Writing a Sefer Torah | Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff | Beit Midrash

Torah Portion and Tanach
Nitzavim

קטגוריה משנית

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Question #1: Double Torah?
Mr. Yoreish would like to know: "My late father owned a sefer Torah, which is now mine. Do I have a mitzvah to write another sefer Torah?"

Question #2: Special Birthday Present
"My father’s friends want to surprise him with a very special birthday gift -- a sefer Torah. Someone told me that if they do this, my father will not fulfill the mitzvah of writing a sefer Torah. Is this true?"

Question #3: Torah Online
Encyclopedia Brownstein asks: "Now that anyone can purchase access to thousands of seforim online, am I required to purchase these services so that I can study from them?"

Introduction:
The last of the 613 mitzvos of the Torah, as counted by the Sefer Hachinuch, requires each male Jew to write a sefer Torah (Sanhedrin 21b). This is derived from the posuk, Ve’ata kisvu lochem es hashirah hazos velamdo es bnei Yisroel (Devorim 31:19), which is understood by Chazal to mean: "And now, write for yourself a sefer Torah that includes this song [that begins with the word Ha’azinu] and [with this Torah] teach the Children of Israel" (see Rambam, Hilchos Sefer Torah 7:1).

A sefer Torah must be written with utmost accuracy. There are myriads of laws that govern how the parchment must be prepared and how the letters and words must be written. Each word must be spelled exactly the way it is spelled in that place in our sifrei Torah, notwithstanding that certain letters, such as vav and yud, are at times included and in other places omitted. Extensive rules govern the spacing of the letters and words, and even how the parchments of the sefer Torah are sewn together.

The columns of the sefer Torah must be straight and neat, and the places that are to be written as poems, such as Az Yoshir and the song of Ha’azinu, must be written in a special way, which the Gemara (Megillah 16b) calls ari’ach al gabei leveinah, literally, "a half brick on top of a brick" -- the lines alternate in a pattern somewhat reminiscent of the way bricks are used in construction. If these poems are not written this way, the sefer Torah is not kosher (Shabbos 103b).

No Chapters
There are no chapter headings in a sefer Torah and no breaks to delineate the beginnings and ends of chapters or pesukim. Furthermore, a sefer Torah does not have any musical notes or signs, usually called taamei hamikra (in Hebrew) or trop (in Yiddish), to show the baal keriyah how to chant the passage. The only punctuation in the sefer Torah are two types of paragraph endings, one called pesuchah, literally, "open" and the other called sesumah, "closed." The Rambam and the Rosh disagree what is the correct way to demarcate these stops. Since a sefer Torah in which a pesuchah appears like a sesumah or vice versa is invalid (Shabbos 103b), this dispute complicates writing a sefer Torah that is kosher according to all opinions. To avoid this problem, the accepted practice is that pesuchos or sesumos are never begun towards the end of a line or at its beginning. Since both the Rambam and the Rosh agree how to create a pesuchah or a sesumah that falls in the middle of a line, we always write sifrei Torah in such a way that all pesuchah or sesumah endings fall out this way. This is one of the reasons why sofrim use copies of a tikun or a photocopy of a sefer Torah to guarantee that the pesuchos and sesumos of the sefer Torah always end up in the middle of a line, which avoids the above-mentioned halachic dispute. (The dispute between the Rambam and the Rosh concerning how to make pesuchos and sesumos also affects the laws of how to write tefillin and mezuzos, but this is not our topic.)

Female Sofros
Women are exempt from the mitzvah of writing a sefer Torah, just as they are exempt from the mitzvah of studying Torah (Rambam; Sefer Hachinuch; however, see Shaagas Aryeh #35 who opines that women are obligated to write a sefer Torah. However, at the end of #36, the Shaagas Aryeh concludes that women are not obligated to write a sefer Torah, but for a different reason than that cited by the Rambam.) Most authorities rule that one cannot fulfill the mitzvah of writing a sefer Torah with one written by a woman (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 281:3); however, Derishah (Yoreh Deah 281:1) concludes that one does fulfill the mitzvah with a sefer Torah written by a woman.

The King
The Jewish king is required to write or arrange the writing of an additional sefer Torah; aside from one that he wrote before he became king, he is required to write another sefer Torah after he becomes king (Sanhedrin 21b; Rambam, Hilchos Sefer Torah 7:2). His new sefer Torah is checked by the Beis Din Hagadol for accuracy by comparing it to the sefer Torah kept in the Beis Hamikdash that was written by Moshe Rabbeinu (Rambam, Hilchos Sefer Torah 7:2). The new sefer Torah follows him constantly, even when he eats and holds court (Rambam, Hilchos Sefer Torah 7:2). The only time it is not in his presence is when he sleeps, bathes or uses the comfort facilities (Rambam, Hilchos Sefer Torah 7:2). If the king had no sefer Torah before he became king, he writes two sifrei Torah.

Inherited a Torah
Mr. Yoreish would like to know: "My late father owned a sefer Torah, which is now mine. Do I have a mitzvah to write another sefer Torah?"

To quote the words of the Gemara: Even though someone’s ancestors left a sefer Torah, it is a mitzvah to write one on his own (Sanhedrin 21b). The authorities disagree whether this means that one who inherited a sefer Torah did not fulfill the mitzvah, or whether it means that there is an additional mitzvah to write one’s own sefer Torah, notwithstanding that owning the inherited sefer Torah fulfilled the mitzvah.

The Sefer Hachinuch explains that writing a new sefer Torah increases the number and availability of sifrei Torah, which is why the Torah requires everyone to write his own. Furthermore, it is usually easier and more enjoyable to study from a more recently written Torah. Owning one’s own sefer Torah facilitates studying Torah – one who owns a sefer Torah may study it whenever he has time, since he does not need to find a sefer Torah that is not being used.

Writing It Yourself
Someone who hires a sofer to write a sefer Torah fulfills the mitzvah, although it is more praiseworthy for someone to write the sefer Torah himself (Sefer Hachinuch). One who purchases a sefer Torah… is like grabbing a mitzvah from the market. If he wrote it himself, the Torah treats it as if he himself received the Torah directly from Har Sinai. Rav Sheishes said: if he corrected even one letter, it is considered as if he wrote it (Menachos 30a). Thus, someone who hired a sofer to write a sefer Torah should have one letter left unwritten, which the donor writes himself, thereby fulfilling the mitzvah, as if he wrote the whole Torah. It is important to note that the letter should be left unwritten, or at least not written sufficiently to be kosher. Common practice is that the sofer writes an outline of the last letter and leaves for donors and honorees only to fill in the outline. However, the sefer Torah is kosher even when letters are merely outlined; therefore, halachically, the sofer completed the sefer Torah, not the donor, who has therefore not fulfilled the mitzvah of writing the sefer Torah himself.

Special Birthday Present
At this point, let us should discuss one of our opening questions: My father’s friends want to surprise him with a very special birthday gift -- a sefer Torah. Someone told me that if they do this, my father will not fulfill the mitzvah of arranging the writing of a sefer Torah. Is this true?

The question here is if receiving a Torah as a present is similar to inheriting a sefer Torah. According to all authorities, this is not the ideal way to fulfill the mitzvah of writing a sefer Torah, and, according to many, one does not fulfill it at all.

However, if the friends involved are careful, they can help their birthday boy fulfill his mitzvah. All they need to do is not complete the sefer Torah, but present it to him with one letter not yet written. If he can write the letter himself, he fulfills the mitzvah in its most optimal way. If he cannot, but he hires a sofer to write the last letter, he has certainly fulfilled the mitzvah. A third option is to have the sofer write the entire sefer but leave a letter incomplete in a way that it is not valid, and teach father how to connect the broken parts of the letter in a way that makes the letter, and thereby the sefer Torah, kosher.

Lost Torah
If someone’s sefer Torah was lost or stolen, does he lose his mitzvah?

It is always tragic when a sefer Torah is stolen or damaged in a fire or flood. Our question is whether the owner of a sefer Torah that he can no longer use now becomes required again to fulfill the mitzvah of writing a sefer Torah. The question can be explained as follows: Is the mitzvah the writing of a Torah, or is it to be in possession of a Torah that one wrote (or arranged its writing)?

This question is the subject of a dispute among the later authorities (the Acharonim), some contending that once a person has written a sefer Torah, he has now fulfilled the mitzvah, even in the event that it was destroyed or lost afterwards, whereas others rule that, in such cases, the owner is required to write a new sefer Torah (Pischei Teshuvah, Yoreh Deah 270:3).

Donating a Torah
Most people who own sifrei Torah do not keep it in their homes, but, instead, lend it to a shul that uses it. Is it preferred that one loan the Torah to a shul or donate it?
Rabbi Akiva Eiger rules that one should not donate a sefer Torah to the community, because one thereby loses his mitzvah of owning a sefer Torah (quoting Toras Chayim Sanhedrin 21, also quoted in Pischei Teshuvah, Yoreh Deah 270:3). Rabbi Akiva Eiger understands that the mitzvah is to own the sefer Torah.

Selling a Sefer Torah
As a rule of thumb, one may not sell a sefer Torah, since it is an item of kedushah. This is true, even if one already owns many sifrei Torah.

There are a few exceptional situations in which one is permitted to sell a sefer Torah, such as to provide the means with which to study Torah or to get married. The Rema adds that one may sell a sefer Torah for pidyon shevuyim, to redeem captives.

It is forbidden to sell an old sefer Torah in order to use the money to purchase a new one. However, some authorities permit selling an old sefer Torah, if the new sefer Torah that one wishes is already written and available for immediate purchase. In this instance, these authorities permit one to sell the old sefer Torah and immediately hand over the money to purchase the new sefer Torah (Levush, quoted by Shach, Yoreh Deah 270:3). However, the Shach concludes that, even in this situation, it is forbidden to sell an old Torah in order to buy a new one. The dispute between the two opinions is whether one may sell an item of sanctity in order to purchase an item of equal sanctity.

When it is forbidden to sell an old Torah for a new one, it is similarly prohibited to sell a sefer Torah that one inherited in order to use the proceeds to be able to write or purchase a new one. The Chasam Sofer, who rules this way, reasons that since there is no increased kedushah in the new sefer Torah over the old one, there is no legitimate halachic basis to sell the old one (Shu"t Chasam Sofer, Yoreh Deah 254, quoted in Pischei Teshuvah, Yoreh Deah 270:6).

It would seem that if the old one is posul, it would be permitted to sell it to someone who will repair it and return it to use, in order to use the money to purchase a new kosher one. This is because the new one has greater kedushah than does the old one, which is posul.

Acquiring Other Seforim
Is the purpose of the mitzvah of owning a sefer Torah to make sure that one has works of Torah from which to study, or is the mitzvah simply that everyone should actually write his own sefer Torah? The Rosh (Halachos Katanos, Hilchos Sefer Torah, Chapter 1:1) writes that, since no one today uses a sefer Torah for studying, the mitzvah is the acquisition of seforim, such as chumashim, mishnayos, Gemaras, and their commentaries that are used for study. The Beis Yosef (Yoreh Deah, end of 270) explains that the Rosh does not mean that there is no longer a mitzvah of writing a sefer Torah. In the Beis Yosef’s opinion, the Rosh also agrees that the primary mitzvah remains to write a sefer Torah. What the Rosh contends is that one fulfills the mitzvah also by acquiring seforim. This approach to understanding the Rosh is followed by several other early authorities (Levush; Bach; Tosafos Yom Tov).

However, the Tur implies that the Rosh means that there is no mitzvah today of writing a sefer Torah, and this approach is expressed explicitly by the Perishah. In their opinion, the mitzvah of writing a sefer Torah exists only to study from it, and when one will not use the sefer Torah for study, there is no mitzvah to write one, but, instead, the mitzvah is to acquire materials that will be used for Torah study. Notwithstanding the opinions of the Tur and the Perishah to the contrary, the Taz concludes that we should follow the Beis Yosef’s understanding that writing a sefer Torah remains a requirement even today.

There is a third approach to explaining the view of the Rosh, that of the Shaagas Aryeh. He rejects the approach that the mitzvah of writing a sefer Torah exists only to study from it, but, rather, accepts the Beis Yosef’s understanding that there is a mitzvah of writing the Torah for its own sake. The Shaagas Aryeh proves that this must be true because otherwise why, in the era of the Gemara, was someone who inherited a sefer required to write one, when he could have used his inherited Torah for study? This implies that there is a mitzvah of writing a sefer Torah, independent of the need to have means with which to study Torah.

The Shaagas Aryeh notes that the Gemara (Kiddushin 30a) states that we are no longer experts on the correct spelling of all the words in a sefer Torah. On this basis, the Shaagas Aryeh #36 rules that from the time when the amora’im of the Gemara realized that we no longer know the correct spelling of the Torah, we are not required min hatorah to write a sefer Torah, since we may be spelling some of the words incorrectly. However, at the time of the Gemara, there was still a rabbinic requirement to write a sefer Torah to make certain that there were enough sifrei Torah and seforim in existence for people to study. This rabbinic requirement existed as long as people still used sifrei Torah for study. The Rosh is contending that once sifrei Torah are no longer used for study, there is no mitzvah to write sifrei Torah but, instead, the rabbinic mitzvah becomes the acquisition of seforim with which to study.

At this point we can address the question raised above by Encyclopedia Brownstein: Now that one can purchase the ability to access thousands of seforim on the computer, am I required to purchase these services so that I can study from these seforim?"

It would seem to me that since one can purchase the materials he needs to study in the old, bound format, this is not required. However, if one feels that his study of Torah is hampered by not having access to all the seforim that one can now access via a computer, it would seem that Brownstein’s suggestion may have merit. I’ll leave this question for Encyclopedia to discuss with his posek.

Conclusion
According to all approaches we have cited, there is a correlation between the mitzvah of writing a sefer Torah, that of studying Torah, and the requirement to live the entirety of our lives according to Torah and within the parameters established by the Torah. Certainly, this is the most befitting way for the Torah to close its listing of the mitzvos: with a mitzvah whose purpose is to sustain us, so that we conduct our lives in full accordance with the Torah’s guidelines.

This Shiur is published also at Rabbi Kaganof's site

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