This video shows a sofer writing a sefer Torah. This sofer has a good hand, writes at a nice pace, and can ask a decent price. But one can also tell how the sefer Torah industry has commercialised the process, allowing for better productivity.
Note the following:
1) The sofer is writing on a light table, which means he does not have to worry about planning the spacing and can just trace over the letters. This saves a lot of time. This also minimises mistakes and saves time of repairs.
2) The quill is a plastic kulmos with a repository, which means you need to dip it into the ink every few lines instead of every few letters. Also you do not need to sharpen it and make new quills. Both of these save time.
3) The klaf today is more refined and smooth, easier to write on. Not uneven and rough like the old days. I'm sure lots of "mei klaf" is added. This enhances writing speed and quality of writing.
4) Double sirtut. Again this enhances quality and neatness.
5) The tagin / …
There is one shita in the rishonim [not accpeted as hallacha] that shatnez getz as well as kotzo shel yud of RT must be csidran.
ReplyDeleteThe hallacha is that kotz RT [and kal v'chomer] tagim dont have to written csidran.
I believe the Tikkun Tefillin says that lechatchila one should completely finish each letter before moving on to the next. Also, he says that he "relies on Rashi" and fixes kutzo shel yud, implying that according to RT it is a problem of shelo kesidran. However, we don't pasken like this, as R' Moshe said.
ReplyDeleteYasher Koiach !
ReplyDeleteAlso, in his famous letter to the Sofer R' Moshe from Shedlitz, the Brisker Rav asks him not to make any corrections to a letter once he goes on to the next letter. See the Lishkas HaKodesh journal vol. 2 page 44 and the footnotes there.
ReplyDeleteIn all the cases that our Chachamim permit to correct by expressing that it is "MUTAR" - it's always "MUTAR LECHATECHILLAH," unless differently qualified by them. As such, it is perfectly fine to add TAGIM or a KUTZ of Rabennu Tam, etc. after other letters are written. If one wants to be strict and refrain "TAVO ALECHA BERACHA." However, know that such practice is a CHUMRA and not to be taken as normative HALAKHA.
ReplyDeleteIn all the cases that our Chachamim permit to correct by expressing that it is "MUTAR" - it's always "MUTAR LECHATECHILLAH," unless differently qualified by them. As such, it is perfectly fine to add TAGIM or a KUTZ of Rabennu Tam, etc. after other letters are written. If one wants to be strict and refrain "TAVO ALECHA BERACHA." However, know that such practice is a CHUMRA and not to be taken as normative HALAKHA.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the Chumra not to touch a letter after moving on to the next one: in many cases this was prompted by a Chashash that the Sofer may correct something that IS Shelo Kesidran. (I have been asked to do so in some cases, and I refused the job.)
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I had heard that some hold (Brisker??) that the Tagim may not be created before the entire letter is there - some sort of "internal" Shelo Kesidran - based on the Chazal that Moshe found Hashem being "Kosheir Tagim" ONTO the Osiyos - implying that the Os is already written before Hashem applied the Tagim....
Although there is an internal csidran in writing each letter, and this justifies what you wrote about makpid doing the tagin only after finishing the [iykar, the] letter, [in addition to the diyuk from the gemara mentioned].
DeleteThis is only lechatchila, and many sofrim are not makpid on doing the tagin after finishing the whole letter, even lechatchila.
One of my teachers of Safrus joking suggested that maybe one day someone will dream up a chumra of not making tagin until after writing the letter based on that Gemara. It looks like that day has actually arrived.
DeleteI certainly never heard of Briskers being makpid on that.