Hebrew Voices #102 – The Scribe’s Toolbox
In this episode of Hebrew Voices, The Scribe’s Toolbox, a Jewish scribe explains the ancient methods used since the time of Moses, to hand write a Torah scroll. We explore the different types of parchment, how a quill is turned … Continue reading →
In this episode of Hebrew Voices, The Scribe's Toolbox, a Jewish scribe explains the ancient methods used since the time of Moses, to hand write a Torah scroll. We explore the different types of parchment, how a quill is turned into a precise writing implement, and the surprising ingredients in scribal ink. He also explains the ritual observance involved in writing the name of God and how to fix scribal errors. If you have been following my research of thousands of Hebrew manuscripts and have been wondering what exactly goes into writing one, you need to watch this episode!
I look forward to reading your comments!
Podcast Version Transcript
Hebrew Voices #102 - The Scribe's Toolbox
You are listening to Hebrew Voices with Nehemia Gordon. Thank you for supporting Nehemia Gordon's Makor Hebrew Foundation. Learn more at NehemiasWall.com.
Nehemia: You’ve broken my heart! Everyone knows that you do it with the barb on…
Mordechai: No, you don’t, because it…
Nehemia: So, you don’t do it?
Mordechai: No, you don’t, you don’t. And the reason being – and there is halakha around this, right? So, imagine I’m sitting down to write. So, what is going to happen with the quill?
Nehemia: It’s going to go up your nose.
Mordechai: And what’s going to happen?
Nehemia: You’ll sneeze?
Mordechai: You’ll sneeze, and what happens then?
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Comments
Wonderful, now we have an inkling of what you’re seeing in all the manuscripts you study for us! Thanks be to Yehovah!
Absolutely fascinating!!
Very interesting and appreciated. Todah Rabah.
I’ve never seen you in a black crocheted kippa!
This is definately one of my top 20 favorite H.V. There is a Definate,Discernable Momentum at this Point, Nehemia. Mazel tov and todah. Marc thankyou, were so blessed to be invited in and shown this important stuff. I’m honoured.
I loved this, but I’m definitely going to have to watch it again with the captions turned off. It was hilarious (and, of course, quite distracting) to see what the auto-transcription was turning out for the captions. The “software” (sofer), “mommy” (Maimonides), “crystal meth” (Krystal Nacht), and one that starts with a ‘b’ and rhymes with “witch”.
Wow! This stuff is so interesting and so fascinating! I wish the whole concept of being in the proper frame of mind to perform Yehovah’s service was something more people were aware of!
According to Leviticus 11:18, the swan isn’t a kosher bird, so why is a swan quill allowable for writing a scroll?
I was wondering if the wife of this gentleman, who is a scribe herself, was the same lady I saw in this documentary called “Soferet”? The lady in the documentary was born and raised in British Columbia, Canada, (not too far from where I grew up!). It was such an amazing story of faith and determination. Because she was a woman, nobody wanted to take her on as a student but she eventually found a scribe in Jerusalem who would.
This brings up the Israelite Kings who had to write the Torah, the valid meaning of kosher and so many other items of interest,
The joy and reverence in doing this work shines out and the attention to accuracy. I’ve been reading about the Codex Sinaiticus and there is no comparison.
Not overly technical, yet attention-grabbing. Amazing care in preserving the Torah should make us all stare…at His text much more. Also, thanks for the supplemental links.
Nehemia: Just fascinating. So rich in knowledge. I have to go over all of it again and again. I was in Qumran in Israel and I was standing in the room that had been excavated from the sands of time to find a desk with inkwell. The Essene’s transcribed the Dead Sea Scrolls on this desk before they stored them in pots to put in the caves nearby. These are supposed to be in the Israeli Museum which I hadn’t been to. So the Dead Sea Scrolls had to be constructed the same as this man is detailing?
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