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Gewil Torah Scrolls Are Popular Once Again
 

Jerusalem, Israel - While there have not been any recent, earth shattering archeological discoveries in Israel, the ancient practice of using Gevil (or Gewil) animal hide for Torah scrolls (which was never lost by the Yemenite & certain Mizrakhi communities) is making a comeback in observant Jewish communities in Israel, Europe and the United States. Gewil is the raw, un-split cow hide used as scroll material, after it is processed in accordance with Jewish Law. While this process has always remained with the Jewish people, it is currently preserved by a handful of Jewish scribes in Israel. It fell out of popular usage in the middle ages, due to a number of historical factors. However, a new revival of Gewil is helping to unite Jews across a broad philosophical spectrum by solving a number of age-old, legal issues about our current Torah Scroll. Even the previous Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel is now writing on Gewil. In addition, Rabbi Eliyahu Zilberman insists on it because of the convergence of halakhic (legal) doubts that have been reconciled with its use.

According to one elderly Israeli Rabbi who still processes Gewil in a special pool called a brikha, Talmud Bavli states that Gewil was the exact material used by Moses to write the Torah scroll he placed into the Holy Ark. The Talmud is the oral law studied by observant Jews throughout the world. The Talmud refers to the underlying process used to prepare Gewil as the first legal requirement for the preparation of all kosher Torah scrolls. The details governing this process (known as Ibud ha Or) are very precise.

Resolving Doubts About The Acceptability Of Today's Scrolls…

In 1100ce, the famous Rambam (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon) ztl specifically reiterated the requirements in his well known compendium of Jewish Law, known as the Mishneh Torah. The Rambam said that it is the law transmitted to Moses on Mount Sinai that a Torah Scroll must be written on Gewil. This is also supported in a section of the Talmud called Gitten (54b), where we find a second mention that Torah scrolls were written on Gewil.

The prescription literally refers to the processing of animal skin with salt, flour, and other specific ingredients called m'aftsim. It is hard to know the exact reasons why these ingredients were chosen. The finished material, when prepared in this manner, is referred to as Gewil (pronounced Gevil or even Jawil by many in the Middle East). Gewil has a beautiful, leathery appearance and feel.  

Unfortunately, most of today's scrolls are not prepared in this required manner. The Tosafists were probably the first ones to deviate from the required process. The first Tosafists were the famous sons-in-law and grandsons of Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki) who lived in the middle ages. The processing method used by the Tosafists, known as Ibud ha sid, refers to soaking the animal skin in (ONLY) lime, a different substance than what is mentioned in the Talmud. While this may be okay for the pre-process, or to help remove the hair or even soften it, it has actually taken over the entire process. There is much speculation about why this change took place.

The change to lime (as a substitute for salt and/or flour) MAY date back to around the 9th or 10th Century specifically used by Jews living in Eretz Yisrael. Perkoy ben-Bavoy, who was a student of R. Yuhdai Gaon, wrote against the use of lime in the production of parchment in Eretz Yisrael, which amounted to a substituting of lime. He claimed that this was due to the decree of the rulers of the Land in those times (Byzantines Greeks?)-- forbidding the entire hide preparation profession. It seems that they were attempting to prevent the production of sifrei Torah. HOWEVER, if this is truly the source of the deviation, one would certainly be hard-pressed to explain how this practice made its way into far-away Europe, whereas much closer (to Israel), the Sefaradi & Mizrahhi cultures retained the institution of gewil. And IF indeed this restriction did exist (as recorded above), it only proves that there was a deviation away from the original process, which was not appreciated. Although it should be pointed out that the existence of Perkoy ben Bavoy's writings have yet to be verified by this author.

While lime may be used to remove hair during (or soften) during the process, the Talmud documents that specific ingredients are required for the process. According to the speculation of one Israeli scholar, this change may have occurred as Jews began to settle in Europe after their departure from Italy, as they found a new system of hide making indigenous to the non-Jewish natives. Since they had to contend with guild issues (i.e.: Jews were not allowed to be in guilds), they may have purchased a near finished product from their gentile neighbors and then completed the process on their own. This may explain why the European tradition is more lenient with parchment as opposed to the middle-eastern traditions, where there were no guilds. Other speculations deal with the type of hides that were available in these regions. Regardless of why and when the change occurred, the required process was changed in Europe. In addition, there may have been a deviation regarding the legal non-role of Gentiles in this process.

In these days of  being very careful about legal issues, many Rabbis are covering all their bases by having at least one Gewil scroll in their possession.

Today, there is a quiet debate in the rabbinic world—which is literally for the sake of Heaven. Only Gewil helps to settle an age old argument between the Tosafists and the Talmud. In the middle ages, the full Gewil hide was split to create two separate pieces, as was done in Talmudic times. Each of these pieces had a different term and use (i.e.: qlaf or dukhsustos). The debate STILL revolves around which piece is used for writing a sefer Torah or tefillin (known as phylacteries) and which is used for a mezuzah. In ancient texts, the Rambam's determination (according to the oldest and most accurate Yemenite Manuscripts) is that the thin outer layer of skin is known as dukhsustus while the thick inner layer (closest to the flesh) is called Qlaf. This is also confirmed in a Geonic work called Halakhoth Gaduloth (743-ce). It is also confirmed by the minor Mishna tractate Sofrim. It appears that the Tosafists defined these terms in the exact opposite way, by reversing the meaning of the two terms. This mistake was actually spread through modern versions of the Yad (ie: the Rambam's Mishne Torah). This makes for a serious legal problem regarding the acceptability of sefer Torah scrolls in today's times, as someone is clearly writing on the incorrect piece.

Although most religious scholars acknowledge the original way was according to the Talmudic references. Only writing upon full, un-split material (ie: Gewil) solves this legal issue for a Torah Scroll.

Today, most scribes use one type of parchment for all three types of writing materials (i.e.: gewil, qlaf and duchsustos). The parchment is not split in two. Rather, a thin layer is removed from the upper layer, and the majority, if not the entire, lower layer is rubbed off. This produces a very light, paper-like parchment. While this may look nice and weigh less, it has very little to do with the requirements listed in Talmud Bavli.

The use of Gewil totally removes all doubts about these legal issues, without putting anyone on the defensive side. Incredibly, Gewil shows no marks or folds after being folded and is difficult to scratch or mark. This may partly explain why scrolls, such as those found in the ruins of the Judean desert, were able to survive such harsh conditions over time. For more information about original Gewil scrolls, visit the Gewil website www.globaljms.co.il or contact them at media@globaljms.co.il to place your order.