Torah Scrolls
Torah scrolls are still made in exactly the same way they have always been – written in HebrewThe language of the Jewish people and of Israel. Hebrew is also used more generally to mean the culture of the Jewish people (ie. Hebrew calendar). by hand, by a ‘sofer’ (scribe), using a quill and special ink, on parchment (animal skin). Most Ashkenazi scribes use a feather quill pen, whilst most Sephardi scribes use a more ancient type of quill pen made from a reed. This is a long and delicate process and it takes at least a year to create a full scroll. It is considered disrespectful to erase the name of God, so if a scribe makes a mistake on certain words, they have to start that whole section again!
There is no punctuation and no vowel notation marks (little markers which normally appear around HebrewThe language of the Jewish people and of Israel. Hebrew is also used more generally to mean the culture of the Jewish people (ie. Hebrew calendar). letters) in a Torah scroll, so people who want to read from a scroll have to learn how to and practise.
In most synagogues you will find printed copies of the Torah in book format (usually with both punctuation and translation) called a ḥumash so people can follow along easily.
Torah scrolls are kept in a special cupboard at the front of the synagogue called an Aron Hakodesh (holy ark). In some countries Torah scrolls have soft, fabric covers, and in others they have hard, rounded cases.
They are decorated with beautiful covers and sometimes silver and gold decorations, including a yadA pointer used when reading from the Torah, often in the shape of a hand. (Literally means ‘hand’.) (hand) used as a pointer to follow the text. People do not touch the writing with their fingers – not only to keep the Torah scroll clean, but also as a sign of respect.
Jewish communities read a chapter of the Torah in synagogue every week, (and on some festivals) so that every year, the entire Torah is read. (In some Progressive communities the cycle of reading the whole Torah is every three years.)
Finishing reading the whole Torah is celebrated by a festival called Simḥat TorahA festival in Autumn, celebrating completing reading the whole Torah, and starting again at the beginning. (Rejoicing of the Torah) in the autumn. Part of the ceremony is to roll the whole Torah scroll back to the beginning, to be read again!
