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Diary 46

Diary  46  - Scrolls to Newcastle.

There's a phrase about doing something superfluous or unnecessary - 'carrying coals to Newcastle'. However this diary is concerned with something that was totally necessary - repairing a Czech scroll that is on loan to a synagogue in Newcastle. Well, it is necessary if the Torah is to be read in the synagogue service as it has to be kasher (valid).

The story behind the Czech scrolls is very special indeed and I've discussed this in a previous diary but also can be found in much more detail at the Czech Memorial Scrolls Trust website and in a number of books. I'm one of the few scribes authorised to work on these very special scrolls and indeed helped them compile the rules for scribes who do work on them. One rule (number 3) in particular is very important in respect of this diary and I quote it below as a scribe must:

3. Recognise the integrity of the scroll is paramount, will neither add, change or remove signs, embellishments or any visual style (based on midrash or not), to or from the scroll. Every effort will be used to maintain the integrity of the scroll, keeping the same writing style, ink colour and thickness, stitching etc. Also they accept the purity of the ancient script which at times may seem to conflict with the current halachic standard of scribing, as many of these scrolls were written prior to the the strictness of halachah today.

As someone who has encountered many scrolls with special letters and decorative embellishments (such as found in Sefer Tagin), some of which are generally accepted but many not (see the section on oddities and visual midrash), I'm very keen to ensure that these variant traditions are preserved and many very strict scribes will sadly 'correct' them.

The Newcastle Czech scroll doesn't follow Sefer Tagin, except for three separate occasions, one in the Shema and two right at the end. However it does have a few sections where is has some odd embellishments on the letters. I was aware of these before I got to work on restoring the scroll as my teacher's teacher Dr. Eric Ray z"l had encountered and written about this scroll previously which he had shared with me. So when I finally checked through the scroll to prepare a restoration report, I got to see them in real life. It is always very special when I get to work on a scroll that Eric or my teacher Vivian Solomon z"l had examined or worked on previously as it provides a great sense of continuity.

Below: Excerpt from Dr. Eric Ray's special handwritten notes and drawings of the lettering and their embellishments ©  Eric Ray. Towards the end of the diary you can see photos of the actual text from the Torah to compare. Also below: the certificate displayed at Newcastle concerning Czech scroll no. 831. Photo ©  Mordechai Pinchas.
The scroll itself is recorded to be from Pardubice (Pardubitz).  There are some photos of the main synagogue that this Torah may have rested in and also the area on the website page http://judaica.cz/?page_id=7981.

It is indeed very special in that it is 60 lines and not vavey ha-amudim as Eric describes and the columns are very very wide - such that there is some 2.5 - 3 regular amudim (columns) worth of text from today's standard tikkun (copyists guide) in a single column. This means that it takes a lot longer to fix a column, but you do get further along in the 'story' when you do!

The scroll itself required extensive repair as the thin strokes on the letters had faded a great deal and some had vanished completely. This was particularly noticeable on the tails of the letters yud and also the think stroke of the mem. Having spent some considerable time repairing the scroll I re-encountered the sections involving the special decoration as I was wondering whether they would need reinforcement or whether I should just leave them be - as technically they aren't part of the letters forms.

As it happens it turns out that the extra decorations do not appear to be written in d'yo (ink) at all, but seem to be pencil. The normal tagin had faded to a 'browney-grey' colour but these were grey and a very different texture as you can see from the images.  Now, it is important to note that it would therefore be very easy to remove these extra marks as there is no specific tradition that the scribe (or perhaps another later scribe) who added them was relying on. This is unique and has no support in any sources. But - and this is why Rule 3 is there and so important - such an act would destroy the history of this particular scroll.  It is hard enough to ensure that the integrity of the scroll is preserved when one is repairing the actual letters (similar to when I was repairing the Tyburn Megillah and the Alexander Torah) but all scribes should be very careful to respect the tradition of past scribes, even if things have moved on in the halachah. It is true (and possibly sad) that scribal practice has become much more strict and leniencies and traditions of the past have fallen by the wayside, but in their time and place they were perfectly fine and kasher. Indeed these particular embellishments, being thin, have no impact on the letters forms and do not interfere with the validity of the scroll.

Below: Some photos of the special embellishments from the Newcastle Czech Scroll. Also below: The plaque on the Ets Chayim that identities the scroll. This one appears to have been glued rather than screwed on. Photos ©  Mordechai Pinchas.
Perhaps the scribe who made the decorations intended to ink them in but in the event because of the disaster that befell his community, never completed that task.

A version of the section above with additional details was published in the newsletter of the Memorial Scrolls Trust and can be downloaded from Academia by clicking on the PDF graphic.


One of the other special things about this Torah is that it is probably from the last 1800s (two dates have been suggested in various records, 1850 on the reference card held by the MST and and 1900 is given on the certificate. 


This is proven by the  use of loop stitching as opposed to the blind stitching that has been used since the late 1800s. For more on this see the section on sewing.  I have therefore repeated the link to the video that features repairs to the sewing on the Newcastle Czech Torah. 
After what was a mammoth repair involving overwriting most of the faded thin strokes in the Torah and adding tails to virtually every letter yud, there was a very special siyyum (completion ceremony) that took place in Newcastle with many dignitaries visiting the community including the head of the Memorial Scrolls Trust. It also included the portable exhibition that details the Czech scrolls and their fascinating story. The event was professionally filmed by a Heritage group who are recording the Jewish community in the area. I am hoping that this will be made available and I will link to this when this is available. In the meantime I grabbed a couple of photos during the event - a bit difficult as I was really working and concentrating on filling the last letters with the congregants who were honoured by the community. It is also worth noting that as well as my connection to the Torah through my teacher's teacher Eric Ray z"l (see above), I have one other connection to the synagogue that sits in the hallway, rather large and difficult to miss. The plaque that marks the opening of the synagogue bears a very familiar familial name indeed - my father Rabbi Maurice Michaels.

Below: The Newcastle Czech scroll no. 831 being brought into the synagogue under a chuppah (canopy). Note that the gartle is on the outside to mark its, status as pasul (invalid) for use on the bimah (lectern) for services. The other two Sifrey Torah are taken out of the ark to greet the scroll returning home. In front of that is the table on which i will be completing the repairs with my tools and a tikkun for D'varim (Deuteronomy) screwed on. Photos ©  Mordechai Pinchas.
For more about siyyumim (completion ceremonies) click here.
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