Last week I posted some thoughts in response to a public lecture given by Rabbi Reuvain Mendlowitz regarding Ksav Chabad (the Alter Rebbe's ksav). I felt he did not represent the issue fairly, and since I had received questions about it from a number of people I felt it made sense to write a general response. After I posted my response on this forum, Rabbi Mendlowitz reached out to me by email and we ended up having a respectful and productive email exchange regarding the relevant issues surrounding Ksav Chabad. His position is a lot clearer to me now, and I think he also took certain things on board that I clarified with him. The purpose of the Stam Forum (at least back in it's heyday before all the whats app groups took over) was to connect sofrim from around the world, to promote achdus and build bridges, as well as to offer support and advice. In that spirit, I felt I should write a follow up post, to clarify some of the issues and misconception...
just use plyers and bend back into shape
ReplyDeletefor gassos it is harder, you need to use presses
there is a chemical called shoestretch found at shoe repair stores.
Deleteyou spray some on to soften the leather then place it clamped between two pieces of wood that fit for 10 hours it should be flat.
for gassos i clamp it between two metal plates for 24 hours but I make it wet first to soften it
ReplyDeletePliers almost always does the trick for peshutim/mehudarim. Just be careful not to crack or break the titura. As mentioned, gasos is another matter and care must be taken since the pressure placed on the titura when clamping it can cause the bayis shel rosh to split open at the top.
ReplyDelete