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The parchment, or Klaf as it is called,
used for the Sefer Torah, is made
from the hides of an animal of the
Kosher species. The most preferable
quality parchment is Shlil, the hide of
the embryo or a newborn calf. The
surface of the Klaf should not be
coated or glazed. Approximately sixty-
two hides are needed for a complete
Sefer Torah. The average size of a
newly written Sefer Torah is between
17 to 20 inches however, smaller sizes
are available.
Kosher Parchment called Klaf must
be prepared specifically for that
purpose (ie. the klaf for a Torah
cannot be used for Tefillin, and vice
versa). The parchment must derive
from a kosher animal, usually a
goat, bull /cow, or deer. The Klaf is
meticulously prepared by the
Sofer, who first soaks the skin in
lime water for nine days to remove
hairs, and then stretches the skin
over a wooden frame to dry. The
Sofer scrapes the skin while it is
stretched over the wooden frame
to remove more hair and smooths
the surface of the skin in
preparation for writing on it with
the use of a sanding machine. When
the skin is dry, the Sofer cuts it
into a rectangle. The Sofer must
prepare many such skins because a
Sefer Torah usually contains 248
columns, and one rectangle of
parchment yields space for three or
four columns. Thus a Sefer Torah
may require up to 80 or more
skins in all.
Finally, When the parchment sheets
are ready, the Sofer applies a
straight edge to draw a writing
pattern – usually forty two
horizontal lines across the
parchment and two vertical lines
defining the boundaries for each
column. He also leaves a blank
space between the area designed
for writing and the margin –
(according to the tradition, it has to
be five fingers wide). Thus, a Sofer
will have at least three to four
columns on each piece of
parchment – called amudim (amud –
a column). In general, there should
be no less than three amudim on
one yeriah (sheet or folio) and not more than eight. There must be a margin of three inches on the top, four
inches at the bottom, and two
inches between columns. Now the
parchment is waiting for the writing
process to start.