Symmetrically Designed Sifrei Torah: A Quantitative Analysis - Hakirah

Symmetrically Designed Sifrei Torah: A Quantitative Analysis : 203
been approximately 24 etzbaos. Since the width of each page is 4
etzbaos, this equals 6 blank pages with no margin or 4 full pages (with
double margin—see Appendix B for an in-depth mathematical
analysis of Rambam’s S”T and a calculation of how thick his
parchment was). We must of course point out that Rambam’s S”T
and the one we are discussing are not identical in shape. Firstly, his
has 2 atzei chaim and the one we are discussing has 1. Also, the S”T
we have described above is a little more than half the page length of
the Rambam’s. This could be accomplished by either making the
pages twice as wide, doubling the height, or a combination of both.
These shifts could very well increase the number of blank pages
needed to both cover the Sefer and at the same time make the
circumference equal the height. Therefore, our conjecture that the
soferim meant to have 6 blank pages at the end is a distinct
possibility. 51
In summary we are suggesting that the soferim in Kiddushin 30a
designed:
• A 134-page Sefer Torah, with
• A single עץ חיים at the front end, where
• The first 127 pages have 46 verses,
• The 128 th page has 3 verses, and
51 Additional clarification on this issue appears in a later section. We
would also like to point out that the concept of equalizing the
circumference and height of a S”T is mentioned in ספר תורה ב׃י but not
in ‏.סופרים As previously cited, the Gemara in Baba Basra stressed that
few were able to achieve this objective, and H”M says he could not
duplicate Rambam’s accomplishment. We also mentioned earlier that
Masaches Sefer Torah is a pre-Mishnaic work written when a S”T had a
single etz chaim, and Maseches Soferim is a later Gaonic-period work
written in the 2-atzei-chaim era. We therefore conjecture that the
desirability of equalizing height and circumference may have been a
goal more easily accomplished in earlier times when a rolled up S”T
formed a circle, and making the S”T higher and thinner could have
allowed equality by adding enough blank pages at the end to equalize
the difference. By the time of the Gemara and 2 atzei chaim, a rolled-up
S”T resembled an ellipse, and manipulating equality of circumference
and height became nigh impossible. See Rashash Baba Basra 14b for a
discussion of the difference in the circumference of a one- and a twoatzei-chaim
S”T.