Dear Readers and Members, The forum has been down for over 6 months because the domain name (www.stamforum.com) lapsed and it is no longer available to re purchase. Although this forum is now defunct (it has morphed into several whatsapp groups), I have had many requests to put it back online because it contains so much information (over 1,800 posts and thousands of comments in the discussions, on a wide range of topics related to STa"M). I have therefore put the forum back online at blogger, so the address is www.stamforum.blogspot.com. The forum lasted for a decade...not a bad effort! It was pretty popular back in the days before whatsapp and managed to receive over a million hits in it's short life. It was one of the only organised forums in the STa"M world and definitely the largest in it's heyday. I would like to thank all those who cobtributed over the years, particularly the early members who helped build it up. Thanking you all, Eli
if he is checking his own mezuzot i would not buy from him since he is "noge'a b'davar".
ReplyDeleteWell the Shulhan Arukh writes O"H 32:21
ReplyDeleteכל פרשה אחר שיכתבנה (קד) יקראנה היטב בכוונה ודקדוק פעמים ושלש, ויחזור ויקראנה קודם שיתננה בתוך ביתה, כדי שלא תתחלף פרשה בפרשה.
The Yeriat Shlomo writes(P 294)
אף מעיקר הדין די שהסופר יבדוק את הפרשיות פעמיים שלוש קודם הכנסת לבתים...
As far as being nogea b'daver the same can be said with Hagaha and Bedikat Machshev. Those making those psakim, and pushing for them, are by and large the same Rabbanim who run the organizations that give courses and charge for your bi-annual test.
Rabbinut ruled(can be found in Pskei Din, Dinei Mamon Vol 1 page 125) that there is no Chiuv for the Sofer to do a computer check of any sort unless the customer specifically makes that request at the time that the initial payment is made.
While admittedly all(or nearly all) the achronim have said that an item should be checked by at least one other sofer, and preferably an expert maghia, m'ikar hadin there is what to rely upon.
R Michael can you please clarify what you mean by "As far as being nogea b'daver the same can be said with Hagaha and Bedikat Machshev."? I didn't understand...
ReplyDeleteThe reason for the Sofer to read his parshiyot is for chaser veyeter.
As R Michael brought, there's room to rely al pi hadin if the Sofer does this himself. (Even though it may be unwise because its much easier to miss your own mistakes - theoretically it's possible to effectively check your own work)
But regarding tzurat ha'ot and any other potential problems, unless the Sofer is also a qualified magiha I would never trust his checking, regardless of whether its technically halachicly ok...I'm sure we have all heard or seen sofrim make mistakes or write in a bediavad or Pasul way, purely because they don't know hilchot tzurat haotiyot well enough.
At the end of the day, even if ok m'ikar hadin, it may be still a risk the consumer is taking.
Is it common practice amongst sofrim to do this sort of thing when selling "pashut" or non mehudar Stam?
ReplyDeleteYou can buy from him but then have them checked by a magia, preferably 2 and by computer.
ReplyDelete