Megillat Shir HaShirim on Gevil, 18 cm

Megillat Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs), Sephardi text, written on gevil parchment by a God-fearing scribe. Height 18 cm, 11 lines, includes a wooden roller. The Holy of Holies on gevil – the virtue of reading Shir HaShirim from a scribe’s handwriting: on every festival, and especially on Friday evenings, the fragrance of ancient holiness rises with the reading of Shir HaShirim. Rabbi Akiva already ruled in tractate Yadayim: “All the Writings are holy, but Shir HaShirim is the Holy of Holies.” To truly feel that holiness, the vessel that holds the words matters greatly – the mehudar gevil. Gevil is the most ancient and distinguished form of hide processing for holy work; unlike modern klaf, gevil keeps its epidermis layer, as was customary from the days of Moses. Writing Shir HaShirim on gevil is a choice of direct connection to the tradition of generations.