"Hashchara" - chemical process to make sifrei Torah letters black

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Does any one have more information regarding a process called "hashcharah" which is used in the process of repairing old sifrei Torah. It is some sort of chemical process that turns brown and faded ink black. Outside of Stam, it's used mainly for archives and record keeping companies make old documents with faded writing legible. It darkens the writing. I recently met a few chevrah in Benai Brak who offer this service with pretty good results - for a much cheaper price than manual repair would cost.


Therefore I am wondering...


1) Is this process ethical to use on Stam (does it last, is it the same quality as manual restoration by a sofer?)
2) What are the kashrus ramifications? (lishmah, kedushas hashem etc).
3) Are there any teshuvos, letters from rabannim about this process?


Apparently it darkens the klaf, but so do fixatives and other materials commonly used by standard restorers.


Does anyone have any further info or have experience in this process? Thanks

Comments

  1. AharonApril 30, 2014 at 9:38 AM

    If the "chemical process" does not use D'yo, I fail to see how that can be kosher, Imagine if they would use a laser gun to pinpoint burning the Klaf (where the Osiyos are) black ...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Rabbi Eli GutnickApril 30, 2014 at 11:40 AM

    when I raised this argument with one of the guy who does it, he responded by saying the osiyos are kosher, just brown or light. He is not making them kosher with the treatment, only darker.

    On the one hand he has a point, on the other hand, is he really going to check out each chibbur for ink which is too light to be kosher? Then we def have an issue of it being actually made kosher not derech ksivah or lishmah, which would present a problem.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yerachmiel AskotzkyMay 1, 2014 at 2:02 AM

    I recommend that you contact one of the top experts (both in the halachah and lemaseh) of sifrei Torah restoration to get a full explanation of the process, the halachic ramifications and which poskim are for/against it. His name is Rabbi Akiva Garber and is in Yerushalayim. You can contact him by e-mail to schedule a time to call him. garber@jerusalemscribe.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rabbi Eli GutnickMay 1, 2014 at 10:46 AM

      OK I'll B"N Post his opinion. Do you have a phone number for him?

      Delete
    2. Shmuel BowmanMay 13, 2014 at 6:08 AM

      Rabbi Garber contact numbers:
      telephone: (+972-)2-5373735
      cell: (+972-)54-7898928/7

      Delete

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