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All STa"M (Acronym for Seforim -- or books, Tefillin, and Mezuzot) are written on animal hide parchment, or klaf, prepared in sanctity expressly for the purpose of being used for Holy Scriptures. Like everything used in the Holy Scribal Arts, the klaf must be from a species which is kosher, fitting to be eaten by a Jew.
The ink, or diyo, likewise, is prepared according to ancient recipes to unyielding specifications. The quill, or kulmus, should also be cut from the feather of a kosher bird, often a turkey.
The form of the lettering itself is dictated by ancient tradition as recorded in the Talmud and subject to various restrictions regarding the order in which the letters are written as well as the extent to which erasures may be made.
While a scroll may be kosher according to the minimal requirements of accepted halacha, you may be interested in purchasing a scroll which is more mehudar than the minimum, so as to satisfy the mitzva according to more opinions. (Read an example of this regarding Megillat Esther.) It pays to become educated as to what makes a scroll b'dieved, l'chatchila or mehudar as the person behind the counter at your local Judaica store may not know any better than you do. Learn what questions to ask and take time to confirm the answers.
Click here to read Ten Invisible Reasons to buy direct from a Sofer you trust!
The various grades in the price of a scribes work will depend on:
A) whether the klaf is hand or machine processed.
B) the halachic reliability of the scribe and his reputation as a G-d fearing Jew.
C) the beauty of the writing, in keeping with the precept of "This is my G-d and I will glorify Him."
To view varying grade samples of writing in mezuzot, click here.
After learning a little more about how careful one must be with the writing of parchments, come learn more about Rabbi Tave and his philosophy as a sofer.
To view Rabbi Tave's certification from the Vaad Mishmereth Stam, click here.
Click here to order your Torah Scroll now!
A Torah Scroll is typically written in approximately 42 lines per column, 245 columns. It takes an average scribe most of a year, letter by 304,805 letters, to complete a Torah Scroll. It is read in the synagogue several times a week, particularly on the Sabbath and festivals.
While a Torah Scroll need not be written in order like tefillin or mezuzot and mistakes are "easily" corrected, there could literally be thousands of various kinds of errors (eg. spelling mistakes, contact between letters, intermingling of letters, misshapen letters), a single occurrence of any one of which would render the entire scroll invalid or at least of dubious validity. Even having been through a computer check doesn't guarantee that the scroll is free of errors.
One of the 613 Mitzvot is to write your own Torah Scroll. If you don't know how to do so yourself, you may hire someone to write it for you and gain the same merit. However, as commissioning a Torah Scroll is a very long process involving not a small sum of money, I ask you to submit your request on the order form and I will call you to discuss your needs and expectations.
Click here to order your Torah Scroll now!
You can also learn to read from a Torah scroll according to the cantillations at the Tikun Tov Leining page.
Tefillin
Click here to order your Tefillin now!
Tefillin are made by inserting 4 specific portions, or parshiot, from the Torah written on klaf into black leather boxes, or batim. Read those portions here. Many people mistakenly think that the Tefillin are the
black boxes and are not especially careful about the quality of the parshiot inside. This is a graven error as the mitzvah is far more dependent on the quality of the parshiot and the G-d fearing nature of the scribe who writes them.
The writing in tefillin must be extremely small and the klaf extremely thin so that the parshiot can fit inside the batim, requiring great skill on the part of the scribe. For this reason, proper tefillin parshiot can be rather expensive.
Another very significant differences between Tefillin and Mezuzot compared to other scrolls is that the letters must be written in the order in which they appear in the Torah. As the rules regarding the writing of tefillin and mezuzot are very complicated and it is often impossible to see after the fact whether they were written correctly, it is essential to buy only from a scribe and/or inspector whom you have investigated thoroughly and for whom you have references from a halachic authority who is regularly involved in STa"M.
Click here to read Ten Invisible Reasons to buy direct from a Sofer you trust!
The Chatam Sofer (Rabbi Moses Sofer, 1762 - 1839) contrasts the mitzvah of tefillin to that of kosher food. Even if one buys and eats non-kosher meat today, he has a new opportunity tomorrow. Tefillin are an investment for a lifetime. Skimping on lower quality tefillin could result in thousands of blessings in vain and missing a daily mitzvah for years.
As many issues are involved in ordering the right pair of tefillin for you, I ask you to submit your request on the order form and I will call you to discuss your needs and expectations.
Click here to order your Tefillin now!
Click here to order your mezuzah now!
A mezuzah is a scroll of parchment containing the first two paragraphs of the Sh'ma, then rolled up and affixed to the doorpost, as per the Torah verses contained within the mezuzah. Some people mistakenly think the mezuzah is the tube used to contain and protect the parchment, but this is only the bayit, or house, and is only to protect the klaf inside and contributes nothing to the mitzvah. In many homes in Israel, the parchment is simply wrapped in plastic and embedded in the cement of the doorway or simply taped to the doorframe.
I heard once of a stunning mezuzah case which held the parchment suspended magnetically in the right position, but not attached to the doorpost, hence missing the mitzvah of being written "on the doorposts".
A very significant difference between Mezuzot and Tefillin compared to other scrolls is that the letters must be written in the order in which they appear in the Torah. As the rules regarding the writing of tefillin and mezuzot are very complicated and it is often impossible to see after the fact whether they were written correctly, it is essential to buy only from a scribe and/or inspector whom you have investigated thoroughly and for whom you have references from a halachic authority who is regularly involved in STa"M. I once needed an extra mezuzah and opted for the less expensive one only to find out years later, when I was training as a scribe, that it was invalid from the day it was written.
Click here to read Ten Invisible Reasons to buy direct from a Sofer you trust!
Common sizes in the USA are 10cm (4in) or smaller. Unfortunately, these small sizes make the hand-written letters as small or smaller than those of tefillin (see above) and are usually invalid. In Israel 12-15cm is a more common size.
In order to ensure that you understand and receive exactly what you want, I ask you to submit your request on the order form and I will call you to discuss your needs and expectations.
Click here to order your mezuzah now!
To order a 45cm "Mezuzah Fit For a King", click here!
To view various qualities of writing in mezuzot, click here.
Click here to order your Prophets now!
The prophets are read in the synagogue for the Haftarah. In 168 B.C.E., when the Jews were under the rule of the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes, they were forbidden from reading the Torah and chose related sections from the prophets as a substitute. When they were again able to read the Torah, they kept reading the haftarah as well.
Many synagogues prefer to beautify the mitzvah by reading from a complete scroll. According to some opinions, the reader can only satisfy the community's obligation when reading from parchment. When reading from a book, he performs a mitzvah only for himself.
A scroll of the Prophets is generally written in a similar fashion to that of a Torah scroll, typically 42 lines per column, and is attached to two poles called atzei chaim.
In order to ensure that you understand and receive exactly what you want, I ask you to submit your request on the order form and I will call you to discuss your needs and expectations.
Click here to order your Prophets now!
Click here to order your megillah now!
The megillot are the most common of the books of the Bible to be owned by an individual, in particular Megillat Esther which is read on Purim. Other megillot are: The Song of Songs -- read on the intermediate Sabbath of Passover; Ruth -- read on Shavuos, Ecclesiates -- read on the intermediate Sabbath of Succot, and Eicha -- read on the Ninth of Av.
Except for Esther, megillot are generally written in a similar fashion to that of a Torah scroll with 42 lines per column, except for usually being attached to only one pole, or eitz chaim.
Megillat Esther is commonly written with 28, 21 or 11 lines per column, although other arrangements can also be custom ordered.
It is commonly believed that the HaMelech megillot are very mehudar or special, arranged to have the word "HaMelech" -- The King -- appear at the tops of columns as a hidden reference to the King of Kings. However, this has no clear halachic source and, in particular on the 11-line arrangement, can cause havoc by stretching and shrinking the words to manage the layout of words in clear violation of the
The 11-line Megillat Esther is widely regarded as preferable as it enables the portion of the Ten Sons of Haman, 11 lines on a column by themselves, to be written in the same size letters as the rest of the megillah in accordance with the ruling of the Vilna Gaon.
Many other aspects mentioned in the Shulchan Oruch special to Megillat Esther are commonly left out of the standard scrolls and can be special ordered to make your mitzvah much more special.
Learn about how adding less than an inch of extra margins could make your Megillat Esther more mehudar.
In order to ensure that you understand and receive exactly what you want, I ask you to submit your request on the order form and I will call you to discuss your needs and expectations.
Click here to order your megillah now!
Pitum Ketoret
Click here to order your Pitum Ketoret now!
Pitum Ketoret is that portion of the Written and Oral Laws which instructs on the incense offering in the Temple. It is regarded as a segulah, or charm, for increased prosperity for one who reads it carefully, with understanding and proper intention.
While the Shulchan Oruch forbids voluntary writing of individual portions of the Torah (to exclude mezuzot and tefillin), some authorities permit the Pitum Ketoret since its aspect of a segulah gives the writing an aspect of a mitzva..
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