Shabbat 104 - June 18, 26 Sivan

Study Guide Shabbat 104

In writing a sefer torah, if a mem which is used in the middle of a word can function as a mem at the end of a word, would the same hold true in the reverse case? Historically, did one precede the other? The gemara brings a drasha on the meaning of all the letters in the Hebrew alphabet and also regarding the direction and shapes of the letters. Drashot are also brought using codes like Aleph-Tav, Bet-Shin and others. In what ways and with what types of ink is one obligated to bring a sin offering if one wrote on Shabbat and in what ways is one exempt from a sin offering (but obligated by rabbinic law). Is one obligated if one wrote over letters already written or added one letter to a letter that was already written and formed a word or wrote two letters nowhere near each other? What if one wrote on one's body? Or scratches letters on his body? A story is told of Ben Setada who etched secret magic spells on his flesh to be able to sneak it out of Egypt. There is a section about him that was removed by the censor. Was it referring to Jesus? If one wrote the last letter of a book, is that forbidden by Torah law? What if one wrote one letter in two different cities (one letter in each city)?