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After 800 Years, “Gewil Torah Scroll” Returns To Unite Jews According to one elderly Yemenite 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) specifically reiterated the requirements in his well known compendium of Jewish Law, known as the Mishne 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 aftsa. According to popular speculation, one of the objectives of this process is to tighten or strengthen the pores to allow for better writing. Although I have heard that just the opposite is the intention. In other words, scribes prefered softer material to write on. Either way, 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 by many in the Middle East). Gewil has a beautiful, leathery appearance and feel. To view a gallery of Gewil photographs, you can access the Gewil web site at www.globaljms.co.il. Unfortunately, most of today’s scrolls are not prepared in this required manner. The “Tosafists” clearly deviated 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. His renown needs no description here. Their processing method, known as “Ibud ha sid,” refers to soaking the animal skin in lime, a different substance than what is mentioned in the Talmud. While this may be okay for the pre-process, to help remove the hair, it has actually taken over the entire process. There is much speculation about why this change took place. The Tosafists, who were aware of the Talmudic requirements, chose to revise their process by using a lime-focused soaking process. They claimed that a longer duration of time in numerous soakings of lime was a sufficient justification to skip other required ingredients in the process. It appears that they believed the lime was accomplishing the legal requirements in a different way. While lime may be needed to remove hair during the pre-process, the Talmud required other ingredients. According to the speculation of one Israeli scholar, this may have begun when 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. 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 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 Rambam. In the middle ages, the full Gewil hide was split to create two separate pieces. Each of these pieces had a different term and use. The debate STILL revolves around which piece is used for writing a sefer Torah or tefillin (phylacteries) and which is used for a mezuzah. In ancient Yemenite texts, the Rambam's determination is that the thin outer layer of skin is known as “dukhsustus” while the thick inner layer (closest to the flesh) is called “Qlaf”. The Tosafists defined these terms in the exact opposite way, by reversing the meaning of the two terms. This makes for a serious legal problem regarding the acceptability of sefer Torah scrolls in today’s times, as someone is writing on the incorrect piece. Only writing upon full, un-split material (ie: Gewil) solves this legal issue. Interestingly enough, Yemenite Jews traditionally wrote their Torah scrolls on Gewil. 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 crumpled 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 their distributor at media@globaljms.co.il. |