Editing Torah (section)

==Production and use of a Torah scroll==
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[[File:Open Torah Case with Scroll.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|An old open Torah case with scroll.]]
{{Main|Sefer Torah}}

[[Manuscript]] Torah [[scroll]]s are still scribed and used for ritual purposes (i.e., [[Jewish services|religious services]]); this is called a ''[[Sefer Torah]]'' ("Book [of] Torah"). They are written using a painstakingly careful method by highly qualified [[Sofer|scribes]]. It is believed that every word, or marking, has divine meaning and that not one part may be inadvertently changed lest it lead to error. The fidelity of the Hebrew text of the Tanakh, and the Torah in particular, is considered paramount, down to the last letter: translations or transcriptions are frowned upon for formal service use, and transcribing is done with painstaking care. An error of a single letter, ornamentation, or symbol of the 304,805 stylized letters that make up the Hebrew Torah text renders a Torah scroll unfit for use, hence a special skill is required and a scroll takes considerable time to write and check.

According to Jewish law, a ''sefer Torah'' (plural: ''Sifrei Torah'') is a copy of the formal Hebrew text handwritten on ''[[gevil]]'' or ''[[klaf]]'' (forms of [[parchment]]) by using a [[quill]] (or other permitted writing utensil) dipped in ink. Written entirely in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], a ''sefer Torah'' contains 304,805 letters, all of which must be duplicated precisely by a trained ''[[sofer]]'' ("scribe"), an effort that may take as long as approximately one and a half years. Most modern Sifrei Torah are written with forty-two lines of text per column ([[Yemenite Jews]] use fifty), and very strict rules about the position and appearance of the [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew letters]] are observed. See for example the [[Mishnah Berurah]] on the subject.<ref>[http://www.geniza.net/ritual/mb/letterforms.shtml Mishnat Soferim The forms of the letters] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080523195538/http://www.geniza.net/ritual/mb/letterforms.shtml |date=2008-05-23 }} translated by Jen Taylor Friedman (geniza.net)</ref> Any of several Hebrew scripts may be used, most of which are fairly ornate and exacting.

The completion of the Sefer Torah is a cause for great celebration, and it is a [[mitzvah]] for every Jew to either write or have written for him a Sefer Torah. Torah scrolls are stored in the [[holy|holiest]] part of the [[synagogue]] in the [[Torah ark|Ark]] known as the "Holy Ark" ({{lang|hbo|אֲרוֹן הקֹדשׁ}} ''aron hakodesh'' in Hebrew.) ''Aron'' in Hebrew means "cupboard" or "closet", and ''kodesh'' is derived from "kadosh", or "holy".