Symmetrically Designed Sifrei Torah: A Quantitative Analysis - Hakirah

200 : Hạkirah, the Flatbush Journal of Jewish Law and Thought
of information, none of the actual 3 “middle” verses generate
numbers of this type that are divisible by 46. From a mathematical
perspective the likelihood that 3 “middle” verses would all be
divisible by 46 is less than one tenth of 1%. Thus the overwhelming
likelihood is that this arrangement is by design.
In terms of the total number of verses in Chumash, Table 4
below lists all possible alternative counts that have been offered by a
variety of sources, and shows that only 5,888 used in the Gemara and
46
5,842 suggested by זית רענן are divisible by 46. The fact that
divisibility by 46 is generally uncommon but occurs here in Table 4
according to some ‏,גרסאות as well as in all three previous middles in
Table 3, indicates that divisibility by 46 is by design, not coincidence.
The question is: What is the design?
Number of
In Torah פסוקים
Table 4
Number of פסוקים in the Torah
Divisible
by 46
Source
8,888 Cohen No
5,888
‏.קדושין ל.‏ in ברייתא Yes 5,846 Actual number in our current Torah. No
‏:חומשים 5,845 Number listed in back of all
‏.ילקוט פ׳ עקב
No
5,842 Given in a gloss on קידושין ל.‏ by רענן ‏.זית Yes
From our previous discussion about constructing a S”T, it is
apparent that “writing” a Sefer Torah involves more than making sure
that all the words are spelled correctly and no words are missing. The
writing of a Sefer Torah also has a design component where the writing
is intended to satisfy some other objective, e.g. outward symmetry
where the height of the Sefer Torah equals its circumference; inner
symmetry where every page starts with a vav. And, as we have also
seen, these objectives can and do change with time. We suggest that
46 See lower-right-hand gloss in Gemara. It is a commentary on ילקוט by
‏.מגן אברהם