Torah Re: the Eight Days of Chanukah

[pippin_999]

Iggy:
> > For one thing, it's used because one of the older beliefs of 
the Jewish faith includes that if a single character in a holy book 
is smudged (and it's easily done so by the sweat and dirt on a 
person's finger), it renders the entire book/scroll itself 
useless.<<

Abigail: 
> Yes and no.  The use of the Yad is meant, from a more 
practical  standpoint, to prevent smudging and dirtying the scroll, 
but it is more  generally a form of respect.  <snip> - it is 
disrespectful to directly touch something so holy.
> 
> It is true, however, that if during the writing of the scroll, the 
writer makes  even a single error, the Torah is ruined.  It can't be 
used, and is usually buried.  This is (or was) as much a matter 
of self-preservation as of  religious fervor. <

It's also true that if even one character of a finished Torah scroll 
becomes illegible, the scroll is ruined for ritual purposes. 

Pippin
BTW Iggy, anybody who'd like to email a  Rabbi  with questions  
can follow this link:

http://uahc.org/ask/