Mishneh Torah, Tefillin, Mezuzah and the Torah Scroll 7

Sugya Map

• Primary Issue: The scope and mechanics of the mitzvah of writing a Torah scroll (Sefer Torah).
• Core Question: Is the mitzvah derived from Ha'azinu ("Write for yourselves this song") essentially a command to write the Song or the entire Torah?
• Nafka Minot:
  • The "Whole" vs. "Part" debate: Does the prohibition against writing the Torah in parshiyot (sections) imply that writing partial scrolls (like chumashim) is a Torah-level violation or merely a Rabbinic prohibition?
  • Delegation/Purchase: If one cannot write, does purchasing or commissioning a scribe create a full mitzvah or a secondary, inferior fulfillment?
  • Gender: Are women obligated in the mitzvah of writing a Torah scroll?
• Primary Sources: Sanhedrin 21b, Menachot 30a, Gittin 60a, Nedarim 37b-38a, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Sefer Torah 7:1.

Text Snapshot

"מצות עשה על כל איש ואיש מישראל לכתוב ספר תורה לעצמו, שנאמר: 'ועתה כתבו לכם את השירה הזאת' – כלומר, כתבו לכם תורה שיש בה שירה זו, לפי שאין כותבין את התורה פרשיות פרשיות." (MT, Sefer Torah 7:1)

Leshon Nuance: Rambam uses the phrasing "כתבו לכם" (plural) to pivot from Moses to the entire nation. Note the dikduk in Sefer HaChinuch (Mitzvah 613) regarding the "plural" imperative: it is not merely a historical command to the generation of the desert, but a chovah (obligation) that iterates for every generation. The phrase "לפי שאין כותבין את התורה פרשיות פרשיות" is the crux of the Rambam's logic; it transforms a command about a section into a command about the whole, based on the technical halachic inability to produce a "partial" scroll.

Readings

1. The Sha’agat Arieh vs. Nachal Eitan (The Gender Debate)

The Sha’agat Arieh (Responsum 35) challenges the common assumption that women are exempt from writing a Torah scroll. He argues that since the mitzvah is not time-bound (mitzvah she-hazman grama), women should, by default, be obligated. He rejects the notion that the mitzvah is purely for the sake of Talmud Torah (study), noting that even if we define the mitzvah through the lens of study, women are obligated in Talmud Torah regarding the laws that apply to them.

Chiddush: The Nachal Eitan counters by invoking the principle of arvut (mutual responsibility). He posits that the mitzvah to write a Torah scroll is unique because it is an act of kiddush—a requirement to own the text. He distinguishes between the mitzvah of Mitzvah (the duty) and the ability to perform it. Since women are not obligated in the same scope of Talmud Torah as men, and since the mitzvah is inherently tied to the study that a man is obligated in, the exclusion is consistent. Furthermore, he argues that the mitzvah to write a scroll is an hachshara (preparatory act) for a study obligation that does not apply to women in the same capacity.

2. Ohr Sameach on the "Partnership" Scroll

The Ohr Sameach tackles the question of whether a community scroll suffices for the individual's mitzvah. He performs a deep dive into the Sifrei and the Tosefta concerning the King’s scroll vs. the commoner’s scroll.

Chiddush: He suggests that the mitzvah is not simply "having a scroll," but "writing/acquiring your scroll." He argues that a partnership scroll is insufficient because the mitzvah requires individual ownership (le-atzmo). He makes a brilliant comparison to challah—just as the mitzvah of challah is tied to the eisa (dough) and its owner, the mitzvah of Sefer Torah is tied to the guf (body) of the scroll and the guf of the owner. If the owner is not fully responsible for the specific mitzvah of writing it (e.g., if he is not the one who commissioned it or if he is a woman), the partnership doesn't "count" toward the specific chovah of the individual.

Friction

The Kushya: The "Partial Scroll" Paradox

The most persistent kushya (question) arises from the Rambam's own admission in Halachah 14: "It is permitted to write a scroll containing each of the five books of the Torah individually." If we are allowed to write chumashim (separate books), why does the Rambam use the prohibition of writing "parshiyot" (sections) to force the interpretation that "Write for yourselves this song" means "Write the whole Torah"?

The Terutz: The Qualitative Shift

The Yad Eitan and Shorshei HaYam offer a two-fold terutz:

1. Sanctity (Kedushah): A scroll of the whole Torah carries the kedushah of a Sefer Torah (used for public reading, etc.). A chumash carries the sanctity of a study text. The mitzvah of writing is not just about "producing text," but about producing a vessel of public holiness.
2. The "Witness" Factor: The verse "Write this song" is followed by "that it may be for a witness (le-ed)." A partial scroll cannot serve as a "witness" for the entire covenant. Therefore, the Rambam’s logic is that the "song" acts as a synecdoche—it represents the whole, and because you cannot write the Torah in pieces (to maintain its integrity as a Sefer Torah), you must write the whole.

Intertext

• Tanakh/Sotah 2:4: The story of Queen Heleni’s golden tablet—where the Sotah passage was inscribed for practical use—serves as a primary precedent for the tension between writing sections of the Torah and the prohibition of doing so. The Rambam uses this to limit the scope of what is permissible.
• SA Yoreh De’ah 270: The Shulchan Aruch codifies the Rabbenu Asher position that the mitzvah extends to writing chumashim and Talmudic texts, which seemingly contradicts the strictness of the Rambam. However, the Turei Zahav (270:4) resolves this: the original mitzvah of the Sefer Torah remains paramount, but the chachamim extended the merit of the mitzvah to accommodate the reality of the post-Temple era where Torah study is primarily focused on printed or hand-written texts.

Psak/Practice

In modern practice, the meta-psak heuristic is that the mitzvah is an "actualized" duty. While the Rema (YD 270) suggests that the mitzvah is fulfilled today by owning books, the Acharonim emphasize that the mitzvah of writing a Sefer Torah itself—the actual parchment—is not nullified. The common practice of "buying letters" in a community scroll is treated as a hiddur (embellishment) or a partial fulfillment of the mitzvah, but the halachic consensus (as noted in Pithei Teshuvah 270:1) remains that one who has the means should strive to own a personal scroll.

Takeaway

The mitzvah of writing a Torah is not merely an act of scribal production; it is an act of covenantal preservation. By writing the entire Torah, the individual prevents the Torah from being fragmented into "sections" of personal convenience, ensuring that the Song—the witness—remains connected to the whole.