Ashkenazim with sephardi mezuzos
Is vellish really bedieved for ashkenazim? At least it's an accepted kabollah and perhaps a decent sefardi mezuzah (while in the first instance probably shouldnt be sold to ashkenazi jews for the same reason sefardi jews should not be sold ashkenazi sta"m ) is not really worth making an issue to the "amcha " customers that so often end up with whatever they were given. I would sooner make an issue about bedieveds within a certain kabollah (such as short lameds) than a perfectly written mezuzah that just ended up in the "wrong" hands...
I seem to recall a teshuvah from r' Shlomo Zalman Aurbach specifically about vellish. Obviously it would depend on the customer but I thing in general for "amcha" customers, we have bigger battles to fight as magihim...
I seem to recall a teshuvah from r' Shlomo Zalman Aurbach specifically about vellish. Obviously it would depend on the customer but I thing in general for "amcha" customers, we have bigger battles to fight as magihim...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI am of the opinion that the putting down of the Sefardi ksav is based on gayvah, and is a residual of the notion some people have that Ashkenazi minhagim are better than Sefardi minhagim.
ReplyDeleteWhen writing with a koneh (reed), it becomes clear that a koneh lends itself to writing in the Sephardic style much more easily than in the Ashkenazic style -- which has clearly been very influenced by the "tricks" one can do with a bird feather. (Up to about 1000 years ago everyone wrote with a reed.)
(Regarding the chumros that are customary today amoung the Ashkenazic soferim, many of them were not universally done by Ashkenazi sofrim until very recently.
Regarding the Kotz Rabbeinu Tam on the Yuds, many Sephardic soferim today DO include them, and many Ashkenazic soferim not that long ago did NOT include them.)
There are a few minor issues that come up a lot (i.e. legs of the gimmel) that affect the hiddur of the tefillin for Ashkenazim, but bikhlal, only one is me'akev: the Kotz d'Rabbeinu Tam.
ReplyDeleteBy Ashkenazim it is meakev, though may be metaken without concern for shelo kesidran according to the Chazon Ish. Chazon Ish/Chasam Sofer would matir also in a shas dechak (i.e. there is no other mezuzah and cannot repair the one at hand)
By Sepahrdim, the Kotz D'Rabbeinu tam is only a hiddur (according to some) or lechatchilah (according to a few), but kosher b'dieved.
So, as long as the vellish ksav has the kotz, you are generally ok.
Many people bring up the issue of the Tzaddi hafucha. Unfortunately, many rabbonim, Roshei Yeshivos, and even a few poskim still make a very big deal out of this, yet they are usually paskening the issue without fully reviewing the limud.
Personally, I don't know of a single posek who is a mumcheh is safrus that posuls the tzaddi hafucha bizman hazeh.
Maaseh Shehoya : About two years ago an extremely chashuv Rov & posek in Baltimore told a friend of mine that his tefillin were posul because they were in ksav Ari, saying that the Tzaddi hafucha was posul for Ashkenazim. I sent the Rov a list of mekoros on the inyan, suggesting that he review them. After doing so, the Baltimore Rov was chozer his psak on the tefillin.
A fellow sofer in NY just went through the same maaseh with a Rosh Yeshiva who, although a posek, admitted after the maaseh that he was not a mumcheh in Sta"m.
Sephardi ksav is bedieved for Ashkenazim and is based on halachah alone. It has nothing to do with gaava. (or was the Chafetz Chaim among many others, a baal gaava?) Who is putting down Sephardi ksav? There are many halachos that differ for Ashkenazim and Sephardim.
ReplyDeleteWhether or not one may lechatchila sell Sephardi to Ashkenazi or vise versa if they are "amcha" is a shaila for a major posek in Stam.
Yud without kotz RT
Beis- round top right corner
gimel- even legs, rosh all to the left side
dalet- straight regel
mem- rund right bottom corner
Nun-rosh all to the left side
This is besides the many poskim who hold that ARI is bedieved forthose who are Ashkenazim (non chassidim)