Sunday 30 August 2009

Chesed and Gevurah - Parchment and Letters


Listening to Chabad.org shiur - Rabbi Eli Silberstein on Brachot 2:3. He was explaining by way of comparison to the need to pronounce the Shema properly and the need for space between each word and the next. He compared to writing a torah where obviously there has to be space between the letters and the words - this is a key scribal concept - mukefet g'vil (surrounded by parchment). If there is a join then the work is pasul (invalid).

He quotes a Polish rebbe - Rev Shlomo of Lusk - who says there is mystical significance here. What is the significance of the space between the letters in a Torah? He explains that the parchment is white and the light colour symbolises compassion and kindness. The letters however are black, dark and limiting - with specific conditions governing the letters and indeed the letters in the Torah - mostly concerned with recording laws - represent severity, judgement and restriction.

So he explains that strict judgement must be surrounded by compassion - otherwise we would not survive. In Kabbalistic terms then the parchment represents chesed - white space. Whilst the black letters represent gevurah. And in Elul we ask that the white parchment of compassion surrounds the dark letters of judgement.

Sunday 9 August 2009

Amud 10


Finished half of amud 10 of the Megillat haShoah - half an amud to go and the yeriah (sheet) is complete. Just one left then.

Saturday 8 August 2009

Great Shabbat

Great shabbat, best wife, best son, best grandma, old friends from America turning up on doorstep, sefardi minyan and chulent. Yay shabbat!

Thursday 6 August 2009

Chanoch walked with God

Just fixed a section of torah that twice talks about Chanoch walking with God. Doesn't say why though and what walking with God actually entails. Rashi says 'he was a righteous man, but he could easily be swayed to return to do evil. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, hastened and took him away and caused him to die before his time.'

Fonts

Every month since I bought Bembo ascenderfonts.com send me a selection of fonts that I drool over & stroke but don't buy cos I'm a good boy.

Sunday 2 August 2009

Finished Amud 9 of Megillat Hashoah


Good progress today - 21 lines done. Only 4 amudim to go and the work is complete.

Another 9 lines of the Megillat Hashoah


Just wrote nine lines of the Megillat Hashoah including the difficult element of Hashem being silent - symbolised in part by the small ayin and dalet in the Shema - countering the normal large one in Torah, Tefillin and Mezuzah. http://www.sofer.co.uk/html/diary_22.html for more details or buy the book http://www.sofer.co.uk/html/diary_22.html

Off to write some more now...

Saturday 1 August 2009

Wow...

didn't realise just how tough it was going to be to sell books. After a little spate some weeks ago virtually no action. Been trying to promote on-line but very very few avenues. Kulmus Publishing is a bit niche I understand but didn't realise how niche. Hmm. Need a bit of a rethinkk here.