The Robo-Scribe
As published in Strata in the January/February 2015 issue of BAR
A new robot has been programmed to mimic a human hand. © Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Yves Sucksdorff.
While a printed copy of the Torah (the Pentateuch) may be used in study, halakhah (Jewish religious law) dictates that only a handwritten Torah scroll may be used in synagogue readings and rituals. This means that all Torah scrolls used in synagogues are carefully and prayerfully written by human hand—letter by letter.
Outfitted with a pen nib and ink, the new robot has been programmed to mimic a human hand. Stroke by stroke, it writes like a scribe.
Whereas it takes a human scribe close to a year or longer to write a Torah, the robot can complete one in three months because the robot does not have to rest—although it is no faster than the human hand it imitates.
In the free eBook Paul: Jewish Law and Early Christianity, learn about the cultural contexts for the theology of Paul and how Jewish traditions and law extended into early Christianity through Paul’s dual roles as a Christian missionary and a Pharisee.
Could the scroll written by this robot be used in a synagogue? The answer, alas, is no.
Even though the robot’s 260-foot-long scroll contains the necessary 304,805 letters required for a Torah scroll, it is still not considered kosher. Halakhah stipulates that a Torah scroll must be written on parchment and that the scribe must use a quill dipped in ink. These materials must come from ritually clean animals. The robot’s scroll is made of paper, not parchment, and written with a pen, not a quill.
Further, while writing a Torah, the scribe must be reverent—something impossible for a robot to achieve. Rabbi Reuven Yaacobov (rabbi of the orthodox Sephardic synagogue in Berlin and Torah scribe) explains, “In order for the Torah to be holy, it has to be written with a goose feather on parchment; the process has to be filled with meaning.” The scribe says prayers as he writes it.
Despite being unusable in a synagogue, the robot’s scroll is an impressive feat of human engineering and testifies to the time and devotion necessary to complete a Torah.
Related reading in Bible History Daily:
The Limits of Tolerance: Halakhah and History
The first part of a series of articles on schisms in Jewish history by Lawrence H. Schiffman.
Biblical Pharisees and Jewish Halakhah
Good guys with bad press, says scholar Roland Deines.
A Sefer Torah in the Bologna Library May Be the Oldest Known Torah Scroll
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Interesting but that isn’t the same as ‘handwritten’. Handwritten involves the whole person, the person’s time and energy, not just their ability to write. In addition as the article says, it is to be done reverently and prayerfully but the mindless robot cannot do that. It is the same idea as in iconography which requires it be done reverently and prayerfully, not just a factory mass-producing pictures.
To my mind, this robotic scroll is far holier, more “kosher” than one hand-written on parchment/vellum with a quill, because it uses no animal products. It does not require the killing of animals or cruelty towards animals to ensure its production. I eagerly await the news that Progressive Jewish movements are taking these scrolls into use as appropriate for synagogue ritual.
The strictures involved in producing a “kosher” scroll — goose feather, parchment, personal attitude(!) — seem akin to magical ritual.
The Rabbis say human parchment. A store bought copy of the Torah in book binding is just as acceptable.As long as the people listening HEAR the word then thats all that matters. Scrolls go for anywhere from 35K to 60K, money better used for the community. Some Synagogues keep two at least in case one has ink starting to flake and is unreadable. Senseless waste when the word is what is important.
I wonder if Maskil, Raymond, and ilan have items in their homes that are very precious to them, and that they treat with special care that others would not afford them? If so, then I would respectfully suggest that their comments are somewhat hypocritical!
The rules for the copying of the Torah scrolls were laid down a long time ago. To judge them by contemporary standards – and even personal ones! – is surely wrong!
God’s word human involvement animal involvement. This is the formula for many Kosher things. Not just a Torah scroll.
Computers and Robots cannot pray, only humans can. People keep the Torah alive in the earth by living it.
If I personally buy my wife flowers each week that I select it means more than having the florist automatically deliver flowers in my name, for her, every week and bill me. A Mitzvah must have intentionality.
Interacting with the Torah by reading it aloud and writing it changes the person doing it. It makes them more like G-d, who gave the Torah. People are made in the divine image. A changed person changes the community. A changed community can positively impact the world.
These people forget that as you write (in Hebrew or Greek) the words you writing are able to become more a part of “you”. If you go back far enough the each “King” was give a copy of the Scriptures to “copy” as his personal “Bible”. This made the Word of GOD more personal. What a shame we don’t ask or seminary students to copy the Bible in Hebrew and Greek before they get in a pulpit
If our president were required to write out in his (or jer) own handwriting his (or her) own personal copy of the US Constitution, and read that personal copy as a guide to governance, as kings of Israel were scriptually required to do, the president would be less likely to depart from the “letter of the law”, and issue edicts that contradict the law.
Talmud talks about a torah written by a non Jew. how to deal with this situation .surly some of this applies
ben
How legalistic. I’m sure YHWH is thrilled to make His Word available especially if it is a perfect copy.