Description
In Jewish Law, the halakha, there is an extensive importance to the accurate scribing of legal documents (shtarot). Any slight deviation from the standard formula of one word, or even of one character, might invalidate a formal bill or cancel a personal or commercial obligation. The importance bestowed on each word encouraged many famous rabbis to write and edit books of standard legal bills, and Hebrew scribes used to copy samples of bills for their personal use in the future. Qualified scribes made exemplary collections of documents for their students, and young trainees would copy such samples – as well as original bills – in order to practice their profession. Quite a number of early and medieval collections survived, none of them is complete.
This presentation is for the following text(s):
Start Date
22-8-2006 4:00 PM
Location
Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
Included in
History of Religion Commons, Jewish Studies Commons, Legal Commons, Social History Commons, Women's History Commons
An Early 17th Century Ketubah from Sefer Tikun Sofrim by Rabbi Itzhak Zabakh
Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
In Jewish Law, the halakha, there is an extensive importance to the accurate scribing of legal documents (shtarot). Any slight deviation from the standard formula of one word, or even of one character, might invalidate a formal bill or cancel a personal or commercial obligation. The importance bestowed on each word encouraged many famous rabbis to write and edit books of standard legal bills, and Hebrew scribes used to copy samples of bills for their personal use in the future. Qualified scribes made exemplary collections of documents for their students, and young trainees would copy such samples – as well as original bills – in order to practice their profession. Quite a number of early and medieval collections survived, none of them is complete.
