A place for English speaking sofrim (scribes), magihim (examiners), rabbis and vendors of Stam (Torah, Tefillin and Mezuzah scrolls) from around the world to communicate, share ideas, ask questions and offer support and advice.
If all the writing was uniform in height I'd think maybe this vav requires a sheilat tinok. But since it isn't, and all the parshiyot are much longer than 4-5 kulmusim - does anyone feel that a sh"t is required?
I am a bit concerned about doing a shaalat tinok on this vov. A vav can be a bit longer than other letters as we see in many old ksavim. This one is not extremely long.
On the other hand asking a shaalat tinok may passul it unnecessarily because the tinokot are used to seeing a nun sofit with a head like a vav (which is passul) and not like a zayin. A tinok who has been trained to see such a letter as a nun sofit may passul this vav even though it is not much of a shaila in the first place.
Could be yotza shchoro behefseido since the ksav of this mezuzah is generally fine.
I received this question via email. I am not really a klaf expert, I was wondering if anyone could answer this question: Dear Rabbi Gutnick, I am writing to you because a good friend of mine has put the idea into my head that the klaf in my tefillin were not really tanned and therefore are not kosher. He referred me to Megilla 19a re diftera. From the research that I have done so far, it seems that the klaf that is used today is tanned only with a lime wash. On all of the tanning websites I’ve seen so far, they say that the lime doesn’t accomplish tanning but only the removal of the hair and some other pre-tanning effects. Would you be able to explain to me or refer me to a website that explains how the tanning process that is used today takes the hide out of the category of diftera? Thank you very much.
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...
I recommend a sha"t on the vav of vehaya.
ReplyDeleteR. Moshe,
DeleteI am a bit concerned about doing a shaalat tinok on this vov. A vav can be a bit longer than other letters as we see in many old ksavim. This one is not extremely long.
On the other hand asking a shaalat tinok may passul it unnecessarily because the tinokot are used to seeing a nun sofit with a head like a vav (which is passul) and not like a zayin. A tinok who has been trained to see such a letter as a nun sofit may passul this vav even though it is not much of a shaila in the first place.
Could be yotza shchoro behefseido since the ksav of this mezuzah is generally fine.
A long vav is not a problem like a long zayin, particularly if it is in the start of the word.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing Ari - Am I correct in my assumption that the owner of this mezuzah is ex-South African and they purchased it in South Africa?
DeleteYes they are ex South African. I presume they bought it there. Do you recognize the ktav?
ReplyDeleteyes, I see this mezuzah with a lot of ex south africans
ReplyDelete