SOURCES AND REFERENCES

Over recent years, there have been a growing number of books on Sofrut, but as one would expect the majority of the halachic texts have not been translated from the Hebrew. Below are a few of the useful sources I have gathered together, the Hebrew ones are at the bottom for the more adventurous amongst you.

The 613th Commandment
J. Simcha Cohen, Jason Aronson Inc. 1983.
 An analysis of the mitsvah to write a Sefer Torah. This is an obligation on every Jew and a king has to write two!  However very few Jews ever get to participate in this mitsvah though through completing one letter it is accounted as if you wrote the whole thing - hence the festivities around a siyyum.

 This is Torah
Alfred J. Kolatch, Jonathon David Publishers Inc. 1988.
A magnificent reference work which covers more than just sofrut. However it does include fantastic sections on writing the Torah and the Massoretic text with very comprehensive notes and references at the back.

Tefillin an illustrated guide
Moshe Neiman Feldheim Publishers, 1995.
How they are made, what they contain, how they are worn and all the pertinent laws. Includes excellent diagrams of the structure of the tefillin and descriptions of how they are put together.

Tefillin
Aryeh Kaplan
NCSY/Orthodox Union, 1975. Thought provoking analysis of the mistvah together with descriptions of how they are made and worn. A short and well-written introduction to the subject, though not as detailed as the book shown immediately above. This volume is also available in a anthology of Kaplan’s other work - all fascinating studies from a man who died tragically young.

The Wisdom in the Hebrew Alphabet
Rabbi Michael L. Munk, Artscroll, 1983.
The sacred letters as a guide to Jewish deed and thought. Meanings of the letters. Mostly a midrashic guide to the letters but some of the reasons scribal idiosyncrasies are explored and every letter draws a lesson from part of scripture. Covers many explanations from ‘Otiot d’Rabbi Akiva’, a useful midrashic source.

The Handbook of Hebrew Calligraphy
Cara Goldberg Marks
Jason Aronson Inc. 1990. The letter forms, modern calligraphy and a good section on k'tubot.

Tikkun Kor'im
A tikkun for reading and writing the Torah and the megillah - a must have!

Mishnah B'rurah Volume I(B) - The laws of T'fillin
Chafets Chayim, Feldheim Publishers, 1992.
An English Translation of the Shulchan Aruch and Mishnah B'rurah with facing Hebrew. Also includes Mishnat Sofrim on the formation of the letters. Really the only English halachic guide except for the Soncino minor tractates (see below). Another must have!

Mishneh Torah: Hilchot Tefillin u’Mezuzah v’Sefer Torah. Hilchot Tzitzit.
Maimonides (translated and with commentaries and notes by Rabbi Eliyahu Touger), Moznaim Publishing Corporation, Jerusalem 1990.  Excellent companion to the work above giving the Rambam’s opinion of the halacha as he understood it in clear Hebrew and English.  A good commentary with some diagrams and good cross references to other works.

Chasdey David
A consise commentary on Mishnat Sofrim in Hebrew plus a summary of all the rules for a scribe in writing Stam.

Mishnat Hasofer
A modern Hebrew commentary by Ya'akov Meir Stern of B'nei Brak on the Keset Hasofer rules for a scribe by Solomon Ganzfried.  This is my main halachic guide.

The World of Tefillin & Mezuzos
Rabbi Zeev Rothschild, CIS, New Jersey 1987
Sort of an expanded buyers guide with warnings what to look out and how to ensure that you are fulfilling the mitsvah properly.  Also contains an entertaining narrative tale featuring the making of Tefiilin in story form.  Unfortunately, I believe this book is out of print.

A few more halachic sources that are available include:
Mishmeret Stam's commentary on certain key letters of the Mishnat Sofrim
Lishkat Hasofer, a compilation of various halachic sources (two books possibly three)
Yalkut Tsurat Ha'otiyot, a compilation of all the halachic sources dealing specifically with the formation of the letters.
Sofrut is also covered in the Shulchan Aruch and the Talmud where there are also specific minor tractates (Masechtot K'tanot) - Sofrim, Sefer Torah. Tefillin and Mezuzah. Certain key sections in Shabbat (103b ff) and Menachot (29a ff) also warrant study. (see the Soncino Press Hebrew-English edition Ed. A Cohen, 1984). 

Click on the far left button for a glossary of terms used through this website, the next left button to read a few poetical selections about scribes in Jewish Literature, the middle to participate in the answer back forum and right to find out about Machon Melechat Shamayim a school for sofrut in Israel and a source of more materials for sofrut.