Introduction

chapter 1 Introduction

1 The ‘Strange Letters’, Visual Midrash and Sefer Tagin

There are ancient traditions grouped together under the collective heading of ʾotiyot meshunot (strange letters). They provide a visual midrash תונושמתויתוא in that they tell a story, over and above the simple meaning of the text, merely through special adornment of the letters on the page.They include, bent, curled and spiral letters and those with many more decorative embellishments than would normally be the case.1 There are a number of manuscripts and books ןיגתרפס that refer to these scribal idiosyncrasies and chief amongst these is Sefer Tagin (the book of ‘serifs’/crowns) also known, perhaps more accurately, Sefer Tagey.2 This covers the forms of the יגאתרפס by its own description as letters that have different shapes or additional or specially shaped tagin.3 Being a practicing Sofer STa”M (scribe) means that I have checked and repaired many SifreyTorah over the years. In so doing, I have had the privilege of seeing several which have been quite old and, as such, many contain examples of these special forms. Indeed, this is what initially piqued my interest in this subject and led me to this area of study.4

תויתואבותולודגהתויתואברהזיו :Rambam for example, amongst others exhorts scribes to 1 ומכתומוקעהתויתואהותופופלהן״יאפהןוגכתונשמהתויתואותודוקנהתויתואבותונטקה שישתואשיודחאגתהילעשישתואשיןנינמבוןיגתברהזיושיאיפמשיאםירפוסהוקיתעהש take care over the large letters and the) הרעשהטוחכןיקדןהן״יניזתרוצכןיגתהלכוהעבשהילע small letters and the dotted letters, and the strange letters, such as the coiled letters pe and the crooked letters, such as the scribes have copied one from another—and take care over the tagin and the the number of them. For some letters have [only] one tag and some have seven on them. And all the tagin are in the shape of a [small] zayin—thin as a hair) from Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Sefer Torah 7:8. ,This is Sefer Tagey …). However) יגאתרפסןידה As per its own introduction, which begins 2 since it is more commonly known as Sefer Tagin, I have used that nomenclature throughout this monograph. i.e. the six columns of the Torah that have— ומשהיב It also appears to cover the instructions 3 to start with a particular letter. It can also be followed in manuscripts with discussions of the large, small and dotted letters. However, these are certainly not part of Sefer Tagin, and are derived from separate sources. 4 Indeed these are not as rare as one might think. Moshe Rosenwasser writes that ‘it seems that the custom to write certain letters in the Torah in a strange form was very widespread, for I have found references to this custom in Spain, Germany, Italy, France, South Africa, and pasul לוספ the Yemen. Similarly, I have found no early authority who declares this custom

figure 2 An example line from a megillat ʾEsther that I wrote in 2018. It shows standard tagin as would be found in Sifrey Torah, megillot ʾEsther, tefillin and mezuzot. Some letters have three, some just one and some none.

2 A Brief Introduction to Tagin

Tagin are the little decorative crownlets that make much of the difference between what is merely Hebrew block lettering and what one sees in the holy taga)) in Aramaic, in Hebrew they are) אגת singular) ןיגת or ןיגאת texts. Spelt crowns) as they crown the letter.5 Because the most) םירתכ often referred to as familiar tag arrangement is composed of three flourishes or strokes, each of ziyyun ןויז which resembles a small letter zayin, they are often referred to as a (armour/dagger).6 Whilst there is no shortage of midrashic explanations and scholarly research (see bibliography), no-one quite knows what these embellishments really mean or their importance. Indeed, Rambam argues that their absence does not invalidate the writing as the core of the letter form is there.7 However, the halakha dictates that certain letters should have these decorative flourishes, which the sofer creates by drawing ink upwards from the roof of the

-The Odd Let) הרותבשתונושמהתויתואה ,invalid) or cast doubt on it.’ Rosenwasser, Moshe) .The Spring), Nisan 5766. p. 24) ןיעמה ters that are in the Torah), from refer instead to marginal designs םירתכ However, it should be noted thatYakir Paz argues that 5 that resemble the Roman diadem or coronet, known as a κορωνίς koronis, marking a new para- sha as a very elaborate paragraphos sign, bringing examples largely in Greek but also some Hebrew manuscripts (which are less convincing) of what he claims are vertical representa- רשוק ,tions of the diadems worn by kings and emperors, with ties and tassels. See Paz, Yakir Binding Crowns to the Letters—A Divine) תויתואלםירתכ : ירוטסיההורשקהביהולאירפוסגהנמ ץיבר — תידוהיהיעדמלןועבר , ופהנש , בתרבוח — Scribal Practice in Its Historical Context) from He also notes that despite the assertions in the Talmud, no halakhot do .267–233 . ג ( ט״עשת) hang on these ‘either from Akiva or any other sages’ (op. cit., p. 234). Yaakov Elman notes similarly in Jewish Interpretations of the Bible, TJSB, op. cit. p. 1868. 6 I have translated this as a zayin type decoration throughout as, in modern Hebrew, this word has an unfortunate secondary meaning.This does not necessarily suggest that this was a zayin shape as we have seen it can be a line or a line with a ball on top. It is more a reflection of the weapon/dagger idea. 7 Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Sefer Torah 7:9. However, Rabbeynu ʾAsher argues that a Torah lacking any tagin would be pasul (i.e. unfit, invalid). See Shulḥan ʿArukh Harav 36:5 and also the Mishnah Berurah 36:15 which requires that any tagin lacking should be added before the Torah is used in public reading.