabling the Miztva) and I would think that perhaps there's a way out in case of emergency. That's what the Keset says - no room for lenience, period.</div>
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The actual wording of this verbal declaration is also crucial. When manufacturing parchment for Mezuza, for instance, the worker will need to specifically say עורות אלו אני מעבד לשם מזוזה - <i>I’m working these hides for the sake of (the Mitzva of) Mezuza</i>. It's important to note that this very declaration is only valid if the parchment will indeed be used for a Mezuza. However, a parchment that will be used for Tefillin, the worker must be specifically declare it for Tefillin - ideally (there's perhaps room for leniency if you declared intention for a Tefillin but used the parchement for a Torah because of the concept of Maalim Bakodesh - one may increase the sanctity once there's a valid declaration).<br />
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In practice, the klafim makers usually produce the parchment with a conditional declaration - <i>“I’m working these hides for either a Mezuza, Tefillin or a Torah, to be decided at a later date”.</i> This is called a parchment produced “al tnai”, on a condition, and the Keset writes (פרק ב) that a person can rely on this option בשעת הדחק, as a last resort. But it's better to use a non-conditional parchement for sure.</div>
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So which klafim are usually sold in the market today? I learned it the “hard way”. When I purchased klafim for my Sefer Torah, the package got stuck in customs when the seller mailed it to me. I was quite upset because the authorities wanted to charge me a fortune for import taxes. So I called the klafim maker and after a chat, I discovered that these hides were “conditional hides” and he said that he could take them back if I purchased more expensive non-conditional parchments. Yes, there’s a substantial difference in price between the two, and while I assumed I was buying the very best, this whole situation enabled me to exchange my purchase for a much more "mehudar" option.<br />
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This is the level of trust involved in the work of a Sofer, because the scribe has to source his material from a trusted source and even a good source can give you less then optimal products. In turn, the private buyer has to trust the Sofer, and the source where the Sofer got his materials from. That's quite a leap of faith.</div>
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Therefore a Sofer or any aspiring buyer of Judaica scrolls must be vigilant and - here is the difficult part - <u>know the Halacha</u>. We live today in an age that many think that everything can go as long as you mean well. Unfortunately, in the world of Safrut, this is wishful thinking and there are many things that <i>will </i>go wrong without proper due diligence and knowledge. Hoping for the best will only get you in trouble.<o:p></o:p></div>
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One of these “danger spots” is the pre-Mitzva declaration which we have explored. That’s how important this short prayer is, and the impact it has in a holy scroll.<br />
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I will conclude with the recommended pre-writing prayer as mentioned in the Lishchat HaSofer:<br />
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1- before writing, the Sofer must recant for his sins.<br />
2- he should recite the Kabbalistic prayer אנא בכח גדולת ימנך תתיר צרורה וכו׳<br />
3- he should recite this personal prayer: יהי רצון מלפניך ה׳ או״א שתשרה שכינתך במעשה ידי ותצליכני בכותבי זאת שאני כותב ספר תורה זה לשם קדושת ספר תורה ותצילני מטעות הכתיבה ומטעות הכוונה אמן כן יהי רצון</div>
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YKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10778564250634479028noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293749640163975885.post-38635524520976153342019-10-06T15:04:00.002+02:002021-01-03T19:44:02.658+01:00Mission Accomplished! My first Sefer Torah (actually, not really mine)I have come a long way since I set out to write my own Sefer Torah years back. I studied all the relevant Halachot and sources, got myself a mentor to teach me the craft in Jerusalem and I eventually purchased the Klaf to write this scroll.<br />
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I write slowly and only in my free time, so I was expecting it would take me many years to finish the Torah. But something interesting happened.<br />
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A few months ago, I was spending my summer vacation in a seaside resort, and I got an Aliyah in the local Shul - the fifth portion of <a href="https://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0417.htm" target="_blank">Parshas Korach</a>, Chamishi. The Baal Koreh finished the reading, and as I was closing the Sefer Torah to make the final blessing, the corner of my eye say something strange with the last word. I still (mistakenly) made the Bracha after the Aliya but I opened the Torah once again and I realized that there was a mistake that looked like this:<br />
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The Hey's leg was connected to the top, possibly forming a Tav. The Shul's Gabbai decided to ask a child (unnecessary), who confirmed it was a Tav. It was obvious to me the word was originally written correctly; somehow this thin connector was either written by someone subsequently or it was an impurity that found its way there. I rubbed my finger against it to see if it was something that would easily come off, to no avail. So we put the Sefer Torah away and brought in a different one.<br />
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An untrained eye would not spot the problem, as the Sefer Torah's writing was very solid and it was regularly used for over 30 years in that Shul. My question was, and still is, when this mistake happened - was the Sefer Torah pasul for a long time already?<br />
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I later came back to the Shul to take another look at it with the Gabbay and I came to the conclusion this was an impurity that found its way in this letter. It was a clear case of bad luck - wrong thing at the wrong place at the wrong time - and this "ink" fell in the worst place possible, changing the form of the letter (Tzurat Haot). Once the letter's form is compromised, the Halacha is that this letter becomes invalidated, even tough it was originally written properly, and consequently the whole Torah is Pasul.<br />
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I still couldn't believe this happened - it's the first time I caught a potential psul in a Torah - and I kept touching this strange connector, when suddenly I was able to clip away the connector, restoring the letter to what it was - a Hey. Welcome back, Hey.<br />
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Problem solved? Not at all.<br />
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This seemed to be a classical case of fixing a letter via Chok Tochot, which is forbidden. Chok Tochot means shaping a letter not by writing it, but by erasing parts of another letter. Imagine you write a big square of black ink, and slowly you "sculp" a letter by erasing parts here and there - that's Chok Tochos and that's a classical act of invalidation according Halacha. By clipping away the connector, I created a Hey from a modified Tav - not by writing it but by "playing" with the Tav. If this was the case, I would have to remove the Hey and rewrite it.<br />
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In the other hand, it could be that the connector never actually modified the Hey, since it was kind of a sticker that could be removed (as I did!). If that was the case, perhaps the Torah was always Kosher and it would require no action.<br />
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We asked a knowledgeable Dayan, who decided that it was necessary to erase and re-write the Hey - the Torah was pasul indeed. I asked the Shul's board to let me fix it, so I could be the Sofer restoring this Torah by fixing just one letter. This reminded me a concept brought down in the <a href="https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A0%D7%97%D7%95%D7%AA_%D7%9C_%D7%90" target="_blank">Talmud in Menachot</a>:<br />
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<span aria-controls="panel-1" aria-label="Click to see links to Menachot 30a:36" class="segment highlight heOnly" data-ref="Menachot 30a:36" style="color: #333333; cursor: pointer; direction: rtl; display: block; font-family: , "crimson text" , "georgia" , serif; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 14px; outline: none; text-align: right; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" tabindex="0"><span class="he" style="background-color: white; direction: rtl; display: inline; font-family: "frank ruehl libre" , "taamey frank" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: right;"><i>וא"ר יהושע בר אבא אמר רב גידל אמר רב </i></span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: "frank ruehl libre", "taamey frank", "times new roman", serif;">הלוקח ס"ת מן השוק כחוטף מצוה מן השוק </i></span><span aria-controls="panel-1" aria-label="Click to see links to Menachot 30a:38" class="segment highlight heOnly" data-ref="Menachot 30a:38" style="color: #333333; cursor: pointer; direction: rtl; display: block; font-family: , "crimson text" , "georgia" , serif; margin-bottom: 14px; outline: none; text-align: right;" tabindex="0"><span class="he" style="background-color: white; direction: rtl; display: inline; font-family: "frank ruehl libre" , "taamey frank" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>כתבו מעלה עליו הכתוב כאילו קיבלו מהר סיני </i></span></span><span aria-controls="panel-1" aria-label="Click to see links to Menachot 30a:39" class="segment highlight heOnly" data-ref="Menachot 30a:39" style="color: #333333; cursor: pointer; direction: rtl; display: block; font-family: , "crimson text" , "georgia" , serif; margin-bottom: 14px; outline: none; text-align: right;" tabindex="0"><span class="he" style="background-color: white; direction: rtl; display: inline; font-family: "frank ruehl libre" , "taamey frank" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>אמר רב ששת </i></span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: "frank ruehl libre", "taamey frank", "times new roman", serif;">אם הגיה אפי' אות אחת מעלה עליו כאילו כתבו</i></span><span style="background-color: white;"><i><span class="desl1" style="color: red; font-weight: bold;"> R. Yehoshua bar Aba:</span> One who buys a Sefer Torah is like one who seized a Mitzvah from the market (Rashi - it is a bigger Mitzvah to write it himself; Rema - he does not fulfill the Mitzvah);</i></span><span style="background-color: white;"><i>If he wrote a Sefer Torah, it is considered as if he received it from Sinai.</i></span> </blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><i><span class="desl1" style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">Rav Sheshes:</span> <u>If he corrected even one letter, it is considered as if he wrote it.</u></i></span></blockquote>
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A simple reading of this Gemara suggests that any Sofer fixing a Sefer Torah that is pasul is actually performing the Miztva of writing a Sefer Torah - even if the Torah is not his (for example, a communal Torah scroll or a scroll that belongs to a library). After all, he is "creating" a Kosher Torah Scroll.<br />
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The Tosafists immediately weigh in this issue and write explicitly that the Gemara's last clause is not an independent one; it is the the continuation of the previous cases and it talks about someone who bought a Sefer Torah, which was invalid, and fixed it and only in this case, the Talmud is saying that this is equivalent to actually writing a whole Torah. See here verbatim:<br />
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<span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">אם</span><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-size: 14px;"> הגיה בו אפי' אות אחת. פירוש בס"ת שלקח מן השוק לא נחשב עוד כחוטף מצוה</span></blockquote>
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Sounds like Tosafot is explaining this Gemara in order to specifically dispel the possibility ("Hava Amina") I raised above, and would obviously rule that a Sofer fixing someone else's Torah is <u>not</u> fulfilling the Mitzva of writing a Sefer Torah.<br />
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This view is the mainstream approach among the classic commentators, and it is the universally accepted Halacha. However, the Mishnas Avrohom, an important early work on the laws of Safrut written by one of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordecai_Yoffe" target="_blank">Levush</a>'s children, brings down (<a href="http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=8248&st=&pgnum=24" target="_blank">see here</a>) sources that apparently award the fixer the Miztva of writing the scroll even if the scroll belongs to someone else - precisely the idea we expounded above. The Mei Yehuda also <a href="http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?sits=1&req=290&st=%u05D0%u05D5%u05EA%20%u05DE%u05D2%u05D9%u05D4&_rnd=0.223681083460736" target="_blank">brings</a> other important sources agreeing with this idea. Therefore, basing myself in this minority view, I can say that when I rewrote the Hey and validated the Shul's Torah, I somehow got the Mitzva of writing my own Sefer Torah!<br />
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But realistically speaking, if I want to fulfil this magnificent Mitzva properly, I have to continue writing my own Sefer Torah, and I'm still at it. Nevertheless, this incident was a good opportunity to expand on the concept of what invalidates a scroll, Chok Tochos, how to fix it and the significance of writing even one letter in a scroll - perhaps this can also explain, as the Mei Yehuda writes (<a href="http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?sits=1&req=290&st=%u05D0%u05D5%u05EA%20%u05DE%u05D2%u05D9%u05D4&_rnd=0.223681083460736" target="_blank">here</a>), why people are careful to write at least one letter before the Sofer completes a new Torah Scroll (see my original post on this <a href="https://lavlor.blogspot.com/2009/05/minhag-of-writing-last-words-of-sefer.html" target="_blank">here</a>). Even a small letter matters and it can make a very big difference.<br />
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YKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10778564250634479028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293749640163975885.post-72699525804328685322019-10-04T13:40:00.001+02:002021-02-16T16:34:18.797+01:00Aleph א in Safrut and Modern History - Exploring the Hebrew Alphabet #1The Aleph is probably the most famous letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and one could spend hours talking about its history, hidden meanings and symbolism. I've seen relatively few traditional resources exploring the Aleph in depth, so I decided to have a go at it, through the scope of a Sofer.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOV4kVw5y5CRnkDgkEGgF5bCchZVbnwOZ0gWigTUX5SOru-3CFZ_pt-y_Ve7dR6i0xvo7kDWeOZzUSqo1w4SnKpDBnPvy4YLnWa56gzUvPYgslOsrZQQe-2dk6GGQt2po_1Reot9Wix6U/s1600/IMG_4331.PNG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="lavlor scribe sofer" border="0" data-original-height="811" data-original-width="632" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOV4kVw5y5CRnkDgkEGgF5bCchZVbnwOZ0gWigTUX5SOru-3CFZ_pt-y_Ve7dR6i0xvo7kDWeOZzUSqo1w4SnKpDBnPvy4YLnWa56gzUvPYgslOsrZQQe-2dk6GGQt2po_1Reot9Wix6U/w155-h200/IMG_4331.PNG" width="155" /></a></div>
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The Aleph's core shape is in the style of Ktav Ashurit as seen in the left, an ancient form which has existed throughout millennia with almost no change.<br />
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As with other Hebrew letters, you can often deconstruct it into smaller letters, for exegesis. The Aleph is composed of a higher Yud slightly facing updwards, a lower upside-down Yud and a diagonal line which is actualy a Vav (also called the Vav ha Mechaber / "connecing Vav"). It's widely known that the Aleph, the first letter, symbolizes the unity of God as the Gematria of Aleph is 1 and it's also the first letter of the hebrew word אחד / Echad (1). And if you take the deconstructed letter, Yud Yud Vav, that will give you a Gematria of 26 which is the same as the Tetragammon - Gods Name. So you have Aleph, Echad, Tetragammon. You also have אמת / Emet, also starting with an Aleph, and according to tradition it's the Seal of God, the word best representing what God is about.<br />
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It's worth noting that many older publication used the innovative Aleph-Lamed instead of writing the word א-ל / E-L or Elokeinu / א-להינו, which are other Holy Names starting with Aleph. Again, there's a clear association between the Aleph and the holiest words in the Torah.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7jTDs4s516IzBqOdjvo9vzHjweM7nc6NyPq3At4tLxUks1BtvtRawY6jrTPmlhkpwhKqXkPauq_thyLKZum_CDy6Y8hE1U9Oqzx6-Pr3r9Fb9etp9zl2Wh35agR094092yR3i-EKBDMI/s1600/IMG_4386.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="148" data-original-width="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7jTDs4s516IzBqOdjvo9vzHjweM7nc6NyPq3At4tLxUks1BtvtRawY6jrTPmlhkpwhKqXkPauq_thyLKZum_CDy6Y8hE1U9Oqzx6-Pr3r9Fb9etp9zl2Wh35agR094092yR3i-EKBDMI/s1600/IMG_4386.JPG" /></a></div>
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The Aleph is the first letter of the Ten Commandments (Anochi..) and according to the classical <a href="https://he.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%95%D7%AA%D7%99%D7%95%D7%AA_%D7%93%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%99_%D7%A2%D7%A7%D7%99%D7%91%D7%90">Rabbi Akiva's Midrash of the Letters</a>, an ancient work, the Aleph received this honour in return for not being the first letter of the Torah, which starts with the second letter Bet (Bereishit). So here you have the Aleph as the first letter of Anochi Hashem, another important instance where the use of the Aleph stands out,<br />
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It's paradoxical that the Aleph symbolizes God's oneness, while its form has two Yuds. The explanation given is that the Two Yuds represent the spiritual and material realms, and that God is omnipresent is both. That's a common explanation. A deeper one, relates to two different ways of understanding God which is rooted in Kaballah. The explanation of these understanding is beyond the scope of this blog but Rabbi Prof. Ari Bergmann has a great series exploring this (<a href="http://www.aribergmann.net/living-with-hashem-rav-tzadokrsquos-introduction-to-kabbalah.html" target="_blank">click here</a> for the online series; shiur 4 is specifically talking about this concept).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4t-LD2t-d7cM0oXPP0fzktMzN9nL0GNHjfAlPqP2PjyblItDTLd9YOl-RJ5ENN7Jp7ge1kUqAEhWp3RjIwNbfKu3nbBiHD42NRLMKdaqkXw_1atkL7Kb_kd5d9KXW2iz7cIIfzgis_kE/s1600/IMG_4370.PNG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="300" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4t-LD2t-d7cM0oXPP0fzktMzN9nL0GNHjfAlPqP2PjyblItDTLd9YOl-RJ5ENN7Jp7ge1kUqAEhWp3RjIwNbfKu3nbBiHD42NRLMKdaqkXw_1atkL7Kb_kd5d9KXW2iz7cIIfzgis_kE/s200/IMG_4370.PNG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aleph in Ktav Ivri</td></tr>
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Coming back to the Aleph's form, the diagonal line sets the Aleph apart from the other letters, since most of the Hebrew letters are squared, while the Aleph is not. This diagonal look is most likely related to the way the Aleph looks in old Hebrew script - Ktav Ivri (or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleo-Hebrew_alphabet" target="_blank">Paleo Hebrew</a> - see pic in the right), an alphabet used by the Jews in Sinaitic times. In Jewish tradition there's a discussion which script came first, Ktav Ashuri or Ktav Ivri, however everyone agrees they are related and both Alephs share this diagonal commonality, which is important to keep in mind. By the way, the Greek letter “A” we use today is clearly the Aleph from the Ktav Ivri, rotated.<br />
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But throughout modern Jewish history, Jews used exclusively the Ktav Ashuri Aleph and you can find nuances in different scrolls around the world even in a letter as ubiquitous as the Aleph. Below you see the four most famous versions, which are still in use by different communities today.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-YLUp-NTQM1MxASKQdJsvIosk0KDsDlM3UobqNdWkjtnbfYUWuZZdGiFQTBaWt9lhWzE69s3-Pm1OoSv0QYLEsjPhDYvOcyWaG-xahUVbK_uILpDlCfp-2XZ0DG-Xp7RmHJFtJPyM6vI/s1600/1E85D92D-4B87-4F7D-9920-8E8C8FCC24DA.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-YLUp-NTQM1MxASKQdJsvIosk0KDsDlM3UobqNdWkjtnbfYUWuZZdGiFQTBaWt9lhWzE69s3-Pm1OoSv0QYLEsjPhDYvOcyWaG-xahUVbK_uILpDlCfp-2XZ0DG-Xp7RmHJFtJPyM6vI/s320/1E85D92D-4B87-4F7D-9920-8E8C8FCC24DA.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>From top left, clockwise: Arizal, Veilish/Sephardi, Beit Yosef/Ashkenazi, Chabad</i></td></tr>
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As you can see, the differences are pretty much negligible but scribes of each community are very careful to always follow one of the options above, and keep a uniform layout. The Arizal’s Aleph, is novel and substitutes the lower Yud for a Daled (it’s difficult to observe but it’s there, upside-down). This is a pretty radical introduction, and it’s safe to say the only the Ari had the stature to make this change; remember that the Yud Yud Vav construct is connected to the Tetragrammon and the Ari’s form is a Yud Daled Vav - completely different Gematria. I haven't found a good resource exploring this issue, however there were a few instances of Kabbalists pushing for minor tweeks in the letters in order to have some sort of mystical impact in their generations however no other Kabbalist had the level of acceptance of the Arizal, and to this day, his script is widely used in Tefillin, Mezuzot and Torahs around the world.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQTqAyA_0HxN75h_jzaeN_ovKehA7_kH9kZGnLEThvmqM4l1S5d-jK7wgWyt3aynZkXeiEuSH9sW1TQ5fhyXyCXWMZE1GYwNC9Whuoiwsh-gvdhXMv19zR9QMo2kpsaiUezh3EW4-1KA4/s1600/IMG_4341.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQTqAyA_0HxN75h_jzaeN_ovKehA7_kH9kZGnLEThvmqM4l1S5d-jK7wgWyt3aynZkXeiEuSH9sW1TQ5fhyXyCXWMZE1GYwNC9Whuoiwsh-gvdhXMv19zR9QMo2kpsaiUezh3EW4-1KA4/s200/IMG_4341.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reverse Aleph</td></tr>
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I've seen some old scrolls with a reverse Aleph (see sketch in the right), following the style of the Tzadi of the Arizal which is also reversed. As the Ari did not introduce this change, this Aleph became subject to Halachic discussion in regards to its fitness and validity. The Noda BiYuda, one of the leading Dayanim of his time, validates (<a href="http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=8248&hilite=992d2ff2-fb39-4fbc-b0b4-ab659d986830&st=%D7%94%D7%AA%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%94&pgnum=104" target="_blank">see here source</a>) this post-facto, but this unusual shape in rather rare and scribes were very careful in following one of the four accepted shapes in the above diagram.</div>
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If you look closely, the Aleph has many "Ukzim", additional strokes at the extremeties of the letter. If you look at the classical Aleph of the Beit Yosef, you will find one Uketz at the top left, a second at the top right (by the Yud), a third in the lower right, and a fourth in the lower Yud. Some sofrim even add another one or two Uktzim, making the Aleph a very complex letter which requires a lot of work if you wish to achieve its ideal form.</div>
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Today, with the flourishing of the Hebrew language in Israel, many artists and publishers have proposed new versions of the Aleph for modern usage in printing and digital media. The most important typographic changes came after the invention of the printing press and subsequent need for new modern typefaces for prints. Van Dijk in Amsterdam came up with a popular font in the 1660's, which is still seen today in many books and it's clearly based on the Sephardic version of the Ktav Ashurit - "Veilish". Perhaps the strong Portuguese-Sephardi community in Amsterdam at the time had an influence in Van Dijk, but be it as it may, most typefaces today have a strong resemblance to the Veilish script. Another famous type is Frank-Ruhl's from the early 20th century. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfqWPyqsiLxWW0yYxcRzg534Vgk0QDucmDbkKjjSV-HH7MIFcEFPtbx3Kc5Bzosl-Lfszg7Ql7iD6L3vMBGirPojGMrXw0fJlHsq9lQCkF3w8XeR5_rcRwBY1iFUOJtpIO9ge68SK8N84/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-10-04+at+00.54.29.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="642" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfqWPyqsiLxWW0yYxcRzg534Vgk0QDucmDbkKjjSV-HH7MIFcEFPtbx3Kc5Bzosl-Lfszg7Ql7iD6L3vMBGirPojGMrXw0fJlHsq9lQCkF3w8XeR5_rcRwBY1iFUOJtpIO9ge68SK8N84/s640/Screen+Shot+2019-10-04+at+00.54.29.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3rWRR9tArpeJvlApP9Wgx3IZS4Pkgucdth6vCeqabYJIbPpZF9Eh-2_H8pfvIfsgjckSRgnPUdfo5MZqi84aqA1QiLMZc4TDoHy0JYecrJD7Hc-a9cSfIe-3sEF6RptBPSKiisB6ClIo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-10-04+at+01.05.11.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="173" data-original-width="510" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3rWRR9tArpeJvlApP9Wgx3IZS4Pkgucdth6vCeqabYJIbPpZF9Eh-2_H8pfvIfsgjckSRgnPUdfo5MZqi84aqA1QiLMZc4TDoHy0JYecrJD7Hc-a9cSfIe-3sEF6RptBPSKiisB6ClIo/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-10-04+at+01.05.11.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Some scholars have conducted extensive historical studies about the Aleph, and some have suggested a link to the ancient Swastika used by the Hindus in Asia, which was later hijacked by the Nazi propaganda. There is a resemblance between the two symbols, but in any Jewish mind, the Swastika is now connected to the atrocities of the Holocaust and it's unappealing to make any attempt to link the two. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2JFeKtq7avMU8Khn7ELIFbxWXEmYwMn20dEer-zeghWbKrO60y_4Z6aGQuoggYS8Xi0WvV7jEHsUtk-qaklnL2Up2k7MBK90li6L1kI-YUw1Dqi1sudlRBBiZtjz4uR6vnpo86oAxuNk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-10-04+at+00.43.58.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="465" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2JFeKtq7avMU8Khn7ELIFbxWXEmYwMn20dEer-zeghWbKrO60y_4Z6aGQuoggYS8Xi0WvV7jEHsUtk-qaklnL2Up2k7MBK90li6L1kI-YUw1Dqi1sudlRBBiZtjz4uR6vnpo86oAxuNk/s200/Screen+Shot+2019-10-04+at+00.43.58.png" width="165" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://books.google.be/books?id=k8CnDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA299&lpg=PA299&dq=hebrew+calligraphy+shoa+aleph&source=bl&ots=PNGiW6_rlO&sig=ACfU3U2a_v-9iuLnmRfWgGWVvm7V_aTKGA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjjgdHllIHlAhVB4qQKHfAwDNw4ChDoATACegQICBAB#v=onepage&q&f=false" target="_blank">So<span id="goog_1819237061"></span><span id="goog_1819237062"></span>urce</a></td></tr>
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Above you have a cover of a Shoa film implicitly suggesting this commonality in an attempt to visually connect the letter and the Shoa. To me, that's a leap too far.</div>
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But as time goes by, the Aleph is now in use in countless websites, artistic works and everyday signs in Israel and museums around the world. The history of the Aleph continues to be written everyday but the origin of this letter is a tenet of Judaism and it can be best understood in the context of its form in Ktav Ashurit and overal Safrut practices, which have been meticulously preserved by pious scribes and strict Halacha governing them throughout the millennia of the Jewish people's existence.</div>
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YKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10778564250634479028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293749640163975885.post-40837405880142242102019-09-01T20:58:00.001+02:002019-09-19T15:06:44.909+02:00Instagram's Sofer StamWhen I started blogging about Safrut years back, my goal was to provide authentic content at a time when almost all resources where from scribes not identified with Orthodox Judaism (see my very first post <a href="https://lavlor.blogspot.com/2009/01/welcome.html" target="_blank">here</a>).<br />
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Fast forward today, and Boruch Hashem there have been so many new platforms and websites created specifically for sofrim, and therefore it's not hard to find information about St"am now.<br />
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Additionally, people are looking less at blogs and more at social media - that's where people, specially youngsters, search and discover new interests. Here again, I have observed that on today's most popular destination -Instagram - there's a lack of users showcasing authentic Safrut to those who look for an inside look in our craft. In fact, most Sofrim will shun social media even as they use Internet with filters, which is what is acceptable today in Haredi circles. Instagram is not okayed, so when I look for Safrut related content, I'm finding Ktav Ashurit tatoos (!), or messianic stuff, but not the real deal.<br />
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So I decided to open an Instagram profile and I will occasionally post some content, in a shorter format than this blog and with a focus on visuals. And I do this solely for Yagdil Torah VeYadir.<br />
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My Sefer Torah has been pretty much on hold as I'm focused in wrapping up my first Daf Yomi cycle in a few months, but after that I ii"H hope to have some more time to coninue my quest of completing my own Sefer Torah.<br />
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Without further ado, my Instagram handle is @soferlavlor and the link is <a href="https://www.instagram.com/soferlavlor/" target="_blank">HERE</a>.<br />
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Wishing everyone a Ksiva Vhatima Tova.YKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10778564250634479028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293749640163975885.post-9743969821783094262017-05-17T11:22:00.001+02:002017-05-17T11:22:42.141+02:00Eishes Chayil ArtworkThis is an Eishes Chayil I made some 4 years ago for my wife. My ktiva came out pretty solid and the fact that there are no Halachot to follow for this work did allow me to write more freely.<br />
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I was looking for someone to do papercut work around it but I didn't yet find someone who can do a simple but nice job. I could do it by myself however I prefer to spend that time writing my Torah. Any suggestions?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieuqG243IBvtaGBYNfcbhaytjQ5jAS7lyiTL4_OOohf6Z0TsCtIzgUZ69Avu4SNti7HLwBPtZbiZfMuTLxlHyHdRxYd8IYSJ4mDRzZfBcIrXWjlaK4nrVQZg0PmtIkbXjYUfm4503dn0M/s1600/IMG_4759.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieuqG243IBvtaGBYNfcbhaytjQ5jAS7lyiTL4_OOohf6Z0TsCtIzgUZ69Avu4SNti7HLwBPtZbiZfMuTLxlHyHdRxYd8IYSJ4mDRzZfBcIrXWjlaK4nrVQZg0PmtIkbXjYUfm4503dn0M/s640/IMG_4759.JPG" width="640" /></a>YKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10778564250634479028noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293749640163975885.post-33502700585707842212016-09-22T10:43:00.001+02:002022-10-28T12:51:30.483+02:00NYTimes snippet about the Ein Gedi Scrolls<iframe title="New York Times Video - Embed Player" width="480" height="321" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="true" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" id="nyt_video_player" src="https://www.nytimes.com/video/players/offsite/index.html?videoId=100000004661754"></iframe>
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Quite interesting to see how new technologies are allowing us to look at these scrolls in a different way. Now this is the oldest scroll of Vayikra and although there's little we can read from the video, it's unbelievable to see the letters and style of the writing. Note that these scrolls were almost completely burnt and until now, nobody could find a way to read it.
YKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10778564250634479028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293749640163975885.post-76969206178692800962016-05-23T14:45:00.002+02:002016-05-27T13:38:54.843+02:00Line skipped - scraping needed<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKLlJJirYoOmRgwYMN1CnJEvuEDlQbVONDAvdvRDXBIuCM636MimdzRnqEFhOR3VmZmzV07OfLYbGk7MBE4Y-0YY132jietCE1qqdKqBl14o5W8XubAiuMcZ-guT0UDV1qWaG9qdWKz8/s1600/klaf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKLlJJirYoOmRgwYMN1CnJEvuEDlQbVONDAvdvRDXBIuCM636MimdzRnqEFhOR3VmZmzV07OfLYbGk7MBE4Y-0YY132jietCE1qqdKqBl14o5W8XubAiuMcZ-guT0UDV1qWaG9qdWKz8/s320/klaf.jpg" width="268" /></a></div>
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It has been a difficult season for my writing - I somehow made a few mistakes I never do.</div>
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One mistake involves a Shem written in the wrong place, but I will leave that for another post. That was very stressful and I still have to find the solution for that.</div>
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Here you have pictures of another mistake I made - I skipped a line, forcing me to erase some six lines in order to write it correctly. I'm many things but I'm weak at erasing, and I really don't enjoy erasing nice letters and words which were written well but in the wrong place...</div>
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But I prefer to take care of things on my own, and here is the partial result. I will post another picture when it's finished - it will look better then.</div>
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<br />YKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10778564250634479028noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293749640163975885.post-11100041235048105072016-03-08T23:51:00.001+01:002016-03-08T23:54:43.954+01:00Column 4,5,6,7 of 214After a long hiatus, an update about my progress.<br />
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I made a big mistake in this column... I skipped a line, luckily towards the end and I had to do some extensive scrapping - something I hate to do. I pushed it off for a while, but I finally got the job done. With one big aggravation; I made a small hole while scrapping.<br />
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On the bright side, I managed to write the Ayin around the hole and although cosmetically it's not ideal to have a hole in your parchment, I preferred not to give up on this yeriah. Sometimes you have to accept reality!<br />
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In this photo it is still missing the sheimos in the bottom part - I didn't forget that.<br />
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So other than this, the following four columns were pretty good. Some fixing is still warranted with minor mistakes but I didn't immediately notice anything major. Feel free to give feedback. As always, my writing is intentionally thick, and my lameds are intentionally long in their lower segment. And of course, I leave the Tagim for later.<br />
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Chazak veEmatz<br />
YK<br />
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<br />YKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10778564250634479028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293749640163975885.post-88134930518710439452015-12-24T00:11:00.003+01:002015-12-24T00:11:50.263+01:00Sotheby's Auctions Oldest Complete Ashkenazi Torah ScrollIt's fascinating to see so many important books being auctioned lately, with top dollar hammer prices.<br />
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What really got my attention is this Torah of c. 1270, in good condition, which actually sold for the lowest estimate - 310,000usd. <a href="http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/important-judaica-n09447/lot.1.html" target="_blank">Check here for more details</a>.<br />
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What is interesting to see is the many alterations that clearly were added by later hands - erasure of Peh Lefufa, adding of Shaatnez Getz tagin and others.<br />
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Also, it's interesting to see how much the Sofer had to stretch the letters in order to conform with the Vavei Amudim layout - something later authorities advised to avoid.<br />
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<br />YKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10778564250634479028noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293749640163975885.post-8344763926603295222015-09-27T17:14:00.001+02:002017-08-20T00:41:49.437+02:00Daf Yomi Insights: Lot, His Daughters and the Dots on top of the letters of the Torah<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Talmud in Nazir 23a discusses the story of Lot and his daughters, who fled the destruction of Sodom and were alone in a cave, thinking they were the world's sole survivors. In the first night his older daughter cohabitated with him after giving him wine, and in the next night, his younger daughter. Look at the Pasuk:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.016px; line-height: 33.6px; text-align: -webkit-center;">וַתַּשְׁקֶיןָ אֶת אֲבִיהֶן יַיִן בַּלַּיְלָה הוּא וַתָּבֹא הַבְּכִירָה וַתִּשְׁכַּב אֶת אָבִיהָ וְלֹא יָדַע בְּשִׁכְבָהּ וּבְקוּמָהּ.</span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">'And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. (Gen 19:33)'</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It´s pretty clear that the Torah is saying the Lot did not know of what happened, nor before or after the episode. Now the Talmud makes a really puzzling commentary; while noting that the word <span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; letter-spacing: 0.016px; line-height: 33.6px; text-align: -webkit-center;">ובקומה </span>has a unique scribal oddity of having a dot over the letter Hey, this oddity gives a whole different meaning to the passage:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"> "בשכבה ובקומה – למה נקוד על וי"ו ובקומה של בכורה? לומר – שבשכבה לא ידע<u>, אבל בקומה ידע</u>"</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Talmud is saying that Lot knew about what happened after the first daughter stood up - and he did nothing to prevent a repetition in the second night. Now that's the exact opposite of the plain reading of the Torah - the Torah clearly states he did not know of what happened before AND afterwards. How can the Talmud spin the reading against what's actually stated in the Torah?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This is a very strong question and it almost makes us wonder if we are missing something. We are.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The scribal oddity addressed here is found in rare occasions in the Torah. The famous oddities of Inverted Nuns, or special Tagim (we discussed these oddities in an older post) are unlike this oddity. The Dots over Letters is a much older tradition and it actually dates all the way back to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezra" target="_blank">Ezra the Scribe</a>, who saved the Torah from oblivion when he brought the Jews to Israel in 457 BCE. In Ezra's time, the Jews almost forgot many of the teachings of the Torah and he singlehandedly took upon himself to set the correct text of the Torah for generations to come. But he was not always certain about the correct text. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avot_of_Rabbi_Natan" target="_blank">The Avot of Rabbi Natan</a>, a Gaonic early work often quoted by the Tosafists, quotes (<a href="https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%91%D7%95%D7%AA_%D7%93%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%99_%D7%A0%D7%AA%D7%9F_%D7%9C%D7%93" target="_blank">here</a>, in Perek Hey) all the words that are dotted in the Torah and then he explains the backstory: </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.016px; line-height: 30.6667px;"> למה, אלא כך אמר עזרא: אם יבא אליהו ויאמר לי מפני מה כתבת כך, אומר אני לו: כבר נקדתי עליהן. ואם אומר לי יפה כתבת, אעביר נקודה מעליהן.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">'Why (are the letters dotted)? Ezra said: if Elijah comes and asks why I wrote these words, I can answer that I dotted these. If he tells me that it's good I wrote them, then I can just erase the dots'</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It's clear that Ezra was unsure about the correct Mesora, and in some places he was unsure to write or not to write an extra word. For instance, in the story of Lot, he was unsure if the word <span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; letter-spacing: 0.016px; line-height: 33.6px; text-align: -webkit-center;">ובקומה</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; letter-spacing: 0.016px; line-height: 33.6px; text-align: -webkit-center;"> </span>should be written or not - and writing it (or not), would cause a completely different reading of the passage. If he wrote it, it would mean that Lot did not know about what happened at all, but not writing it would mean that he knew what happened after the firstborn left. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Therefore Ezra decided to write <span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; letter-spacing: 0.016px; line-height: 33.6px; text-align: -webkit-center;">ובקומה</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; letter-spacing: 0.016px; line-height: 33.6px; text-align: -webkit-center;"> </span>and leave both readings as a possibility. If Elijah comes and asks 'why did you write it', he can counter that there is a dot over the word and that signifies that it's a word that maybe should be erased. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Coming back to our original question - how can the Talmud spin the reading of the Pasuk against the plain reading of the verse, we were missing this crucial piece of information. The Talmud assumes we know what the dot over the word means, and the Talmud is offering its interpretation of the reading of the Pasuk without the word if <span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; letter-spacing: 0.016px; line-height: 33.6px; text-align: -webkit-center;">ובקומה. </span>That reading would clearly indicate that Lot knew about what happened afterward, so the Talmud is actually just conveying to us the alternative reading of the Pasuk Ezra was contemplating when he was writing the Torah. </span></div>
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YKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10778564250634479028noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293749640163975885.post-383223621906731892015-02-04T10:24:00.002+01:002022-07-01T14:11:57.423+02:00Picture<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />YKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10778564250634479028noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293749640163975885.post-8659089292301744272015-01-28T09:20:00.003+01:002015-01-28T09:20:44.402+01:00Jpost: Torah scroll held captive by Iraqi secret police restored for use in Foreign Ministr<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; color: black; width: 875px;"><tbody>
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<tr><td style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" valign="top"><span id="lblBody" style="font-size: 18px;">A Torah scroll written some 150 to 200 years ago in Iraq but which fell captive to the Iraqi secret police has been restored to its former glory and was recently inaugurated in an official ceremony at the synagogue of the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem.<br /><br />Buffeted around Mesopotamia for the last few decades, the scroll found its way to Israel and is now being used for the first time in dozens of years in prayer services as was originally intended.<br /><br />The exact story behind the Torah scroll and how it made its way to Israel remains, to some extent, shrouded in a diplomatic and political fog, but the basics of the account are now known.<br /><br />The Torah scroll is believed to be originally from the region of Kurdistan, now in northern Iraq. It was most likely used in prayer services for many years until the Jewish community was subjected to persecution and discrimination following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.<br /><br />Following Israeli independence, harsh restrictions were imposed by the Iraqi government on Jewish employment and trade, which, along with violent anti-Jewish riots, led tens of thousands of Jews to flee the country, starting in earnest in 1949.<br /><br />By 1951, some 121,000 had left, with just 15,000 remaining.<br /><br />In addition to the restrictions and persecution, the Iraqi government also banned Jews from taking their property with them and seized assets from those who left.<br /><br />Among these confiscated goods were dozens of Torah scrolls and other items from synagogues that eventually made their way to various museums and archives.<br /><br />With the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the subsequent fall of the Saddam Hussein regime, a period of anarchy took hold in the country and, before order could be restored to the conflict- torn nation, numerous museums were raided by looters and thousands of historical and archeological artifacts were plundered.<br /><br />It is unclear how the Torah scroll obtained by the Foreign Ministry exited Iraq, but in around 2006 or 2007 it ended up in the hands of the Israeli Embassy in Jordan. There it remained for another five years until the outbreak of the spate of revolutions and civil wars in Arab countries that began at the end of 2010.<br /><br />In September 2011, the Israeli Embassy in Cairo was attacked by a huge mob and the Foreign Ministry decided to remove all extraneous items from its embassy in Amman in case of similar incidents. Among those items was the Iraqi Torah scroll, which was brought to the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem and left there until preliminary steps were taken to assess the state of the scroll and the possibility of restoring it.<br /><br />Amnon Israel, the new manager of storage and supplies for the ministry, noticed the scroll in a storage room on his first day in his new job in November 2013.<br /><br />He realized the scroll was in poor condition and sought to find out how much a restoration job would cost.<br /><br />Israel eventually was put in contact with Akiva Garber, a Torah scribe whose company, The Jerusalem Scribe, specializes in restoring damaged Torah scrolls, and is among the leading experts on such work in Israel.<br /><br />Garber and another of his scribes were invited to view the scroll in the ministry and upon seeing it immediately identified it as having come from Iraq by certain characteristics of the scroll and the way it was produced.<br /><br />Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, Garber said the Torah scroll had been in poor condition, with tears in parts of the vellum parchment that was used to make it; mold degrading the scroll; damaged letters; and other problems that invalidated it for use in formal prayer services.<br /><br />In total, it took Garber and his team of two other scribes approximately six months and hundreds of hours to repair, restore and clean the scroll to make it fit for use.<br /><br />During the restoration process, Garber also noticed a round stamp on the back of a section of the scroll, which later was identified as being the seal of the Iraqi secret police, testifying to its confiscation by Iraqi authorities.<br /><br />“A Torah scroll which is ritually unusable is like someone who is sick, and it’s very satisfying and a great pleasure to take something like this, which had been for used for decades as a vehicle for prayer and learning, and restore it so it can be used once again for the purpose for which it was originally made,” Garber said.<br /><br />“This scroll, in particular, suffered the vicissitudes of its journey, and was lying for decades in the vaults of the secret police most probably, but is now being read and used in a synagogue here in Israel,” he said.<br /><br />Once the scroll itself was restored, a suitable case had to be found for it, and Israel was directed to several Torah cases that had made their way to the Prime Minister’s Office. Israel chose a case that originally had been in the possession of the Jewish community of Aleppo in Syria and was itself over 100 years old.<br /><br />This, too, required restoration work and when that was completed, preparations were made to inaugurate the Torah scroll at the Foreign Ministry synagogue, which previously had not had a scroll.<br /><br />The ceremony took place last Thursday in the presence of Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman and between 200 and 300 ministry employees.<br /><br />“The story of this Torah scroll embodies Jewish fate more than any story,” Liberman said. “Over some 200 years it wandered from Kurdistan to the archives of the Iraqi secret police, and to Jordan, until it reached here. Like the Jewish people, it has taken root again once again in Israel through faith and strength.”<br /><br />Israel, himself of Iraqi origin from a family that came from northern Iraq, said he was thrilled to have played a part in bringing about the restoration of the Torah scroll.<br /><br />His paternal grandfather was a mayor of the town of Dohuk, close to the border with Turkey.<br /><br />His family, including his father, seven siblings and two grandparents, left Iraq in 1951 and had to leave all their possessions and property behind.<br /><br />Israel said his father, who was 22 when he left Iraq and is now 86, was moved to tears by the ceremony.<br /><br />“Perhaps my own grandfather once touched and read from this Torah scroll,” Israel told the Post. “Somehow the merit to help bring about the restoration of the scroll fell to me. The story of Kurdish Jewry has not really been told, but here we have a tangible part of our history back in our hands and it is uplifting to have been part of this process.”</span></td></tr>
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YKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10778564250634479028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293749640163975885.post-15672177919184014812015-01-19T16:55:00.001+01:002015-01-19T16:55:23.698+01:0070-Year-Old Mezuzah in Perfect Condition Found in Poland<div class="divTtl" id="divTtl" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;">
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<span style="color: #737172; font-size: 12pt;">As part of project to memoralize Jews who disappeared in Holocaust, remarkable discovery made on doorpost in Przemysl.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/189521#.VL0o4tLF-Sp</span></span><br />
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Mezuzah (illustration)</div>
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Noam Moskowitz/Flash 90</div>
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A unique <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD2" style="background-attachment: scroll !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat !important; background-size: initial !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 204) !important; border-bottom-style: dotted !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline !important; float: none !important; padding: 0px 0px 1px !important; position: static;">discovery</span> was made last week in the Polish <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD4" style="background-attachment: scroll !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat !important; background-size: initial !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 204) !important; border-bottom-style: dotted !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline !important; float: none !important; padding: 0px 0px 1px !important; position: static;">town of</span> Przemysl, as a 70-year-old mezuzah scroll was discovered in excellent condition as part of a national initiative to identify homes whose former Jewish owners disappeared in the Holocaust.<br />
As part of the <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD6" style="background-attachment: scroll !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat !important; background-size: initial !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 204) !important; border-bottom-style: dotted !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline !important; float: none !important; padding: 0px 0px 1px !important; position: static;">project</span>, doorways featuring mezuzah niches <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD1" style="background-attachment: scroll !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat !important; background-size: initial !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 204) !important; border-bottom-style: dotted !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline !important; float: none !important; padding: 0px 0px 1px !important; position: static;">bearing</span>witness to the Jewish families who lived there prior to the Holocaust are marked with a certain <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD5" style="background-attachment: scroll !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat !important; background-size: initial !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 204) !important; border-bottom-style: dotted !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline !important; float: none !important; padding: 0px 0px 1px !important; position: static;">color</span> to commemorate the former Jewish residents - all with the permission of the current residents.<br />
Resident Hanna Merlak provided information about the remarkable mezuzah discovery in Przemysl last week according to <em>Virtual Shtetl</em>, after she saw a flat piece of metal mounted diagonally on the home's doorway at Wladycze Street.<br />
Merlak suspected that under the metal other remnants of the mezuzah were concealed, and with permission nails were removed in taking down the metal and revealing the mezuzah niche underneath, which still contained parts of the mezuzah and an intact scroll.<br />
The 70-year-old mezuzah was brought to the Jewish community in Warsaw, and after being inspected it was found to be in a condition allowing usage according to Jewish law. Currently the Jewish residents who owned the home are being searched for.<br />
Helena Czernek and Aleksander Prugar of the Mi Polin studio specializing in Jewish art were involved in the recovery of the mezuzah.<br />
"The parchment seems to be perfectly preserved," said Czernek. "It has been taken care of by <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD3" style="background-attachment: scroll !important; background-clip: initial !important; background-image: none !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat !important; background-size: initial !important; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 204) !important; border-bottom-style: dotted !important; border-bottom-width: 1px !important; cursor: pointer !important; display: inline !important; float: none !important; padding: 0px 0px 1px !important; position: static;">experts</span> on the preservation of monuments of history from the National Museum in Warsaw. We will decide together what to do with that precious piece of Jewish ceremonial art."<br />
Mi Polin studio has been preparing an exhibit of mezuzahs, featuring casts of mezuzahs left from before the Holocaust along with information about the Jewish residents who are thought to have lived in the homes.</div>
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YKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10778564250634479028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293749640163975885.post-82808463797404824462014-12-16T12:47:00.002+01:002014-12-16T12:47:38.512+01:00Judaica: The World's Most Expensive Aron Kodesh<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.christies.com/lotfinderimages/D58551/the_rothschild_torah_ark_a_magnificent_german_silver_and_silver-gilt_t_d5855159h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.christies.com/lotfinderimages/D58551/the_rothschild_torah_ark_a_magnificent_german_silver_and_silver-gilt_t_d5855159h.jpg" height="320" width="246" /></a></div>
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Last week, <a href="http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/lot/the-rothschild-torah-ark-a-magnificent-german-5855159-details.aspx" target="_blank">Christie's sold a famous Rotschild Aron Kodesh</a> for a whopping U$1,565,000, a record for a Judaica item. While it's artwork is truly unique, it's hard to understand how such a piece can fetch these kind of prices. However it seems that the Jewish Judaica world is on the up, and people expect prices only to rise.<br />
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Last month a bought a book in Hebrew about Judaica in the Synagogue - torah mantels, torah ornaments and arks - called <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px;"><a href="https://www.ybz.org.il/?CategoryID=644&ArticleID=3275" target="_blank">מעשה רוקם</a>, </span>from Yaniv Bracha. You can see in this book how these items are easy to find and relatively low in demand, since most of old Judaica items are rather of poor quality. That might explain why an exceptional item like the Rotschild Torah Ark stands out and can fetch such a high bid. Here is the full description:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">By the mid eighteenth century, Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland) had a flourishing Jewish community, with important commercial ties to Western Galicia. The Breslau fairs had been centers of trade for centuries, attended by Jews throughout Eastern Europe. </span> </blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">The Rothschild Torah Ark well represents the wealth of Breslau, and its high baroque style relates to the elaborately decorated interiors of the wooden synagogues in the region. A distinctive style of synagogue architecture developed in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, characterized by imposing but plain pitch-roofed exteriors which concealed contrastingly complex interiors. These interiors, of wooden truss construction, supported multiple vaults, domes, and profusely carved and painted decoration, much of it focused on the Torah Ark. The wooden synagogue interior is considered one of the most outstanding Jewish artistic achievements in Europe. Because the most significant of these synagogues were completely destroyed during the Second World War, carved wooden Torah Arks are almost unknown today. The survival of this example in silver, undoubtedly used for private services in a wealthy household, is phenomenal. </span> </blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">The only other silver Torah Arks of this type known are much later in date. A miniature example made in Vienna in 1783 is now in the Skirball Museum in Los Angeles, and a Polish example of 1838 from the J. Kaufmann Collection in Frankfurt-am-Main was sold in 1955 (see J. Gutmann, </span><i style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Jewish Sanctuary</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">, Leiden, 1983, pl. xxxii and Parke-Bernet, New York, 17 March 1955, lot 124). The back plate of a silver Hanukkah Lamp made in Galicia in 1787 takes its form very literally from carved wooden Torah Arks in that region (illustrated in Vivian B. Mann and Norman L. Kleeblatt,</span><i style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Treasures of the Jewish Museum</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">, New York 1986, p. 110). </span></blockquote>
<br />YKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10778564250634479028noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3293749640163975885.post-47375062049852884002014-12-01T21:03:00.002+01:002016-03-08T23:38:55.095+01:00Column 3 of 214<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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