Torah Scroll

As a part of the project, the museum intends to have paleographers identify the specific script used in each scroll. This field is a placeholder for those results once that research takes place.

This is the number of scribes whose handwriting can be identified in a single scroll. Torah scrolls are typically written by a single scribe, however, sometimes a scroll needs repair later in its life, and other scribes do this work. Additionally, a number of the scrolls in the collection are composites, where parts of several scrolls are sewn together to create the appearance of a single scroll. These contain handwriting from multiple scribes, and the text is not continuous.

Each scribe identified in a scroll is numbered, and the location of their work within the Torah scroll is listed by chapter and verse.

Torah scrolls are often affixed to wooden rollers to assist with reading through the scrolls. These rollers, known as atzei ḥayyim, “trees of life,” may have donation plaques or other information on them. If the scroll has no rollers, the entry is marked N/A.

The scroll’s condition is rated excellent, good, fair, or poor.

A Torah scroll is written on multiple parchment sheets that have been sewn together. This field records the number of text blocks (columns of text) that appear on the individual sheets in the scroll. If the number is not regular, the different values are listed

This notes the number of lines of text that appear in the text blocks. This is generally uniform within a scroll.

There is a tradition to begin almost every column in the Torah with the letter vav, known as vavei ha-‘amudim. In addition, there are different traditions about certain words always appearing at the top of columns whose first letters spell out the acronym ביה שמו.

The Song of the Sea (Exodus 15:1–18) is presented in Torah scrolls in a special poetic format known as a “brickwork” pattern. There are different traditions regarding the number of lines that appear before and in the song. This field records the number of lines before and in the song.

The Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:1–43) is presented in Torah scrolls in a special poetic format, with the lines split in two and a space down the center. There are different traditions regarding the number of lines that appear before and in the song. This field records the number of lines before and in the song.

This field notes any additional special spacing or layout features in the scroll.

There are two traditions about how to spell a word in this verse: either as דקא or דקה. This field notes which tradition the scroll follows.

There are two traditions about the first word in this verse. It is either ויהי or ויהיו.

This field records any objects in the Museum Collections related to the scroll, such as a cover.

There are a variety of traditions about how to write certain letters with unusual shapes and flourishes. This field records whether the scroll contains any such letters.

There is a scribal tradition of writing seven specific letters, שעטנז גץ, with decorations known as tagin. This field records whether the scroll has these decorations.

These fields detail the correction techniques used by scribes to repair the scroll.

These fields detail the correction techniques used by scribes to repair the scroll.

These fields detail the correction techniques used by scribes to repair the scroll.

These fields detail the correction techniques used by scribes to repair the scroll.