What is the Mitzvah of writing your own Sefer Torah? Why don’t many people do this nowadays?
From the Shulchan Aruch it would seem like writing a Sefer Torah is a Mitzvas Aseh so why does it seem like so few people do this?
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The Shulchan Aruch (Y”D 270:1) writes that there is a positive commandment for every Jew to write a Sefer Torah. The Tur (ibid.) writes that if he wrote [the Sefer Torah] or even edited one letter it is as if he received it on Mt. Sinai. The Beis Yosef explains: ‘If he wrote it’―He himself or hired a sofer to write it and worked hard so that it should be written correctly, it is as if he received it on Mt. Sinai, etc.
The Rosh (Hilchos Sefer Torah 1, see Beis Yosef Y”D 270) explains that the main purpose of the commandment of writing a Sefer Torah is to learn from it. (Not to store it in shul.) This means that even if the local community or shul does not need another Sefer Torah, it is a mitzvah to write one and use it for learning. (Many people are maavir sidrah from their personal Sefer Torah.)
Rav Yitzchak Abadi holds there is a mitzvah to write a Sefer Torah or have one written for you. Merely owning a Chumash does not fulfill this obligation.
Writing or purchasing a Sefer Torah can be difficult and expensive which is why we see many people not fulfilling this Mitzvah. This is also why many shuls, especially in places like hospitals and hotels or small settlements, have non-kosher Sifrei Torah. This is especially common with old Sifrei Torah. They continue to be used and lead to berachos recited in vain.
This is why Rav Yitzchak Abadi has spent years developing the silk screen Sefer Torah process together with R’ Yosef Tesler.
Silk screen Sifrei Torah offer an opportunity for people to purchase beautiful kosher Sifrei Torah written by a God-fearing sofer, for a fraction of the price of a handwritten Sefer Torah. With high cost as the main obstacle to buying a Sefer Torah, silk screen Sifrei Torah offer an affordable solution and do not compromise on either quality or beauty. With silk screen, many more people would be able to fulfill the mitzvah of writing their own Sefer Torah, and many shuls would be saved from the sin of blessing and reading from invalid Sifrei Torah.
You can read more about silk screen Sifrei Torah here: I'd love to learn more about the silk screen sefer torah project and the halachah. Where can I find this information?