דילוג לתוכן

פראג · כ״ח חשון תשפ״ז

שבת השבוע · 16:02–17:11

סמל

Torah scroll

סֵפֶר תּוֹרָהSefer Torah
ממתין לבדיקת מומחים

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

התרגום לעברית בהכנה. מוצג הטקסט המקורי.

01

מקור

מקרא

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

הלכה

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

משמעות

הלכה

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

שימוש

הלכה

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

מנהג⁂ לאימות

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

התפתחות היסטורית

מנהגאשכנזיםספרדיםמזרחים

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.

היסטוריהארצות צ׳כיה⁂ לאימות

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

מסורות קשורות

מנהג

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

מנהג

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

שאלות נפוצות

How long does it take to write a Torah scroll?

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

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.⁂ לאימות

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.

מקורות

ספרות משנית

  1. 9Jewish Museum in Prague text ↗

ראו גם