429. The Parchment and Columns

Tefillin, Mezuzah v’Sefer Torah 7:4

If a sefer Torah was written on unscored parchment, or if it was written partially on g'vil and partially on klaf, it is invalid. The Torah must be written either completely on g’vil or completely on klaf. (G’vil and klaf are different kinds of parchment; see halachos 1:6-9.) A sefer Torah should be written very carefully with an attractive calligraphy. A space the size of a small letter must be left between each word and a space of a hair’s breadth must be left between each letter. The space of a line must be left in between lines. Each line should be thirty letters long so that the word “l’mishp’choseichem” (“according to your families,” ten letters in Hebrew) can be written three times. Every column should be this width. If it’s any shorter, the column will look like a letter (in the sense of personal correspondence). If it’s any wider than this, one’s eyes will get lost in the text.

Tefillin, Mezuzah v’Sefer Torah 7:5

One should not write a letter reduced in size in order to leave the right amount of space between sections. If one still has to write a word with five letters, he should not write two letters in the column and three in the margin. Rather, he should write three in the column and two in the margin. If there isn’t room for three letters on the line, he should leave an empty space and continue at the start of the next line.