Daf Ditty Shabbes 79 :‫דּוְּכסוְּסטוֹס‬

Hamlet. Is not parchment made of sheepskins?

Horatio. Ay, my lord, and of calves' skins too.
 :‫ ְתַּנן‬.‫ ַמה ְקָלף כּוְֹתִבין ָﬠָליו ְתִּפיִלּין — ַאף דּוְּכסוְּסטוֹס כּוְֹתִבין ָﬠָליו ְתִּפיִלּין‬.‫ דּוְּכסוְּסטוֹס ֲה ֵרי הוּא ִכְּקָלף‬:‫ָאַמר ַרב‬
:‫ ָתּא ְשַׁמע‬.‫ דּוְּכסוְּסטוֹס ָלא?! ְלִמְצָוה‬,‫ ְקָלף — ִאין‬,‫ְקָלף ְכֵּדי ִלְכתּוֹב ָפּ ָרָשׁה ְקַטָנּה ֶשַׁבְּתִּפיִלּין ֶשִׁהיא ״ְשַׁמע ִיְשׂ ָרֵאל״‬
.‫שׂיָﬠר‬ ֵ ‫ דּוְּכסוְּסטוֹס — ִבְּמקוֹם‬,‫שׂר‬ ָ ‫ ְקָלף — ִבְּמקוֹם ָבּ‬.‫ ְתִּפיִלּין ַﬠל ַהְקָּלף וְּמזוָּזה ַﬠל דּוְּכסוְּסטוֹס‬,‫שׁה ִמִסּיַני‬
ֶ ‫ֲהָלָכה ְלֹמ‬
‫ְלִמְצָוה‬.

Rav said: Dokhsostos has the same legal status as parchment:

Just as one may write the portions of the phylacteries on parchment, so too, one may write the
portions of the phylacteries on dokhsostos.

The Gemara asks, we learned in the mishna: The measure that determines liability for carrying
out parchment is equivalent to that which is used to write the shortest portion in the phylacteries,
which is the portion of Shema Yisrael.

By inference: Parchment, yes, the portions of the phylacteries may be written on it.

Dokhsostos, no, the portions of the phylacteries may not be written on it.

The Gemara answers: That is no proof, as the mishna is referring to the optimal manner in which
to fulfill the mitzva, i.e., writing the portions of the phylacteries on parchment. However, one
fulfills the mitzva by writing on dokhsostos as well.

Come and hear that which was taught in a baraita: It is a halakha transmitted to Moses from
Sinai that the portions of the phylacteries are written on parchment, and a mezuza is written on
dokhsostos.

When writing on parchment, one writes on the side of the hide that faced the flesh; on dokhsostos,
one writes on the side of the hide on which there was hair.

This contradicts the opinion of Rav, who said that phylacteries may be written on dokhsostos.

The Gemara answers: The baraita is also referring to the optimal manner in which to fulfill the
mitzva.

When the hide is processed, the skin of the animal is split into two parts. The outside piece is
called ‫ קלף‬and the inside piece, closer to the flesh, is called ‫ דוכסוסטוס‬.

The ‫ מזוזה‬is supposed to be written on the outer part of this inner skin.

‫ כותבין על הקלף במקום בשר ואם שינה‬.‫לכה למשה מסיני תפילין על הקלף ולא על הדוכסוסטוס ולא על הגויל‬
‫פסול מהו קלף ומהו דוכסוסטוס העור בשעת עיבודו חולקין אותו לשני' והחלק החיצון שהוא לצד השער נקרא‬
‫קלף והפנימי הדבוק לבשר נקרא דוכסוסטוס לפי זה כי אמרינן כותבים על הקלף במקום בשר היינו מקום היותר‬
‫קרוב לבשר דהיינו במקום חבורו כשהוא דבוק לדוכסוסטוס וקלפים שלנו שאין חולקים אותם יש להם דין קלף‬
‫וכותבים עליהם לצד בשר שמה שמגררים קליפתו העליונה שבמקום שער אינו אלא כדי מה שצריך לתקנו‬
 ‫להחליקו ואפילו אם היו חולקים העור לשנים היה צריך לגרר ממנו כך ומצד הבשר גוררים הרבה עד שאין‬
‫נשאר אלא הקלף בלבד‬:

It is a Received Tradition going back to Moses that tefillin [are written] on the klaf layer, not on
dukhsustos or gewil; on the klaf layer, on the flesh side and any variation is invalid.

What are [these layers]? When a raw skin is split thickness-wise, the outer layer towards the fur
is klaf and the inner one towards the meat is dukhsustos.

Thus when we say "the flesh side of the klaf" we mean the side closer to the flesh i.e. where it
connects to the dukhsustos.

Our parchment which is not split, is halachically klaf and we write on it on the flesh side since
what is scraped away from the hair side is just enough to smooth it out and would be scraped off
even if we were to split the hide, while on the inside all the dukhsustos is scraped away.

Shulchan Aruch O. C. 32:7

When the Baraisa says that the ‫ קלף‬is toward the flesh, it is referring to the layer of the ‫ קלף‬upon
where the writing must take place. In other words, we write the chapters of the shema for the
tefillin on the inside of the ‫קלף‬

Similarly, when the Baraisa says that ‫ דוכסוסטוס‬is toward the hair, it does not mean that the
‫ דוכסוסטוס‬itself is toward the hair, because this it is not the case.

Rather, it means that the writing of ‫ מזוזות‬is on the outer-side of this inner layer of skin, which is
the side closer to the hair. There is another term used in this context.

A sefer Torah is written upon ‫ גויל‬.This is the full skin, unsplit. The hair is removed and the
surfaced is smoothed by being scraped off. On the side facing the flesh of the animal nothing is
removed, and it is smoothed out.1

When the Baraisa says ‫ בשר במקום קלף‬,it means that the ‫ קלף‬itself is the inside layer of this split
skin. Similarly, when it says ‫ דוסוסטוס שיער במקום‬,it means that this layer is that which is toward
the skin, meaning the outer layer of this split hide.
According to these Rishonim, the Baraisa does not tell us where the writing itself must be, but
they explain that it is not along the split itself, but it is rather along the outside layers of the
relative pieces.2

1
Some Rishonim (Rambam, Ramban, Ritva) explain the sugya in the reverse. They say that ‫ קלף‬refers to the inner layer of the
skin, which faces the flesh, while ‫ דוכסוסטוס‬is the outer layer of the skin which faces the hair of the animal.
2
Daf Digest Shabbes 79
 m‫ ְוַאַחר ָכּ‬.‫ לוְֹקִחין עוֹר ְבֵּהָמה אוֹ ַחָיּה וַּמֲﬠִבי ִרין ַהֵשָּׂﬠר ִמֶמּנּוּ ְתִּחָלּה‬.‫ ֵכּיַצד‬.‫ ְגּ ִויל וְּקָלף ְודוְּכסוְּסטוּס‬.‫שׁ עוֹרוֹת ֵהן‬h‫ָשׁ‬
‫שְׁמַּכ ְוִּצין ֶאת ָהעוֹר‬ֶ ‫ ָבֲּﬠְפָצא ְוַכיּוֵֹצא בּוֹ ִמְדָּב ִרים‬m‫ ְוַאַחר ָכּ‬.‫ ְמַﬠְבִּדין אוֹתוֹ ְבֶּקַמח‬m‫ ְוַאַחר ָכּ‬.‫מוְֹלִחין אוֹתוֹ ְבֶּמַלח‬
‫ ְוֶזה הוּא ַה ִנְּק ָרא ְגּ ִויל‬.‫וְּמַחְזִּקין אוֹתוֹ‬:

There are three kinds of parchment: gvil, klaf and duxustus. They are made as follows: The skin
of a sheep, goat, or other animal, is taken, and after removing its hair, is sprinkled with salt and
treated with flour and gall-nut resin, or anything that contracts the pores of the hide and makes it
durable. This parchment is called gvil.

RAMBAM, Mishneh Torah, Hil. Tefillin, Mezuzah and the Torah Scroll
Chapter 1

According to the Halakhot Gedolot, klaf is the inner layer, adjacent to the flesh,
while dukhsustos is the outer layer, on which the hair grows:
‫תניא הלכה למשה מסיני תפילין על הקלף ומזוזה על דוכסוסטוס וקלף במקום בשר ודוכסוסטוס במקום שער‬.
A baraita states: It is a Law given to Moses at Sinai that tefilin are written
on qelaf and mezuzah on dukhsustus. Qelaf [is written] where it [faced] flesh; dukhsustus, facing
hair.

Hilkhot Tefilin, perek 25 daf 100 in Venice 1548 printing

Duchsustus (Hebrew: ‫דוכסוסטוס‬, from Greek δυσχιστός dyschistos) is the name of a type
of parchment used for religious writings in Judaism.

It is originally a Greek word and one of three Talmudic names for animal skin.

The other two are kelaf and gevil.

The meanings of these terms, however, are the subject of controversy in Jewish law.
According to the Talmud, a sefer Torah should, ideally, be written on gevil, but may also be on
klaf, Tefillin must be written on Klaf, and Mezuzah should be written on duchsustus, kelaf, or
gevil.
This instruction is dated to Moses at Mount Sinai.
Duchsustus is the animal's dermis,
klaf is the epidermis, and
gevil is both layers tanned unseparated.

Parchment, is the processed skins of certain animals—chiefly sheep, goats, and calves—that
have been prepared for the purpose of writing on them. The name apparently derives from the
ancient Greek city of Pergamum (modern Bergama, Turkey), where parchment is said to have
been invented in the 2nd century BC. Skins had been used for writing material even earlier, but a
new, more thorough method of cleaning, stretching, and scraping made possible the use of both
sides of a manuscript leaf, leading to the supplanting of the rolled manuscript by the
bound book (codex).

Types of writing materials and methods

In Hellenistic times (c. 300 BC–c. AD 300), official records were often inscribed on stone or
metal tablets. Literary works and detailed letters were written on parchment or papyrus, though
short or temporary records were written or scratched on potsherds (ostraca) or wax
tablets. Scrolls were made by gluing together papyrus sheets (made from the pith of the papyrus
reed) or by sewing together parchment leaves (made from treated and scraped animal skins); they
were written in columns and read by shifting the roll backward and forward from some wooden
support on one or both ends. Such scrolls were used for literary or religious works and seldom
exceeded 30 feet (nine meters) in length because of their weight and awkwardness in handling.

In contrast, the church used not scrolls but the codex (book) form for its literature. A codex was
formed by sewing pages of papyrus or parchment of equal size one upon another and vertically
down the middle, forming a quire; both sides of the pages thus formed could be written upon. In
antiquity, the codex was the less honourable form of writing material, used for notes and casual
records. The use of the book form testifies to the low cultural and educational status of early
Christianity—and, as the church rose to prominence, it brought “the book” with it. Not until the
time of the Roman emperor Constantine in the 4th century, when Christianity became a state
religion, were there parchment codices containing the whole New Testament.
Some very early New Testament manuscripts and fragments thereof are papyrus, but parchment,
when available, became the best writing material until the advent of printing. The majority of
New Testament manuscripts from the 4th to 15th centuries are parchment codices. When
parchment codices occasionally were deemed no longer of use, the writing was scraped off and a
new text written upon it. Such a rewritten (rescriptus) manuscript is called a palimpsest (from the
Greek palin, “again,” and psaō, “I scrape”). Often the original text of a palimpsest can be
discerned by photographic process.

According to the Roman Varro and Pliny's Natural History, vellum and parchment were invented
under the patronage of Eumenes of Pergamum, as a substitute for papyrus, which was temporarily
not being exported from Alexandria, its only source.
Herodotus mentions writing on skins as common in his time, the 5th century BC; and in
his Histories (v.58) he states that the Ionians of Asia Minor had been accustomed to give the name
of skins (diphtherai) to books; this word was adapted by Hellenized Jews to describe scrolls.
Parchment (pergamenum in Latin), however, derives its name from Pergamon, the city where it
was perfected (via the French parchemin). In the 2nd century B.C. a great library was set up in
Pergamon that rivalled the famous Library of Alexandria. As prices rose for papyrus and the reed
used for making it was over-harvested towards local extinction in the two nomes of the Nile delta
that produced it, Pergamon adapted by increasing use of vellum and parchment.

Writing on prepared animal skins had a long history, however. Some Egyptian Fourth Dynasty
texts were written on vellum and parchment. Though the Assyrians and the Babylonians impressed
their cuneiform on clay tablets, they also wrote on parchment and vellum from the 6th century BC
onward. Rabbinic culture equated the idea of a book with a parchment scroll. Early Islamic texts
are also found on parchment.

One sort of parchment is vellum, a word that is used loosely to mean parchment, and especially to
mean a fine skin, but more strictly refers to skins made from calfskin (although goatskin can be as
fine in quality). The words vellum and veal come from Latin vitulus, meaning calf, or its
diminutive vitellus.

In the Middle Ages, calfskin and split sheepskin were the most common materials for making
parchment in England and France, while goatskin was more common in Italy. Other skins such as
those from large animals such as horse and smaller animals such as squirrel and rabbit were also
used. Whether uterine vellum (vellum made from aborted calf fetuses) was ever really used during
the medieval period is still a matter of great controversy.
There was a short period during the introduction of printing where parchment and paper were
used interchangeably: although most copies of the Gutenberg Bible are on paper, some were
printed on animal skins.
In 1490, Johannes Trithemius preferred the older methods, because "handwriting placed on skin
will be able to endure a thousand years. But how long will printing last, which is dependent on
paper?
For if ...it lasts for two hundred years that is a long time."

In the later Middle Ages, the use of animal skins was largely replaced by paper. New techniques
in paper milling allowed it to be much cheaper and more abundant than parchment. With the
advent of printing in the later fifteenth century, the demands of printers far exceeded the supply
of vellum and parchment.
The heyday of parchment use was during the medieval period, but there has been a growing revival
of its use among contemporary artists since the late 20th century. Although it never stopped being
used (primarily for governmental documents and diplomas) it had ceased to be a primary choice
for artist's supports by the end of 15th century Renaissance. This was partly due to its expense and
partly due to its unusual working properties.3

3
Richard Norman, https://www.abaa.org/blog/post/the-history-of-vellum-and-parchment