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.
The Ksiva Tama leaves this at shalas chacham depending if lost tzurah after quoting Rav Wosner and Shibolei Haleket.
Please post your opinions if this yud lost the Tzurah
One had a shaila WHICH RAV FRIEDLANDER WASNT HAPPY ABOUT WHERE THE YUD LOOKED LIKE A NUMBER FOUR. BUT THERE THE HEAD WAS VERY THIN HERE IT IS THICK AND THE TAG IS THIN SO I SHOULD THINK ITS OK
ksiva tama brings rav wosner that if it looks like 4 it is pasul.I would like to understand does it have to look like other alphabet or # to be pasul or as long as it does not look like yud its problem.How about if it looks like a Chinese letter
Look at Sefer Sefekut HaSofer Letter YUD #13. At the end of the day, if it appears like it has lost its shape and lets say that it appears similar to a #4, the matter must still be substantiated by the reading of a tinok. If he reads YOD, whe can then slightly lengthen the width of the YOD so that the tag not remain on the right edge of the letter.
However, in the above case, were the tag of the YUD is small and thin whe rule it to be kasher as is.
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...
Hi Shmuel,
ReplyDeleteAlthough the tag comes out from the right side of the head, it is small and thin. Kasher as is.
One had a shaila WHICH RAV FRIEDLANDER WASNT HAPPY ABOUT WHERE THE YUD LOOKED LIKE A NUMBER FOUR. BUT THERE THE HEAD WAS VERY THIN HERE IT IS THICK AND THE TAG IS THIN SO I SHOULD THINK ITS OK
ReplyDeleteksiva tama brings rav wosner that if it looks like 4 it is pasul.I would like to understand does it have to look like other alphabet or # to be pasul or as long as it does not look like yud its problem.How about if it looks like a Chinese letter
ReplyDeleteIMHO it has nothing to do with other alphabet or numerals.
ReplyDeleteLook at Sefer Sefekut HaSofer Letter YUD #13. At the end of the day, if it appears like it has lost its shape and lets say that it appears similar to a #4, the matter must still be substantiated by the reading of a tinok. If he reads YOD, whe can then slightly lengthen the width of the YOD so that the tag not remain on the right edge of the letter.
ReplyDeleteHowever, in the above case, were the tag of the YUD is small and thin whe rule it to be kasher as is.