How many lines to a column? It varies. Torah scrolls tend not to have fewer than 42 lines per column. Some Megillot will have eleven lines per column, so as to have the Sons of Haman occupy a column to themselves but still have only one on each line. The Keset ha-Sofer: It is the […]
Mazal tovs to the Women’s Torah Project on finishing their Torah! “The first Torah written and embellished by an international community of women,” as they say. I’ve written three Torahs at this point, so I know well how nice it feels to finish writing a Torah. The Women’s Torah Project started about ten years ago […]
In Little Letters in Eicha, parts one and two, I talked about lamed, ayin, and tet. The little lamed was serving as a reminder-flag, telling you to recall other, relevant, words beginning with lamed. The little ayin had to do with numerical symbolism. The little tet had numerical symbolism and reminder-flagging, all of it connected […]
This eBay item makes me want to cry. It’s advertising a “Torah Scroll 400 Years Old Approx 10.8 Feet Long” and you can see from the picture that something’s seriously, seriously wrong. People have been selling pieces of sifrei Torah on eBay for years. They get old sifrei Torah, hack them into pieces, and sell […]
Well, that was fun. An afternoon at Hadar working with one of my accomplices apprentices on Elementary Proofreading. No, I don’t really have apprentices. Just the occasional afternoon teaching here and there; the sort of thing that I would do more of if I had apprentices. Anyway, we were doing some sheets of a sefer […]
Another interesting titbit from Eisenberg, absolutely courtesy of Gabriel, because Jen is not in the habit of reading long Hebrew introductions to random books, and Gabriel is. Remember that Eisenberg dissed Edomites, and said that they were sexually iniquitous. Well, there is an “Important Disclaimer” (מודעה רבה) in the front of the book: To anyone […]
Joint post from Jen and Gabriel Part 1 – Gabriel writes: When Moses sends messengers to the King of Edom, requesting passage for the Israelites through his land, their message includes the following line: נעברה נא בארצך, לא נעבר בשדה ובכרם ולא נשתה מי באר May we please pass through thy land? we will not […]
A couple of days ago, I said this episode would deal with considered selection of wires and strings – that is to say, how we assess what parts of our halakhic lives are (or should be) immovable, and which parts are more easily adjusted. But then I thought about some stuff, and actually I want […]
Zevahim 107b discusses the concept of Temple zones. The sacrificial cult that was Temple-based Judaism was centred on the Temple. More specifically, the Temple’s courtyards and the walls of Jerusalem define concentric zones in which sacrifices may be offered, particularly holy sacrifices may be eaten, and lesserly holy Temple foods may be eaten (respectively). History: […]
Yesterday, we saw a midrash which links the act of adultery to every single one of the Ten Commandments. I said then that this is showing that halakhot are all interconnected with one another in ways you mightn’t expect, and today we’re going to explore a graphical representation of that idea. Halakhic data points. They […]
