Sometimes you see letters which look broken, pasul: But don’t freak out. Tilt it up, see what you can see. Candlewax tends to gleam. Candlewax you can generally crack off with a scalpel, or X-acto knife, or a plastic spoon if you’ve really got nothing else handy. Then you can take a blurry picture. A […]
December 16, 2011 – 14:54
I’ve been neglecting you a bit, I’m afraid. This is because I’ve been posting regular posts for my current Torah client at their special blog, and I haven’t had energy to do two lots of posts or to set up proper cross-posting. Check out last week’s post A single mistake invalidates the entire sefer Torah […]
You’re not supposed to write your name on the back of a sefer Torah, just in case you were wondering. What *is* this? And what is it doing scribbled on the back of a sefer torah? By the way, if anyone can decipher these, I’d be delighted to hear about it. I really do wonder […]
You’re merrily checking through a sefer Torah, one in which the scribe tends to underestimate his lines, and has to stretch at the ends to compensate (lines 1, 2, 6, 7). And you see a chunk (lines 3, 4, 5) of squishied-up writing. Why? This usually happens when you accidentally leave words out. Calligraphers have […]
I love RG. RG has been coming to Apprentice with a Sofer on Tuesday nights. She doesn’t count herself as valid to work on a sefer Torah (because she holds that men and women have different halakhic capabilities) so every time we do a new thing, she asks me “Can I do this? Can I […]
When re-inking letters, do not forget and plonk your stupid elbow down on them.
You could be taking my class at Yeshivat Hadar! Or one of the half-dozen other Tuesday night classes which will also be happening. Here’s what mine is going to look like: Apprentice with a Sofer Learn basic Torah repair and maintenance skills which will enable you to keep your community’s Torah scrolls in good working […]
See how the scribe here has adjusted his lines to fit around the hole in his klaf? Rabbi Dan describes this perfectly: “a loving reminder that we live in a very, very wealthy time when we can have perfect klafim in our synagogues, and admiring the sofer who adapted to the needs of the moment.”
Tears in Torahs are scary, people. I know. You see a big tear, you want to STICK IT BACK TOGETHER REALLY HARD so it WON’T TEAR ANY MORE. Nobody could be calm about finding this in their Torah, for instance: But for the love of all things holy, don’t whip out the duck tape and […]
Some repairs you don’t need a sofer for. You just need wood glue. Yes, folks – if your rollers are falling apart, get yourself some wood glue and jolly well stick them back together. Just don’t get the glue on the Torah, but you figured that out already. No scribal training required.
