Torah scroll (Yemenite)

The Yemenite scroll of the Torah is traditionally written on 51 lines to each column, for a total of 226 columns (רכ"ו דפים),[13] a tradition that differs from Ashkenazi and Sephardic scrolls which are almost exclusively made of 42 lines to each column. Unique to Yemenite scrolls, based on what is prescribed in their codices, is that each column concludes with the end of a particular verse and begins with the start of a new verse; never broken in the middle.[14] Each column starts with the opening lines of a new verse, excepting in only six designated places, whose mnemonics are בי"ה שמ"ו (see infra), and excepting in the two prosaic songs (the Song of the Sea and Ha'azinu), where the columns in these places begin in the middle of a verse.[15] These six places (five places when בראשית of Gen. 1:1 is excluded, since it is only used to form the mnemonic) are the only exceptions to the rule, and which practice is intended to ensure uniformity and exactness in the scribal practice and layout in the Sefer Torah throughout all generations. The average width of each column is approximately four finger-breadths, usually 9.3 centimetres (3.7 in), with a space of 3.7 centimetres (1.5 in) between columns. Columns containing the Prosaic Songs are considerably wider to facilitate the writing of the song in its usual format. For the Prosaic Song Ha'azinu, the first column which contains the song is made ca. 14 centimetres (5.5 in) in width, while the second column that concludes the song is made ca. 14.9 centimetres (5.9 in) in width. For the Prosaic Song of the Sea the column measures approximately 14 centimetres (5.5 in) in width. The sheets of parchment used in making the scroll measure approximately 54.7 centimetres (21.5 in) in length (from top to bottom), although varying in width, with at least three columns to each sheet. Most are made with full-grain leather (Heb. ğawīl),[16] that is, leather where the "split" layer has not been removed from it. In Yemen, the custom was to treat the raw hide with a tannin-solution made from the leaves of Acacia etbaica (Arabic: qarāḍ) to ensure the leather's lasting durability. This also gave to the leather a reddish-brown luster. The sheets of parchment were traditionally sewn together with sinews (tendons) taken from the animal's loins (flanks), rather than from the animal's heels (the latter being prescribed by Maimonides).[17]

There are thirteen orthographic traditions in the first category which are peculiar to the Yemenite tradition and which differ from the traditions borne by other groups. The Yemenite arrangement has been published in many sources, the most notable of which being that of the last Chief Rabbi of Yemen, Rabbi Amram Qorah.[18] By a comparative study, the Yemenite tradition in plene and defective scriptum is nearly in complete harmony with that of the Aleppo Codex which was proofread by the masorete, Ben-Asher.[19]

200 year old gevil Yemenite Torah scroll housed at the Rambam Synagogue in Nahalat Ahim, Jerusalem.

The prevailing view is that if there is found a Torah scroll that has not been written as prescribed in all of the above (as bequeathed by the ancients) then that same scroll is invalid (lowered in sanctity) and is considered as merely one of the codices (Heb. ḥūmashin).[37]

Rabbi Yitzhak Razhabi has noted that in the Yemenite Jewish tradition there are over 400 peculiar types of letters (special forms of certain characters) in the Torah and which have been largely adhered to by Yemenite scribes.[38] While these irregular letters do not invalidate a Torah scroll if they had been neglected,[39] the scribes in Yemen still strictly adhered to its practice.

The Large Letters

The Yemenite tradition of writing the Otiyyot Gedolot (Large Letters) in the Torah differs in some respects from other communities, and follows the traditions as they received them from the scribes of old. The following is a list of all the Large Letters found in the Yemenite scroll of the Pentateuch (Five Books of Moses), as published by 17th century Yemenite scribe, Rabbi Yihye Bashiri, in his book, Havatzelet Hasharon:[40]

A sheet of leather parchment (Torah)

Verses	Content	Change
	Genesis (בראשית)
1:1	בראשית[41][42]	The letter "bet" (ב) of "breishit" (בראשית) is written in large script
5:1	זה ספר תולדת אדם[43][44][35]	The letter "semakh"[45] (ס) of "sefer" (ספר) is written in large script
	Exodus (שמות)
34:14	לא תשתחוה לאל אחר[41][46]	The letter "resh" (ר) of "aḥer" (אחר) is written in large script
	Leviticus (ויקרא)
11:42	כל הולך על גחון[41][47]	The letter "waw" (ו) of "ğaḥon" (גחון) is written in large script
13:33	והתגלח ואת הנתק[41][48]	The letter "ğimel" (ג) of "wehithğalaḥ" (והתגלח) is written in large script
	Numbers (במדבר)
14:17	ועתה יגדל נא כח אדני [41][49]	The letter "yod" (י) of "yigdal" (יגדל) is written in large script
27:5	ויקרב משה את משפטן[41][50]	The letter "nun" (נ) of "mishpaṭan" (משפטן) is written in large script
	Deuteronomy (דברים)
6:4	שמע ישראל יי' אלהינו[41]	The letter "ayin" (ע) of "shǝma" (שמע) is written in large script
6:4	יי' אלהינו יי' אחד[41]	The letter "daleth" (ד) of "eḥad" (אחד) is written in large script
11:21	כימי השמים על הארץ[41][44][51]	The letter "ṣadi" (ץ) of "ha'areṣ" (הארץ) is written in large script
22:6	קן צפור[41][44][52][35]	The letter "qof" (ק) of "qen" (קן) is written in large script
29:27	וישלכם אל ארץ אחרת[41][53]	The letter "lamed" (ל) of "wayashlikhem" (וישלכם) is written in large script
32:6	הליי' תגמלו זאת[41][54]	The letter "he" (ה) of "haladonai" (הליי) is written in large script
33:29	אשריך ישראל מי כמוך[41][44][55]	The letter "aleph" (א) of "ashrekha" (אשריך) is written in large script

Unlike the scribal tradition of Ashkenaz and Sepharad which is to make the nun (נ) of נצר חסד לאלפים in Exodus 34:7 of large size, in the Yemenite Jewish tradition the nun is of regular size.[56][35] Rabbi Yihye Bashiri, in his Havatzelet HaSharon, brings down other traditions concerning the writing of large and small letters in the Torah scroll, but which traditions were not practised in Yemen, and therefore ought to be reckoned as his sole opinion (since they are not mentioned by the renowned Yemenite scribe David Benayah, neither are they written in the Hibshoosh Codex, nor mentioned by the last Chief Rabbi of Yemen, Rabbi Amram Qorah, or in the vast majority of Yemenite codices. Rabbi Yihye Bashiri had, apparently, culled these other traditions from the writings of the kabbalists and other rabbinic scholars outside of Yemen, and wished to incorporate them in the Yemenite tradition, but which practices had never taken hold in Yemen.[57][58]

Jewish scribes have preserved a carefully guarded tradition regarding the line arrangements of certain verses, namely, which words are to be written at the forefront of a line, and which words are to be written at the end of the same. The line arrangements of Shirat Ha'azinu (Deut. 32:1–43) in the Yemenite Torah scrolls follow closely that of Ben Asher as conveyed by Maimonides' Mishne Torah, and, unlike the Sephardic tradition of writing the song in seventy lines (based on the Shulhan Arukh),[82] the Yemenite tradition is to write the song in only sixty-seven lines.[83]

The column on the sheet of parchment containing the prosaic song Ha'azinu is made wider than other columns, so as to make room for the poem's layout, written in the format of sixty-seven double half-columns, meaning to say, spaces are made between the verses which appear to descend in two columns. The prosaic song itself is preceded by a blank space, above which are six lines that are written in a format fixed by tradition, with the following words at the head of each line: the 1st line starting with ואעידה and ending with ידעתי; the 2nd line starting with אחרי and ending with מן; the 3rd line starting with הדרך and ending with הרעה; the 4th line starting with באחרית and ending with God's divine name, יהוה; the 5th line starting with להכעיסו and ending with כל; and the 6th line starting with קהל and ending with תמם.[84] The original Yemenite practice was to write these six short lines with indentations before and after the text of each line, rather than draw-out the lines unto the margins by stretching certain letters within the text.[85] The scribal practice of indenting these six lines was also the widespread practice used in Turkey, in very old and exquisite Torah scrolls during the time of Rabbi Chaim Benveniste (1603–1673).[86] After these six lines there is a space followed by the Prosaic Song, written in the format of a song. The Yemenite tradition follows the Aleppo Codex's layout of the Prosaic Song, excepting lines 38 and 39, being the only deviation in word sequence, now believed by most scholars to be an anomaly, by way of confusing the double usage of the Hebrew word גם (q.v. Deut. 32:25) and not knowing which word Maimonides actually had in mind when bringing down the condensed layout for the song.[87] A Sephardic codex written between the 11th–12th century (now Vat. ebr. 448) shows a tradition that is identical to that of the Yemenite tradition with respect to the line arrangements in the poetic song Ha'azinu.[88]

The "Song of the Sea" (Shirat ha-Yam) is traditionally made on lines appearing as half-bricks set over whole bricks. Rabbi Meir ben Todros Halevi (ca. 1170–1244), when trying to ascertain the correct scribal tradition, mentions his having written to Shemuel ibn Tibbon the physician of Marseilles, inquiring about the scroll of the Torah that was with him and which was copied from Maimonides’ scroll of the Torah. Ibn Tibbon replied, sending to him an accurate copy of the arranged lines of the Song of the Sea (Hebrew: שירת הים‎) in Exodus 15:1–19 as found in the scroll that was copied from Maimonides’ Torah scroll. He writes that he found the three words, את מי הים (= "the waters of the sea"), written at the beginning of the last line.[91] Notwithstanding, Rabbi Meir ben Todros admitted to having deviated from this tradition, having decided against its orthography, seeing that in the Song of the Sea all of the previous lines had thus far ended in one word, and it seemed fitting to him that the second to the last line should also end in one word. He therefore changed its order, by his own admittance. The author of Minḥat Shai followed in suit and also changed the original order of the last two lines in the Song of the Sea. The Yemenite Jews still maintain the old tradition in the line arrangements of the Song of the Sea, following Ben Asher's format in the words that are to begin each line, as well as in the words which are to conclude each line.[35] Their fidelity to tradition has been praised by Dr. Penkower, a specialist of Textual Transmission of the Bible and the Masorah at the Department of the Bible in Bar-Ilan University, who wrote: "It's worthy of adding that in the Yemenite manuscripts of the Torah the arrangement of lines in the Prosaic Song of the Sea is exactly like the arrangement found in the Aleppo Codex, including the last two lines and the lines that are before the Song and that are after it."[92]

While all communities will write the Song of the Sea (Shirat ha-Yam) on thirty lines, the format which concludes the song has been slightly altered in some communities due to the doubt raised by Rabbi Meir Abulafia ben Todros of Spain.[93] In the old Sephardic codex (now Vat. ebr. 448), written between the 11th–12th century, it shows the arrangement of lines in the Prosaic "Song of the Sea" (Shirat ha-Yam) just as prescribed by Ben-Asher and as found in the Yemenite tradition, before Rabbi Meir b. Todros Halevi's emendation.[94]

Testimonies from travelers and emissaries who had seen the Aleppo Codex have concurred, unequivocally, that the words, כס יה in Exodus 17:16, were written as one word, (e.g. כי יד על כסיה).[97][98] However, in the Yemenite tradition, the words are not joined together, but are written as two words,[99] just as the words appear in the Leningrad Codex and in the Damascus Pentateuch. This anomaly may be attributed to the fact that the Yemenite copyists in their transmission of the masorah made use of several ancient works, and perhaps even their own ancient Torah scrolls, just as they did when conveying the plene and defective scripta of the textus receptus (which almost completely agreed with that of masorete, Ben-Asher) – yet, without the aid or assistance of Maimonides who left no indication on how these words should be written, or just as they did also with the irregular letters written in the Torah, although here, too, Maimonides gave no indication about which of these letters should be made differently.[100] While Ben Asher was the arbiter in cases of vocalization in the Aleppo Codex, he was not, admittedly, the scribe who wrote the text, which scribe was rather Shlomo ben Buya'a. Since the Leningrad Codex, a codex also proofread by Ben-Asher, stands at variance here with the Aleppo Codex's entry, one might only speculate if Ben-Asher ever totally agreed with everything written in those codices. Yishai ben Amram ha-Cohen Amadi (late 16th century), a man who had actually seen the Aleppo Codex and noted its rendition of כסיה as one word, continued to write in his own papers the word as being made-up of two words. Moreover, the Treatise Sofrim[101] which brings down a list of words in the Torah that are written as one word, but read as two words (e.g. בגד in Gen. 30:11 which is read as בא גד, and אשדת in Deut. 33:3 which is read as אש דת) does not list כסיה as one of these words.

Mordechai Breuer makes note of the fact that "versions in the Talmud differ in many instances from the versions of the Masoretes (see, for example, Gilyon ha-Shas, the comments of R. Aqiba Eiger on the margin of the Talmud, Shabbat 55b). Accordingly, Talmudic versions are of no relevance here; perhaps they reflect the 'correct' or 'original' text of the Bible, but they are non-Masoretic by definition, and they have nothing to do with the uniform version which was accepted by the Tiberian Masoretes."[102]

Similarly, according to Rashi, the verse ויהי ביום כלות משה (in Numbers 7:1) is written with כלת in defective scriptum. This, however, is not the case in the Masoretic Texts, nor in the Yemenite Jewish tradition, where the word כלות is written in plene scriptum. Elsewhere, according to Rashi, the word פילגשים in (Genesis 25:6) is also written in defective scriptum, and which is not the case in either the Masoretic texts or in the Yemenite Jewish tradition.

A famous rabbinic dictum states that scribes are to be careful to have certain columns begin with fixed words, known by their mnemonics, בי"ה שמ"ו (an allusion to Psalm 68:5).[103] These, too, can be found in their designated places, each letter commencing the word of that column. Such was also the practice in Yemen.[104] For example: The Hebrew character bet (ב) represents the first word in the Torah, בראשית (Gen. 1:1);[103] the Hebrew character yod (י) represents יהודה אתה יודוך (Gen. 49:8);[103] the Hebrew character he (ה) represents הבאים אחריהם בים (Exo. 14:28);[103] the Hebrew character shin (ש) represents שמר ושמעת (Deut. 12:28);[103] the Hebrew character mim (מ) represents מוצא שפתיך תשמר (Deut. 23:24);[103][105] and, finally, the Hebrew character waw (ו) represents ואעידה בם (Deut. 31:28).[103] Different traditions abound for other communities who traditionally make use of a 42-line column. In the Yemenite tradition, the six-letters of the mnemonic device account for only two verses in the entire Torah where the column begins in the middle of a verse (Exo. 14:28 and Deut. 31:28),[103] whereas in all other columns, the start of a new verse always commences a new column. Likewise, in Parashat Shemini (Leviticus 10:16), a tradition passed down by the scribes was to ensure that each scribe when copying from a master text is careful to write the first דרש (derosh) at the very end of the line, while the second דרש (derash) be written at the forefront of the next line.[106] In the Yemenite Torah scroll brought out from Yemen, now belonging to Azriel ben Saadia Tzadok (Saleh) of Benei Barak, from which a Tikkun Soferim was made in five small pocket volumes to facilitate the accurate transmission of the same masorah by scribes, the first word דרש is, indeed, found at the very end of line no. 14, whereas the second word דרש is found written at the forefront of line no. 15.[107]

There are yet other places in the Torah scroll where Masoretic scribes used key words to determine the layout of each column, and where these same words were traditionally written in specific places in their respective columns, such as in Numbers 31:5 (Hebrew: וימסרו מאלפי ישראל), and where the lamed of ישראל is written at the end of one line, above the ʾalef of צבא at the end of the following line, said to suggest that, from that time forward, Israel was placed above all other nations.[108] Likewise, the verse in Deuteronomy 28:36 (Hebrew: יולך ה' אתך ואת מלכך) is traditionally placed at the start of a new column in Yemenite Torah scrolls, a practice alluded to in 2 Kings 22:13, said to be the place where Josiah opened-up to in the newly discovered Temple scroll.[109]

In Yemen, large goats (2 yrs. old) were used in making the parchment for Torah scrolls, as opposed to tefillin (phylacteries) in which only small kids of the goats (appx. 2 months old) were used for the vellum.[192] In Torah scrolls, the principal tannin substance was derived from the leaves of the salam-tree (Acacia etbaica; A. nilotica kraussiana), a tree known locally by the name qaraḍ (garadh). The same tannin substance and its use in treating leather for sacred scrolls is mentioned by Maimonides (1989:298). These leaves, being astringent, have the same function as gall.[193] A bath solution of the crushed leaves of this tree, into which raw leather had been inserted for prolonged soaking, would take only 15 days for curing. The water and leaves, however, required changing after seven or eight days, and the leather needed to be turned over daily. Usually such treatment would suffice, without the need of spreading any other salve onto the leather,[194] but only in cases where there was an erasure and the newly applied ink would spread would scribes in Yemen practise "sizing" of the leather, a process so-called by treating the leather parchment with a paste of Tragacanth gum (Arabic: كثيراء‎) or Gum arabic, and allowing the place to dry before applying ink. In some places, the fleshy-side of the leather (being the side that is written upon) was treated with a fine application of castor oil, taken directly from the bean of the castor oil plant (Ricinus communis), and which application is known to give added elasticity and durability to the leather.

According to Amram Qorah, the way in which leather was prepared in Yemen for use in writing a Torah scroll was as follows:

If it were whole leather (Heb. ğawīl) that the scribe wanted to write a Torah scroll upon, he would go to the tanner, select for himself sheep hides that had been treated (cured) to his satisfaction, and the tanner would sell them to him in their imperfect state, without trimming and without modification. The scribe then brings them to his house, softens them by sprinkling water upon them, and then spreads them out and stretches them, and then smooths the face of the leather on its flesh side, by scraping it with an instrument called a rasp (Arabic: mibshara). Afterwards, he cuts away the excessive edges and the outer corners, until he is left with a square sheet of leather. He then stains the sheet [of leather] with a dye solution made of turmeric, which resembles the colour of saffron, and then marks on the two ends of the sheet of parchment with the aid of a tool called a ruler the number of lines that are customarily made, and thus he delineates lines after he had rubbed the face of the leather on the side facing the hairs, with a smooth stone, in a scrupulous manner, so that it will be fitting and make writing easier. He then divides the columns[195] and, forthwith, begins his task [of writing].

[As for the parchment known as q'laf] (the leather that is not whole, and used mainly for writing the portions contained in the Tefillin), most scribes were skilled in treating leather for use as q'laf. The scribe does all those steps mentioned in the working of ğawīl, and smooths the face of the leather on its flesh side, for the space of what is needed to write upon [and no more], leaving it white, without dyeing it any colour."[196]

In Yemen, scribes prepared their own ink concoction, usually made from soaking copper sulphate crystals (copper vitriol) in water, known locally as zāğ (Arabic: زاج‎), but more often by mixing in the water al-ḥura (Litharge of alum),[197] qishr rumān (Pomegranate rinds), ʿafaṣ (Gall), ground to a powder and steeped in water and exposed to the sun's rays for two or three days, sifted of its residue and its yellowish liquid added to the ink concoction only near the time of writing, and after the ink had once again been allowed to sit in the sun for more than a day in order to receive its luster. An excessive amount of gall was seen as detrimental to the ink, therefore, used sparingly, as also too many pomegranate rinds will cause the ink to fade. A little sugar was also added to the ink concoction, as well as soot from the flame of burnt oils held against glass and ṣameġ (Gum Arabic).[198] In some places, wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), or what is called in Arabic shiba, was added to the ink to preserve the leather from mold and mildew. The traditional writing instrument in Yemen was the cane reed (calamus), rather than the feathered quill.[199]

Just as there is a unique style of writing associated with Ashkenazi scrolls, and another style for Sephardic scrolls, so too is there a style of writing that is peculiar to Yemenite scribes of the previous centuries. Each community, however, makes use of the square Hebrew script. In the older Torah scrolls of Yemenite provenance, there was not a practice among scribes to write the Hebrew letters with their Tagim, since the accurate tradition of doing so had long been lost.[200] The ancient practice in Yemen when writing the letter ḥet (ח) is to make its roof flat, and not a "gable-roof," as prescribed by Rabbeinu Tam (Yaakov Meir), although more modern scrolls have adopted Rabbeinu Tam's method. The difference stems from one's understanding of the word חטרי in Tractate Menaḥoth.[201] In Yemenite scrolls, the Hebrew letters are made to suspend a fraction below the ruled lines, rather than hang directly from the ruled lines.

The manner in which Jewish scribes made certain Hebrew characters has evolved throughout the years in Yemen. Rabbi David ben Zimra (1479–1573) mentions the practice of the Jews of Aden, where in all their Torah scrolls the left leg of the Hebrew character he (ה) was slightly joined to the roof of the letter, a practice which he disqualifies, although admitting that such was also the practice that he found in old scrolls written in Egypt, and which practice had been rendered valid by Rabbi Isaac ben Sheshet and Rabbi Joseph Colon.[202] Nevertheless, the old practice in Yemen of slightly joining the leg of the Hebrew character he (ה) to its roof, or the leg of the qof (ק) to its roof, eventually evolved to conform with the custom that is practised in other communities in Israel. Rabbi Yosef Qafih, commenting on Maimonides' Mishne Torah, responds to the old practice and goes to great lengths to show that such letters, had they been written in such a way, should not be disqualified, although the custom in Israel has now changed.[203]

One of the unique features found in scrolls penned in Yemen is the practice of marking the end of the biblical verse, not with ink, but by stamping the leather with a round-tipped metal instrument at the end of the verse, in order to assist the baal qoré when reading and knowing when he is to come to a full-stop. These dot-like impressions in the leather were made so as to resemble an inverted segol (one dot on top of two dots). Where the reading was to produce the sound made by the trope symbol etnaḥa (brief pause), it too was marked with only one dot by the same instrument beneath the word whose reading is to be read as such. Two diagonal stamp marks were made above the word whose reading called for it to be read with a zarqa. Some have questioned the validity of marking a Torah scroll in this way, but the sages of Yemen have explained its validity by saying that extraneous markings that are made in the leather without ink are permitted.[204][205]

Yemenite Torah scrolls traditionally had also the additional feature where the top corners of each leather sheet of parchment were folded backwards, immediately following the leather's treatment and before the actual writing.[206] This was done to distinguish between each sheet, as also to give the reader the ability to grasp with his two hands the sheet of parchment by the folds, without touching the letters themselves. The left and right margins of each sheet of parchment were made to a standard width of one-fingerbreadth (ca. 2.5 cm.), and when coupled together with other sheets, the margins came to two fingerbreadths.[207] The stitching of the sheets of parchment together was made differently from the practices found among other groups, in that the stitching made with ligaments was made closer together (appx. one centimeter between stitches) and more tightly fitting in Yemenite scrolls.[208] As required in Jewish law, and as found among all other groups, they did not sew the sheets together at the upper and lower ends of the margins, but left a space there unstitched.

Yaakov Sapir (1822–1886), a Lithuanian Jewish scholar from Jerusalem, was commissioned by the Jerusalem Rabbinate and traveled to Egypt, to Yemen and to India between the years 1857 to 1863. In 1859, he visited the Jewish community in Yemen, publishing an account of his travels soon thereafter in a book entitled, Iben Sapir, perhaps one of the most momentous travelogues ever to have been written in that century, and where he describes the life of the Jewish community there. He also described the Torah scrolls and codices had in Yemen and their peculiar tradition of orthography, an excerpt of which follows.[210]

• List of Hebrew Bible manuscripts

• Amar, Zohar, "ʿIbūd ʿOr Ǧirafah le-Ketivat S'TaM" (The Treatment of Giraffe Parchment for Writing Torah Scrolls, Tefillin and Mezuzzot), in: Massorah le-Yosef (vol. 9), Kiryat Ono 2016, pp. 135–148

• Nahum, Yehuda Levy: Mi-Yetzirot Sifrutiyyot Mi-Teman (Fragments of Literary Works from Yemen), Holon 1981, pp. 160–166 (Hebrew)
• Rigler, Michael: Benaya the Scribe and His Descendants: a Family of Scribes from Yemen, Journal: Pe'amim 64, (Summer, 1995), pp. 54–67, (Hebrew) and the extensive sources listed there, including a complete list of surviving manuscripts of Benayah and his family.
• Würthwein, Ernst (translated by Erroll F. Rhodes), The Text of the Old Testament: An Introduction to the Biblia Hebraica, Grand Rapids 1995 ISBN 0-8028-0788-7
• Yeivin, Israel: The Aleppo Codex of the Bible : a study of its vocalization and accentuation, Jerusalem 1969, pp. 361–362 (Hebrew: כתר ארם צובה : ניקודו וטעמיו)

• Israel Hayom: 400-year-old Yemenite Torah scroll to be restored in Jerusalem
• The Accuracy of our Written Torah