Show and Tell
A cute thing someone in the daf yomi chabura noticed.
On Menachot 30a:
וְלֹא יַרְבֶּה בְּדַפִּין, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁנִּרְאֶה אִגֶּרֶת, וְלֹא יְמַעֵט בְּדַפִּין, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁעֵינָיו מְשׁוֹטְטוֹת, אֶלָּא כְּגוֹן ״לְמִשְׁפְּחוֹתֵיכֶם לְמִשְׁפְּחוֹתֵיכֶם לְמִשְׁפְּחוֹתֵיכֶם״ שָׁלֹשׁ פְּעָמִים.
And he may not increase the number of columns, e.g., by writing eight columns on a narrow sheet of parchment, since then each column has the appearance of a missive due to its narrow lines. And he may not decrease the number of columns, e.g., by writing three columns on a wide sheet of parchment, since then the lines will be so wide that the reader’s eyes will wander, as it will be difficult to find the beginning of a line. Rather, the ideal width of a line is, for example, where one can write “lemishpeḥoteikhem,” “lemishpeḥoteikhem,” “lemishpeḥoteikhem,” for a total of three times.
Thus, the width of a column in the word לְמִשְׁפְּחוֹתֵיכֶם, which is the longest Biblical word, three times plus the space between them.
And, in the Vilna Shas, they write it three times, in a way that fits across the full central column. Of course, there are parentheses telling us those words should not be not be there the second two times, because that is what gimel pe’amim means anyway!
Of course, this was a reaction to the Venice printing which also have the word לְמִשְׁפְּחוֹתֵיכֶם three times followed by gimel pe’amim.
Meanwhile, none of the manuscripts have לְמִשְׁפְּחוֹתֵיכֶם repeated. Just the word once followed by the direction of “three times”.
Another interesting question is whether the word לְמִשְׁפְּחוֹתֵיכֶם should be spelled malei or chaser. In the manuscripts, it is spelled malei with a vav after the chet. But that is how I would expect the Talmudic manuscripts and printings to spell it. Talmud is more often malei where the Biblical verse itself is chaser.
However, the verse in which the word appears, in Shemot 12:21, it is chaser:
וַיִּקְרָ֥א מֹשֶׁ֛ה לְכׇל־זִקְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֑ם מִֽשְׁכ֗וּ וּקְח֨וּ לָכֶ֥ם צֹ֛אן לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתֵיכֶ֖ם וְשַׁחֲט֥וּ הַפָּֽסַח׃
Moses then summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go, pick out lambs for your families, and slaughter the passover offering.
It makes sense to be that the word being used to measure the width of a sefer Torah column should be the one that appears in the Torah. That means that there is a difference in three vav widths.
Rambam in Mishneh Torah seems to have it malei.
סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה שֶׁכְּתָבוֹ בְּלֹא שִׂרְטוּט אוֹ שֶׁכְּתָבוֹ מִקְצָתוֹ עַל הַגְּוִיל וּמִקְצָתוֹ עַל הַקְּלָף פָּסוּל אֶלָּא אוֹ כֻּלּוֹ עַל הַגְּוִיל אוֹ כֻּלּוֹ עַל הַקְּלָף. וְכֵיצַד כּוֹתְבִין סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה. כּוֹתֵב כְּתִיבָה מְתֻקֶּנֶת נָאָה בְּיוֹתֵר. יַנִּיחַ בֵּין כָּל תֵּבָה וְתֵבָה כִּמְלֹא אוֹת קְטַנָּה וּבֵין אוֹת לְאוֹת כִּמְלֹא חוּט הַשַּׂעֲרָה וּבֵין כָּל שִׁיטָה וְשִׁיטָה כִּמְלֹא שִׁיטָה. וְאֹרֶךְ כָּל שִׁיטָה וְשִׁיטָה שְׁלֹשִׁים אוֹתִיּוֹת כְּדֵי לִכְתֹּב לְמִשְׁפְּחוֹתֵיכֶם לְמִשְׁפְּחוֹתֵיכֶם לְמִשְׁפְּחוֹתֵיכֶם תְּלָתָא זִמְנֵי. וְזֶה הוּא רֹחַב כָּל דַּף וְדַף. וְלֹא תְּהֵא שִׁיטָה קְצָרָה מִזֶּה כְּדֵי שֶׁלֹּא יְהֵא הַדַּף כְּאִגֶּרֶת. וְלֹא אָרְכָּהּ יוֹתֵר עַל זֶה כְּדֵי שֶׁלֹּא יְהוּ עֵינָיו מְשׁוֹטְטוֹת בַּכְּתָב:
A Torah scroll which was written on unruled [parchment] or which was written with portions on g’vil and portions on k’laf is invalid. It must be written either entirely on g’vil or entirely on k’laf.
How should a Torah scroll be written? One should write with very careful and attractive calligraphy, leaving the space the size of a small letter between each word and a hairbreadth’s space between each letter. The space of a line should be left between each line.
The length of each line should be thirty letters so that one can write the word למשפחותיכם three times. This should be the width of every column. A line should not be shorter than this, lest the column appear like a note; nor wider than this, so that one’s eyes will not wander through the text.
I have not checked manuscripts, but I think this printing is right. Note that Rambam says “thirty letters”. Spelled malei, lemishpechoteichem is indeed exactly 10 letters long. And he must not be considering the space in between those words as an ot ketana.
The same in Shulchan Aruch, spelled malei, with a count of 30:
אורך כל שיטה שלשים אותיות כדי לכתוב למשפחותיכם ג’ פעמים ולא תהיה קצרה מזה כדי שלא יהא הדף נראה כאגרת ולא ארוכה יותר על זה כדי שלא יהיו עיניו משוטטות בכתב (ל’ רמב”ם פ”ז מהלכות ס”ת ד”ד):
Maybe it does not matter, as Hagahot Maimoni approximates it at about a tefach. Three vavs off is still an approximation. Still, it bothers me a bit, and I wonder if it is actually off. Or whether adding two