Menachot 30b — the Talmud in English

Rather,

he should write

three

letters

within the page, and two

he may write

outside the page! 56.

That is, he may not have more than two letters extend outside the column, according to the Rosh in his laws of Torah scrolls.] 56 .

When does this apply? That he may write outside the page when he writes part of the word within the page. But if

there happened to be

at the end of the line

a

complete

two-letter

word, then

he may not cast it

into the complete word

between the columns; rather, he returns and writes

the word

at the beginning of the line

that follows. 57.

One who errs concerning the Divine Name,

in that instead of writing the Divine Name he wrote the word that follows it, which is a secular word,

scrapes

with a knife

what he wrote

in place of the Divine Name [the scraping with a knife should be done after the ink has dried, and he should not erase the ink while it is still wet, since then the erasure is not made neatly]. And after he scraped that word which was written in place of the Divine Name, he

“suspends” what he scraped,

that is, he writes it between the two lines, and such writing is called “suspension,”

and writes the Divine Name over the place of the scraping—these are the words of Rabbi

Judah. [The case is one in which he discovered the error after the other words following it had already been written; therefore he suspends the word following the Name, since he cannot write it further along the line]. 58.

This refers to a case in which he discovered the error after the other words that follow had already been written. Therefore, he suspends the word that follows the Name, since he cannot write it later in the line.)] 58 .

Rabbi Yose says:

He need not scrape it; rather,

the Divine Name may also be suspended

between the lines!

Rabbi Yitzchak says:

He need not wait until the ink dries and he can scrape it; rather,

he may also erase

the ink while it is still wet,

and write

the Divine Name in place of the erasure.

Rabbi Shimon Shezuri says: The entire Name

in its entirety

may be suspended,

but

part of it may not be suspended!

For one does not write part of the Divine Name on the line and part of the Divine Name between the lines. 60.

Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says in the name of Rabbi Meir: One does not write the Divine Name over the place of the scraping, nor over the place of the erasure, and one does not suspend it

between the lines, since that is not its honor. And if it happened that he erred and wrote another word in place of the Divine Name, and afterward wrote additional words,

what does he do,

since he has no possibility whatsoever of erasing and writing in place of the erasure?

He removes the entire sheet

that contains the error

and places it in geniza,

because additional Names are written on that same sheet.

It was stated: Rav Chananel said in the name of Rav: The halakha is that one suspends the Divine Name!

Rabbah bar bar Chana said in the name of Rabbi Yitzchak bar Shmuel: The halakha is that one erases and writes

the Divine Name over the place of the erasure.

And we raised an objection:

Let the master say,

Rav Chananel said in the name of Rav,

the halakha is in accordance with the master,

in accordance with Rabbi Yose, who holds that one suspends the Divine Name.

Let

the master

Rabbah bar bar Chana say in the name of Rabbi Yitzchak

the halakha is in accordance with the master,

in accordance with Rabbi Yitzchak, who holds that one may also erase and write!? And we answer:

Because

there are tannaim

who reverse them,

reversing the words of Rabbi Yose to accord with Rabbi Yitzchak, and the words of Rabbi Yitzchak to accord with Rabbi Yose. Therefore, they had to rule explicitly and say either that one suspends, or that one erases and writes. They could not suffice with mentioning the names of the tannaim in accordance with whom they ruled.

Ravin bar Chinena said in the name of Ulla, who said in the name of Rabbi Chanina: The halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Shimon Shezuri! And furthermore, wherever Rabbi Shimon Shezuri taught a ruling, the halakha is in accordance with him!

And we raised an objection:

Regarding that one

—concerning which ruling did Ravin bar Chinena say that the halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Shimon Shezuri?

If you say, regarding this:

concerning what we learned:

Rabbi Shimon Shezuri says: The entire Name may be suspended, but part of it may not be suspended! And it was stated concerning it

—concerning this matter—

Rav Chananel said in the name of Rav: The halakha is that one suspends the Divine Name! And Rabbah bar bar Chana said in the name of Rabbi Yitzchak bar Shmuel: The halakha is that one erases and writes!

And if it is so,

that Ravin bar Chinena said in the name of Ulla that Rabbi Chanina ruled in accordance with Rabbi Shimon Shezuri concerning the suspension of the Divine Name, then

he,

Ravin bar Chinena,

should also say

his words together with the words of Rav Chananel and Rabbah bar bar Chana; why were his words stated separately!?

Rather, regarding this:

Ravin bar Chinena said that Rabbi Chanina ruled that the halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Shimon Shezuri: