How many cows are used for one Sefer Torah?

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As much as it sounds like a joke, it is a real question.

A couple of friends were curious about how many cows are used for one Sefer Torah.


So a couple of points here:
1. What is the average size for a Sefer Torah? (I know the layout is either 245 or 248 amudim or 62-63 yeriot)
2. Now, how many yeriot does one get from 1 single cow?
3. Based on number 2 how many cows do we use for a Sefer Torah?

Thank you everyone for your help as always!

Comments

  1. Rabbi Eli GutnickNovember 7, 2019 at 6:39 AM

    Good question.

    You might be surprised to learn that sheets of parchment that we use for sifrei Torah don't come from a cow but rather a very young calf, often even shlil (unborn fetus) which are not very big.

    They get one yeriya (sheet) per animal.

    So to answer your question, you would need 62 animals...

    So

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michael ArashebnNovember 7, 2019 at 11:15 PM

      Shlil is big enough to be used for a Sefer Torah? I’d imagine it would be too small at first, but then again depends on you would look at it. Thanks for the answer!

      Delete

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