A tag (Aramaic: תאג, plural tagin, תאגין) is a decoration drawn over some Hebrew letters in the Jewish scrolls of Sifrei Kodesh, Tefillin and Mezuzot. The Hebrew name for this scribal feature is kether (כתר). Both tag and kether mean 'crown' in Aramaic and Hebrew respectively.
In modern practice, the letters Beth, Daleth, He, Heth, Yud and Quf have one tag (Mnemonic: BeDeQ-ChaYaH בדק חיה). The letters Gimel, Zayin, Tet, Nun, Ayin, Tzadi and Shin, as far back as Talmudic times, have 3 tags (Mnemonic: Sha´ATNeZ-GaTz שעטנז גץ).[citation needed] Some manuscripts feature embellished tagin on the top line of each column and some also on all occurrences of the Tetragrammaton other than those prefixed with a lamed.[citation needed]
Sefer Tagin
The Shema and the V'ahavta, with tagin decorations. The Tetragrammaton, which occurs multiple times, receives tagin on the yodh and he letters.
A close-up of a Torah scroll, showing tagin decorations on the Hebrew letters. The passage is Numbers 18:27–30.
About the 2nd century CE, a work called Sefer Tagin (ספר תאגין or ספר תאגי) emerged attributed to Rabbi Akiva which laid out the 1960 places where modified tagin or letter forms occur in a Torah scroll. In it, the locations of letters which receive a number of tagin which differs from the sha'atnez gatz tradition, e.g. the initial beit of bereshith in Genesis 1:1 having 4 tagin as opposed to the usual 1 and the instances of aleph which bear 7 tagin apiece.[1] According to this work, each occurrence of each letter is to be written with between 0 and 7 tagin, as delineated in the lists contained therein.[2]
Maimonides
This tradition, predating the versification of the Torah text, contains some instruction wherein it is difficult to know what verses are being referenced, thus in the 12th century, Maimonides ruled that though a scribe should do his utmost to incorporate all of the elements of this tradition, called otiyyot meshunot (strange letters), if they are omitted, whether in full or in part, the scroll would not be ruled as pasul (invalid).[3]
Interpretation
The Talmud states that tagin was originally added to the text by God at Mount Sinai, and that Rabbi Akiva would use their presence in order to derive laws.[4]
Sofer (scribal) penmanship for ritual STA"M use of Kulmusim quill
Halachic origins in Gemara, the Babylonian Tractate Menachot 29
Conventions in use
May 11, 2023
hebrew, writing, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, hebrew, writing, news, newspapers, books, scholar, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Tag Hebrew writing news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message A tag Aramaic תאג plural tagin תאגין is a decoration drawn over some Hebrew letters in the Jewish scrolls of Sifrei Kodesh Tefillin and Mezuzot The Hebrew name for this scribal feature is kether כתר Both tag and kether mean crown in Aramaic and Hebrew respectively Three tagin on the letter Gimel ג Contents 1 Placement 1 1 Sefer Tagin 1 2 Maimonides 2 Interpretation 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksPlacement Edit Three tagin on the letter Ayin ע In modern practice the letters Beth Daleth He Heth Yud and Quf have one tag Mnemonic BeDeQ ChaYaH בדק חיה The letters Gimel Zayin Tet Nun Ayin Tzadi and Shin as far back as Talmudic times have 3 tags Mnemonic Sha ATNeZ GaTz שעטנז גץ citation needed Some manuscripts feature embellished tagin on the top line of each column and some also on all occurrences of the Tetragrammaton other than those prefixed with a lamed citation needed Sefer Tagin Edit The Shema and the V ahavta with tagin decorations The Tetragrammaton which occurs multiple times receives tagin on the yodh and he letters A close up of a Torah scroll showing tagin decorations on the Hebrew letters The passage is Numbers 18 27 30 About the 2nd century CE a work called Sefer Tagin ספר תאגין or ספר תאגי emerged attributed to Rabbi Akiva which laid out the 1960 places where modified tagin or letter forms occur in a Torah scroll In it the locations of letters which receive a number of tagin which differs from the sha atnez gatz tradition e g the initial beit of bereshith in Genesis 1 1 having 4 tagin as opposed to the usual 1 and the instances of aleph which bear 7 tagin apiece 1 According to this work each occurrence of each letter is to be written with between 0 and 7 tagin as delineated in the lists contained therein 2 Maimonides Edit This tradition predating the versification of the Torah text contains some instruction wherein it is difficult to know what verses are being referenced thus in the 12th century Maimonides ruled that though a scribe should do his utmost to incorporate all of the elements of this tradition called otiyyot meshunot strange letters if they are omitted whether in full or in part the scroll would not be ruled as pasul invalid 3 Interpretation EditThe Talmud states that tagin was originally added to the text by God at Mount Sinai and that Rabbi Akiva would use their presence in order to derive laws 4 In kabbalistic thought each tag has special significance and meaning citation needed See also EditKtav Stam Serifs tagin References Edit cf Soferim 9 1 Brian Tice Sefer Tagin ספר תאגין An Ancient Sofer Manual Grand Rapids Mich Yiddishkeit 101 2021 ISBN 979 8 4929 0692 4 Moshe ben Maimon Rambam Mishneh Torah Hilkhot Sefer Torah uMezuzah v Tefillin 7 8 Menahot 29b Shabbat 89aExternal links EditLearning About Tagin UnderstandingHebrew com Sofer scribal penmanship for ritual STA M use of Kulmusim quill Halachic origins in Gemara the Babylonian Tractate Menachot 29 Conventions in use Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tag Hebrew writing amp oldid 1131328510, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
