Scribe Benjamin Cohen working on a Sefer Torah
STaM--Sifrei Torah, Tefillin and Mezuzot
STaM is an acronym for three of the sacred Jewish scribal items--Sifrei
Torah (scrolls containing the first five books of the Bible), Tefillin
(phylactaries) and mezuzot--a parchment on which portions of the
Shema Yisrael prayer are written, and which Jews are commanded to
place on their doorposts. STaM must be written on parchment in black ink
by a Torah-observant man. The writing must be legible to a child just learning
to read Hebrew and must conform to standards described in the Tor,
a book of Jewish law. Within those criteria, there is room for variation
in style and artistic impact.
STaM is written by hand on parchment, using special ink and quills. In
addition, mezuzot and tefillin must be written k'sidran--letter
by letter, in order. If one letter is incorrect or unrecognizable, the
entire item loses its ritual value. It must be placed aside for burial;
it may not be corrected. Sifrei Torah and megillot may be written out of
order.
The parchment may only be made from the skin
of those animals considered kosher--acceptable under Jewish dietary laws.
The skins are soaked in lye and water and then stretched in frames, dried,
and pumiced. The parchment is then ruled and cut to specifications. Ink
for writing STaM must be black. Most soferim (scribes) use an ink
made of tanic acid (derived from oak galls), iron sulfate, gum arabic and
lamp black.
The Scroll of Esther must be written in black ink on parchment, however,
illumination of the border areas is permissible.
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