Watch out for this or simillar style mezuzos- they are printed forgeries
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Rabbi Reuvain Mendlowitz clarifies his position on Ksav Chabad (and my final thoughts)
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...
Indeed, these are being printed in Ashkelon... BEWARE!!!
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Are they obviously printed (ie on paper or with obvious texture) or are they using some kind of screen or stencil to make the letters, which is harder to detect?
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DeleteAlberto, if it was only Ashkelon, it wouldn't be so bad....
ReplyDeleteI try very hard to have my own sofrim, even though it is a lot of work, and only buy from wholesalers as a last resort. (And anything I sell geder "Mehudar", I personally know the sofer, or know of him and what his ksav looks like. The chances of ending up with forgeries is much greater when buying from a wholesaler, and even if the wholesaler is ehrlich, there is a good chance the wholesaler won't know, because he probably isn't dealing first hand with the forger.
It used to be that you could tell the fake ones because many of them would be identical. The Ashkelon racket however had computer technology that altered the lettering so that no two were identical.
You can, however, see in the picture I posted that the letters ended up a fraction over the sirtut, (not directly under the sirtut as most sofrim are trained to write). This is a giveaway, as would be if the writing was a fraction under as well. (You cannot make the sirtut after the printing).
It is much harder to forge parshiyos or sifrei torah with such machines,so the main problem is mezuzos.
The mezuzos they found were higher quality, not pshutim, which makes sense. I think most forgers who are already doing a very professional job would want to get more money for their efforts.
Bottom line, write them yourself or buy from sofrim you know.
Indeed, that is the first thing one notices. The letters don't align well under the sirtut. Likewise, they also rotate different screens so that they will not all be identical. It's a sad situation. There is nothing sacred anymore. The ESH ZARAH comes even into the KODESH KODASHIM.
ReplyDeleteAnd they made such a fuss about the peeling retzuos, which was accidental and no where near as shocking...
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