Secret Codes Protect Ancient Torahs

An anonymous reader writes "A story on Wired News reports the problems Jewish synagogues have protecting their Torahs from theft. The Torah scrolls, containing the five books of Moses, are hand lettered over the course of a year, are often hundreds of years old, and can sell for $50,000 or more. But Judaic law "dictates that not one character can be added to the 304,805 letters of the Torah's text", which makes them untraceable and easily sold on the black market. Rabbinic authorities have recently approved two computer-based systems to make the scrolls traceable: one takes a digital fingerprint of a Torah, a second makes microperforations in the parchment that yield a unique identifier."

Comments

Thank jahweh!

[Anonymous Coward]

At least they didn't flush it down the toilet!

Re:Basic Cryptography

[Tony Hoyle]

Most american indian tribes are extinct.

All of your examples still live in their homeland.

The Discussion on this Board

[popo]

The discussion on this board only proves in spades that the Palestinian Israeli conflict isn't the result of politics....

Its the result of stupidity.

And apparently there's plenty to go around.

Right wing Christians, anti-semites, devout Jews, propagandists, and finger pointers spouting agendas, inflammatory flamebait and half-truths.

Realize, please, all of you, that none of you represents a solution.

That at least would be a good first step.

All this time, money and effort...

[cr0sh]

I am all for protecting and insuring against theft (or other damage) intellectual works and histories, products of the human mind. Which, ultimately, is what the Torah is. We, as rational human beings, should never destroy any work of the mind, whether valueless/depraved, or priceless and inspired - because in the end, it is who we ultimately are, and serves as a "roadmap" of sorts, for future generations.

The Torah, and other religious works, should be saved in some form.

However, with that said, if we are ever to advance beyond our current barbarisms, we must realize these works of religion for what they are...myths. Religion has inspired many people to do good. Within most of the worlds "great" religions, and most of the lesser ones, lie messages of peace, hope, and goodwill for our fellow man. However, some of the darkest periods in history were results of, or were instituted by, so-called "religious" people, acting upon supposedly "higher" orders, or so they thought.

Mod me down as "flamebait" if you wish, it doesn't change the facts of the matter...

Re:What is considered an addition to the text?

[DrXym]

If dogma is there to be subverted, why bother with it at all? Either the dogma is meaningless and should be tossed aside or it should be obeyed completely and not dodged. Evading what dogma says by jumping through some silly hoop just makes the religion and its adherants look stupid.

Even that first link does it saying G-d instead of God. It's plain ridiculous.

This isn't just a Jewish thing. All organised religion are as guilty of ignoring dogma and inconvenient bits of their teachings when it doesn't coincide with what reality.

Re:Only the Jews

[poolmeister]

Spoken like a true Christian...

...Is anyone sensing the effect of US government brainwashing here... or is it just me?
Isn't the moral of Christianity to 'love thy neighbour', 'do unto others...' and all that?
When did "deny, hate and gain control of those who don't look or think the same way as you do" slip into the bible?

I think the 'Anonymous Coward' (apt don't you think?) has been watching a little too many TV "evangelists" or GW Bush propaganda for his own good.