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...
It says clearly in the Sha'ar Ha'tziyun that
ReplyDeleteוכל שכן למעלה
that means in truth there is no difference between a ngiya at the top of the letters, or the bottom.
The chidush the MB is posing: although the Rashba (and many others) hold, that a negiya at the bottom of the letter is not pasul, because it is after the letter was finished [see MA 32:5, and MB ibid:12] maybe one should be machmir not to erase this negiya by a shem, since according to the Rashba it is a chashash mechikas hashem and no need to scrape for hekef gvil.
Nevertheless we completely follow the shita of the SA that any negiya [top or bottom] is pasul and must be erased, also in a shem.
Yasher Koach
ReplyDeleteMy shaar hatziyun has the abbreviations spelled out and it says כמה שכתב הפרי מגדים למעלה otherwise I wouldn't have asked.