Hiked up Masada today. The path can be seen snaking back and forth on the right side of the picture. If you look closely, you can see a group of people about a third of the way up (for scale). It was quite a hike!
1. The parchment was derived from a Kosher animal, usually a goat, and prepared by the Sofer.
2. First the skin soaked in lime water for nine days to remove hairs.
3. Then the skin is stretched over a wooden frame to dry.
4. The Sofer scrapes the skin while it is stretched over the wooden frame to remove more hair and smoothes the surface of the skin in preparation for writing on it with the use of a sanding machine.
5. When the skin is dry, the Sofer cuts it into a rectangle.
6. While at work, the Sofer is a vehicle for God's holy words and thus intense concentration and cognizance of the sanctity of the work are critically important.
7. The Sofer carefully and patiently carves a point in the end of the kosher feather and uses many quills in the course of writing one Torah. A special quill is used only for the names of God.
8. The Sofer is not allowed to write from memory. He must look into the Tikkun for each next letter, concentrating himself on the holiness and significance of each letter
9. The scroll may contain no errors whatsoever. While some mistakes may be corrected by scraping off the ink of a letter made in error with a knife or pumice stone; if a mistake is made in writing any of the names of God, no correction may be made because God's name may not be erased. The entire sheet parchment must be buried or placed in a geniza (storage area for damaged holy texts), and the Sofer must begin that section again.
