Klaf
This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2022) |
Klaf or Qelaf (
Description and rules
Klaf is a specially prepared, tanned, split skin of a kosher animal—goat, cattle, or deer. Rabbinic literature addresses three forms of tanned skin: gevil, consisting of the full, unsplit hide; and klaf and duchsustus, which are the split halves of the full hide. The rabbinic scholars are divided upon which is the inner and which is the outer of the two halves. Maimonides is of the opinion that klaf was the inner layer and that duchsustus was the outer layer [1] The "Shulchan Aruch" rules in the reverse that klaf was the outer layer and that duchsustus was the inner layer [2]
There are
Preparation
The legally required method of cleaning and preparing klaf has been altered over the centuries. During
Some parchment (usually poor quality) is smeared with log, a chalky substance, to make it whiter. Occasionally this is only done on the reverse. Some scribes object to the use of log as it forms a barrier between the ink and the parchment.
Uses
In Talmudic times klaf was primarily used for tefillin and at times mezuzot. Since the 9th or 10th centuries it has become more widespread to write Sifrei Torah on klaf; however, even today, there are still groups who continue to adhere to the ancient prescription described in the Talmud, and continue to write on gevil (full-grain leather).
Rabbi Abraham ben Isaac of Narbonne, in his day (early 12th-century), wrote the following account in his Questions & Responsa:
Our Torah scroll, even though it is not made in accordance with the halakha, since it is written upon klaf called [in Arabic] req (= parchment), which is neither treated with [barley]-flour nor tanned with tannins, they (i.e. the Jewish community at large) have already relied upon its use owing to the extenuating circumstances, for 'it is a time for God to act, [so as to avoid] their cancelling of Your Divine Law.' They are [obligated to] stand-up before it, and observe concerning it the sanctity prescribed for the Book of the Law (Torah), and it is forbidden to hold-on to it without the intermediate handkerchiefs.[4]
Intent
The parchment must be prepared "for the sake of use for the
Current production
Today there is a large amount of klaf processed under rabbinical supervision, and the variety, quality, and quantity are increasing.
See also
- Ktav Stam
- Kulmus
- Leather in Judaism
References
- ^ "Mishneh Torah, Tefillin, Mezuzah and the Torah Scroll 1:7". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- ^ "Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 32:7". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon ("Maimonides"), "Tefillin, Mezuzah and Sefer Torah" - Chapter One, translated by Eliyahu Touger, on Chabad.org. Accessed 9 March 2024.
- OCLC 232953513.