Menachot 59

אבל יתרות לית לן בה

but when there are additional letters it does not matter. The other ruling of Rab is this: Rab said, He who is writing a scroll of the Law and has reached the end may finish off even in the middle of the column.

אידך דאמר רב הכותב ס"ת ובא לגמור גומר ואפילו באמצע הדף מיתיבי הכותב ס"ת בא לו לגמור לא יגמור באמצע הדף כדרך שגומר בחומשין אלא מקצר והולך עד סוף הדף כי קא אמר רב בחומשין

And an objection is raised from the following: He who is writing a scroll of the Law and has reached the end may not finish off in the middle of the column as one does with other books, but he should reduce each line as he goes on until he reaches the end of the column! - Rab was referring to other books. But he says 'a scroll of the Law'! - He meant the books of the Law.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., each of the first four books of the Torah may finish in the middle of a column, but the fifth book which would complete the scroll of the Law, Rab agrees, must be written in the form of a colophon gradually reducing the lines so as to reach the end of the column.');">¹</span>

והא ס"ת קאמר בחומשין של ס"ת איני והא"ר יהושע בר אבא אמר רב גידל אמר רב לעיני כל ישראל באמצע הדף ההיא באמצע שיטה איתמר

But this cannot be so, for R'Joshua B'Abba cited R'Giddal who said it in the name of Rab, The words 'in the sight of all Israel'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' These are the last words of the Torah.');">²</span> are to be written in the middle of the column! - He means the middle of the line.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' But at the end of the column. I.e., the last words in the last line of the column are written in the middle of the line.');">³</span>

רבנן אמרי אף באמצע שיטה רב אשי אמר באמצע שיטה דווקא והלכתא באמצע שיטה דווקא

It was stated: The Rabbis say, [One may finish] even in the middle of the line;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And also in the middle of the column (Rashi; but v. Sh. Mek. a.l.) .');">⁴</span> but R'Ashi says, [One may finish] only in the middle of the line.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' But at the end of the column. I.e., the last words in the last line of the column are written in the middle of the line.');">³</span>

אמר רבי יהושע בר אבא אמר רב גידל אמר רב שמנה פסוקים שבתורה יחיד קורא אותן בבהכ"נ כמאן דלא כר"ש

And the law is: Only in the middle of the line. R'Joshua B'Abba cited R'Giddal who said it in the name of Rab, The last eight verses of the Torah must be read [in the Synagogue service] by one person alone.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' These verses may not be divided into two portions to be read by two persons.');">⁵</span>

דתניא (דברים לד, ה) וימת שם משה עבד יי' אפשר משה חי וכתב וימת שם משה אלא עד כאן כתב משה מכאן ואילך כתב יהושע בן נון דברי רבי יהודה ואמרי לה רבי נחמיה

Whose view is followed here? It surely is not R'Simeon's, for it was taught:<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' B.B. 15a.');">⁶</span>

אמר לו ר"ש אפשר ס"ת חסר אות אחת וכתיב (דברים לא, כו) לקוח את ספר התורה הזה ושמתם אותו וגו'

It is written, So Moses the servant of the Lord died there.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Deut. XXXIV, 5.');">⁷</span> Now is it possible that Moses whilst still alive would have written, 'So Moses.

אלא עד כאן הקב"ה אומר ומשה כותב ואומר מכאן ואילך הקב"ה אומר ומשה כותב בדמע כמה שנאמר להלן (ירמיהו לו, יח) ויאמר להם ברוך מפיו יקרא אלי את כל הדברים האלה ואני כותב על הספר בדיו

died there'? The truth is, however, that up to this point Moses wrote, from this point Joshua the son of Nun wrote.

לימא דלא כר"ש אפי' תימא ר"ש הואיל ואישתני אישתני

This is the opinion of R'Judah, or, according to others, of R'Nehemiah. Said R'Simeon to him, Can we imagine the scroll of the law being short of one letter?

וא"ר יהושע בר אבא אמר רב גידל אמר רב הלוקח ס"ת מן השוק כחוטף מצוה מן השוק כתבו מעלה עליו הכתוב כאילו קיבלו מהר סיני אמר רב ששת אם הגיה אפי' אות אחת מעלה עליו כאילו כתבו

Is it not written, Take this book of the Law, and put it etc.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid. XXXI, 26, said by Moses before he died. If then Moses did not complete the Torah he would not have referred to it as the book of the Law.');">⁸</span> ?

(סי' סגלם) ת"ר עושה אדם יריעה מבת שלש דפין ועד בת שמנה דפין פחות מיכן ויתר על כן לא יעשה

We must say that up to this point the Holy One, blessed be He, dictated and Moses repeated and wrote, and from this point the Holy One, blessed be He, dictated and Moses wrote<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' But did not repeat the words as heretofore, because of his grief.');">⁹</span> with tears [in his eyes], as it says of another occasion, Then Baruch answered them, He pronounced all these words to me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Jer. XXXVI, 18. Baruch the scribe when writing down the Lamentations as spoken by Jeremiah did not repeat the words because of the grief they caused him.');">¹⁰</span>

ולא ירבה בדפין מפני שנראה אגרת ולא ימעט בדפין מפני שעיניו משוטטות אלא כגון למשפחותיכם (למשפחותיכם למשפחותיכם) ג' פעמים

Must we then say that the view stated is not in accordance with R'Simeon?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' For since these verses were, according to R. Simeon, written by Moses they should in no wise be different from any other section in the Torah; accordingly it should be permitted to divide these verses into two portions.');">¹¹</span> - You may even say that it follows the view of R'Simeon, for since they differ [from the rest of the Torah] in one way, they differ in another.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' These verses have a special law since they were written in special circumstances.');">¹²</span>

נזדמנה לו יריעה בת תשע דפים לא יחלוק שלש לכאן ושש לכאן אלא ארבע לכאן וחמש לכאן

R'Joshua B'Abba again cited R'Giddal who said in the name of Rab, He who buys a scroll of the Law in the market is regarded as one that has seized a precept in the market, but he who writes it, him the Scripture regards as if he had received it at mount Sinai. R'Shesheth said, Even if he corrected but one letter he is regarded as if he had written it.

בד"א בתחלת הספר אבל בסוף הספר אפי' פסוק אחד ואפי' דף אחד פסוק אחד ס"ד אלא אימא פסוק אחד בדף אחד

<br>(Mnemonic 'A. G.

שיעור גליון מלמטה טפח מלמעלה ג' אצבעות ובין דף לדף כמלא ריוח רוחב שתי אצבעות ובחומשין מלמטה שלש אצבעות מלמעלה שתי אצבעות ובין דף לדף כמלא ריוח רוחב גודל

L. M.)

ובין שיטה לשיטה כמלא שיטה ובין תיבה לתיבה כמלא אות קטנה ובין אות לאות כמלא חוט השערה

.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' A mnemonic made up of the characteristic Hebrew letters of the rules which follow.');">¹³</span> Our Rabbis taught: A man should use sheets [of parchment] which contain from three to eight columns; he should not use one which contains less columns or more.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' As each sheet was sewn to the others it is advisable for the sake of utility not to have the seams too near or too far apart from each other.');">¹⁴</span>

אל ימעט אדם את הכתב לא מפני ריוח של מטה ולא מפני ריוח של מעלה ולא מפני ריוח שבין שיטה לשיטה ולא מפני ריוח שבין פרשה לפרשה

And he should not put in too many columns<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., the maximum number of columns (8) in a small sheet.');">¹⁵</span> for it would look like an epistle, nor too few columns<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., the minimum number of columns (3) in a large sheet.');">¹⁶</span>

נזדמנה לו תיבה בת חמש אותיות לא יכתוב שתים בתוך הדף ושלש חוץ לדף

for the eyes would wander;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' For the length of the line in each column would he unduly large and the eyes would stray so that the reader would be in doubt as to which line he must read next. ofh,ujpank');">¹⁷</span> but [the width of the column should equal] the word lemishpehothekem written three times.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' . I.e., thirty letters.');">¹⁸</span> If a man happened to possess a sheet with nine columns, he should not divide it [into two sheets of] three and six columns, but [into sheets of] four and five columns.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' So as to make the sheets as far as is possible of similar width.');">¹⁹</span> These rules apply only [to sheets] at the beginning [or in the middle] of the scroll, but at the end of the scroll even one verse or one column [may take up the whole sheet]. One verse! Surely you cannot mean that!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Since it is necessary to end at the foot of the column, how is it conceivable to fill the whole sheet with one verse?');">²⁰</span> - Say rather: One verse in one column.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., the column may be made very narrow, perhaps with only one word on each line, or even enlarging the script, so as to fill up the whole column. ohanuj');">²¹</span> The width of the margin below shall be one handbreadth, above three fingerbreadths, and between one column and the other the space of two fingerbreadths. In books of the Law<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' , also written in scroll form but not intended to be used for the Synagogue service.');">²²</span> the margin below shall be three fingerbreadths, above two fingerbreadths, and between one column and the other the space of a thumb-breadth. Between each line there must be the space of a line, between each word the width of a letter, and between each letter a hairbreadth. A man should not reduce the size of the script on account of the margin above or below,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The size of the script should be uniform in the column and should not be reduced on the first or last lines so as to obtain the proper marginal space above or below.');">²³</span> or on account of the space between one line and another, or the requisite space between one section and another. If [when almost at the end of a line] he has to write a word of five letters he must not write two letters in the column and three outside,