I am a sofer, which literally means writer in Hebrew, and I am about to continue my ongoing laborious task of writing a book of Torah, a Sefer Torah. This is no ordinary book, nor is it written on paper, yet we use it all the time. Need another clue? We will be dancing with it on the upcoming festival of Simchat Torah. It is the Torah scroll, perhaps the most Holiest of physical objects in our faith and it is an exact replica of the very same scroll Moshe our teacher wrote following the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai over 3,300 years ago. Contained in it are the words, thought, and will of G-d, the basis of our entire raison d’etre as a nation, a moral foundation for all mankind. So valued and precious is this sacred object, that the laws surrounding its care and treatment border on considering it as if it were a living being with a soul of its own. We celebrate a Torah’s coming into existence or arrival to a community with great joy, and G-d forbid, in a fire, we’ll risk our lives to save it, and Heaven forfend, should it be damaged beyond repair, the grieving community will bury it with a proper funeral.

It is with this knowledge that the reader will now understand the opening statements of this article. But how is a Sefer Torah written, with what materials, what makes it ‘living’, and when is it not ?

I will answer the last question first. The Sefer Torah, just as a living being, is made up of its physical material, but is only ‘alive’ when its ‘soul’ is united with it. Just as there are laws of nature that dictate what needs must be met to maintain life, such as oxygen, food, proper connections throughout the body etc., so too, must certain laws be met and maintained for the Torah to be kosher. The meaning of ‘kosher’ is ‘fit for use’, and only when the Sefer Torah is kosher, may the community fulfill its obligation to read from it and make blessings over it.

The tools of the scribe are simple and the ones I use are the same as have been used over the centuries by my predecessors. A duck or goose feather, or a bamboo reed, finely cut and honed to a surgically precise tip is the pen I use to create the individually formed letters. The ink is formulated with the same three basic natural ingredients that have been used over the centuries. The surface is parchment, made of the skin of a kosher animal that has been cleaned, treated, and finely sanded to an ivory smooth finish. The parchment is cut to size and lined. When the work on a number of sheets is completed, the scribe will sew the sheets together at the ends with a thread made of kosher animal sinews.

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There remains a fifth and most important ingredient that is intrinsic if not fundamental to the creation of a kosher Torah scroll. The intent and concentration of the scribe throughout the entire process must be in accordance with the laws governing the writing of a holy article, whether it be a Sefer Torah, Tefillin, or Mezuzah scrolls. The thoughts a scribe has while writing, do in fact effect the validity of that writing, and indeed the entire Torah, for if even one letter in the Torah is written without the required accompanying intent and concentration (kavanot), the entire Sefer Torah is passul (invalid).

There are 27 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, each having its own particular form and details which must be correctly inscribed. No less than 165 different regulations govern the shapes of these letters, yet if even one of them is incorrectly formed, the entire Torah is rendered Passul. The laws governing the creation of a Sefer Torah are many and detailed, and the scribe must be well versed in them, but even more importantly, he must be conscientious, and G-d fearing, for only the scribe himself can be sure if the writing was done with the correct kavanah. It is for this reason that one’s choice of scribe must be well recommended and researched when one is considering the purchase of ‘STaM’ (Sefer Torah, Tefillin and Mezuzahs).

While a certain artistic talent and skill is necessary to write an aesthetically pleasing script, the more important factor of conscientiousness on the part of the scribe, is what is really sought after by the serious Torah connoisseur and purchaser.

Even before a single letter is put down, the factor of kavanah comes into play. From the time the animal skin begins being prepared for use, whether it be for a Torah page, or for a Tephillin or mezuzah scroll, this process must be carried out with that expressed purpose in mind and must be vocalized as well ( L’shem Mitzvah). When the lines are individually embossed on the parchment as a guide upon which the scribe will write, they too must be done with the expressed intention of L’shem Mitzvah.

When the scribe dips his pen into the inkwell, he must intone to himself that the letters he is about to form, the words that will result are all for the sake of the Mitzvah of Torah (or Tephillin or Mezuzah).

On top of that, when the scribe is about to write one of the Holy Names of G-d, he must again intone that the Names are Holy and that they are being written with that knowledge and express purpose in mind.

Furthermore, an additional requirement is that each letter be correctly written in the exact sequence as it appears in the original. This law is referred to as the law of ‘Kesidran’. This law is one that poses great difficulties for if one were to mistakenly omit a letter and only discover the mistake later, after having written a number of lines, the only way to correct the mistake would be to erase all successive lines to the point where the error ocurred and only then begin anew. The obvious difficulty with this law is that if the scribe wrote one of the Holy Names of G-d following his mistake, he would be forbidden to erase backward to make the correction, and the entire page would then be rendered Passul and uncorrectable.

If all this leaves one in wonderment regarding the feasibility of producing a kosher Torah, the Rabbis of the Talmud themselves agonized over this last problem. They came to the conclusion that some opening must be found regarding the law of ‘Kesidran’, otherwise we would never have a Kosher Torah Scroll! This law however, remains in force as it applies to the writing of Tefillin or Mezuzah scrolls.

Every reliable scribe will have a collection of uncorrectable Mezuzahs, and ironically, one can measure the honesty of a scribe by requesting to see his non-kosher Mezuzahs! If he has none, one might wonder if and how the mistakes were ever corrected, for everyone will make some mistakes at some point in time.

One can understand that the temptation would be great for a scribe to simply make a correction in the place where a mistake occurs without erasing the successive lines and no one would be able to tell if the correction was done correctly. The Mezuzah would appear to be Kosher but would be as unkosher as a one printed on paper. Whether it is done out of ignorance or greed, the bottom line is that the article bought by the unsuspecting buyer is as valid as a burglar alarm that does not sound the alarm when triggered!

Many people understand the importance of having a Mezuzah to protect their homes. Just as the sign on the doorposts protected the Jewish people from harm, when the Angel of Death ‘Passed-over’ their homes in Egypt. It is unfortunate that many place more importance on the design and appearance of the outer casing rather than on the infinitely more significant contents. I once received a call with a request for ‘inserts’ for ‘mezuzahs’ ! It is a matter of understanding our priorities. Do we pay more attention to the core of the matter, or merely to the superficial externalities that surround it?

As an artist, I can easily relate to the idea of giving life to a heretofore inanimate object, albeit on a more physical level. Compare the blank face of the canvas before Rembrandt would apply his brush, to one of the many self portraits that he created. In his own way, Rembrandt created life and remains alive over 300 years later.

In my charcoal work "The Reassuring Touch", I have sought not only to bring life to a blank piece of paper, but also to convey the warmth and security the old Yemenite Jew feels as he touches the Mezuzah on his doorpost. As his grandaughter watches with amusement the ancient custom of acknowledgment of the Mezuzah, it is an act of deep feeling that she herself will emulate and thus pass on to her own children and grandchildren.

And so, whether it be the Tefillin that we personally don as an everlasting testimonial and connection to G-d and the Jewish people, or it be the Mezuzahs that permeate, our homes with the holiness and protection they bestow. Whether it be the ultimate sanctity of the Sefer Torah that binds us as a community and as a people.

May it be G-d’s will that this year, as we dance with the Torah in our arms, it be the last year in this exile with the speedy arrival of The righteous Mashiach, Amen.

Rabbi Elie Benzaquen is a Sofer, artist and animator, and currently resides in Ottawa, Ontario.

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