This is primarily done to give the text an appearance of a list:
These breaks serve as paragraph markers, separating
individual commandments, particularly where they are not divided by a full line
break (which would be an "open" portion or petuhah).
Above is the format of the Vienna Scroll Exodus Ten Commandments. There is specific spacing, but it is different for other Torah scrolls. This is a German Scroll from 1825:
This is from a scroll from Northwester Africa from about 1700:
Some more about the format of the ten commandants in Torah scrolls:
In Torah scrolls, the Ten Commandments (Aseret Hadibrot) are written in two distinct, alternating formats—setumah (closed) or petuchah (open)—arranged in two columns of five, often representing the two tablets. The text, found in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, features a unique, melodic cantillation called taam elyon (upper inflection).
Does the Vienna scroll meet these requirements? The NW African and German scroll here have three columns for the ten commandments. The Vienna scroll two. What does this tell us about the Vienna Scroll and its parentage. What other community format the ten commandments this way?
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