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• It is important to understand that the different scripts (Ashuri, Estrangela and Serta) are all exactly the same (Aramaic) Alphabet. The letters - their sounds, names and meanings - are exactly the same. What is different is that, over the great expanse of time (many centuries!) the shapes and forms of the letters have changed somewhat. As time went on, especially where centuries were involved, and as technology developed, and new paper, ink and pen technology became available, it was inevitable that the letters would change their forms and be written differently - sometimes quite significantly different.
• And so, we should really see the different scripts (Ashuri, Estrangela and Serta) as being historical developments of each other. All are still used today. Ashuri is still alive and well in modern Israel today, for printed editions of the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament, or Tanakh), for the Aramaic Targums, and for some modern printed editions of the Peshitta.