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Prague · 28 Cheshvan 5787

Shabbat this week · 16:02–17:11

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Torah scroll

סֵפֶר תּוֹרָהSefer Torah
Awaiting expert review

A handwritten parchment scroll of the Five Books of Moses; the holiest object in the synagogue.

01

Origin

Bible

The Torah relates that Moses wrote down "this Torah" and gave it to the priests and elders, to be placed beside the Ark of the Covenant and read to the people.1,2

Halakhah

From the verse "now write down this song for yourselves" the Talmud derives the commandment that every Israelite write (or have written) a Torah scroll.3,4

02

Meaning

Halakhah

The scroll embodies the covenant between God and Israel. For this reason people stand before it and treat it with reverence; a damaged scroll is buried.5

03

Use

Halakhah

The scroll is written by a sofer (scribe) with a quill and special ink on parchment from a kosher animal, according to precise rules; an error in a single letter can invalidate the scroll.6,7

Minhag⁂ To verify

The Torah is read publicly on Shabbat, on Mondays and Thursdays, on festivals, Rosh Chodesh and fast days. The text is followed not with a finger but with a pointer (yad).8

04

Historical development

MinhagAshkenazimSephardimMizrahim

In Ashkenazi communities the scroll is dressed in a velvet mantle and adorned with a shield and crown; in Sephardi and Mizrahi communities it is kept in a rigid case (tik) and read standing upright.

HistoryCzech lands⁂ To verify

During the Protectorate, scrolls from rural communities in Bohemia and Moravia were collected in Prague. After the war some of them ended up in storage; in the 1960s they were sold to London and, through the Memorial Scrolls Trust, lent to communities around the world.9

05

Related traditions

Minhag

On Simchat Torah the annual cycle of readings is completed and begun again, and people dance in circles with the scrolls (hakafot).

Minhag

The completion of a new scroll (siyum) is a community celebration at which members of the congregation may write in the final letters.

FAQ

How long does it take to write a Torah scroll?

For an experienced scribe, usually many months, up to about a year.⁂ To verify

What happens if a scroll is dropped?

By custom the whole community fasts or gives to charity; this is not a halakhic obligation but an expression of reverence.⁂ To verify

Why is the scroll not touched with the bare hand?

Out of reverence and to protect the writing, a yad is used to point to the text.

Sources

Secondary literature

  1. 9Jewish Museum in Prague text ↗

See also