387. Holes in the Parchment

Tefillin, Mezuzah v’Sefer Torah 1:20

If the parchment has holes, one may not write over a hole. If ink passes over a hole, the existence of the hole makes no difference and one may write over it. Therefore, if the skin of a bird has been made into parchment, one may write on it. Let’s say that a parchment develops a hole after it has been written on. If the hole is inside a letter, such as in the hollow space of a hei or a mem, it is valid. If a hole separates the leg of a letter, it is still valid if the leg is still the size of a small letter and the hole has not caused the letter to resemble a different letter. If the remaining leg is not the size of a small letter, it is invalid.

Tefillin, Mezuzah v’Sefer Torah 2:1

Tefillin of the head are written as follows: four sections are written on four parchments. They are rolled shut individually and placed into four compartments, which are then covered by a single piece of leather. The four sections of the arm tefillin are written in four columns on one parchment. This is rolled closed like a sefer Torah, i.e., from the end to the beginning, then placed into a single compartment.