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 Shulchan Aruch Harav is far more stringent in this case than the Mishnah berurah. Acc to SA"H, If it actually was a reish it would be a shinoy tzurah and fixing would not be permitted, even by adding to the left side of the regel. However I'm not sure , if in this case its an actual reish, but probablyenough of a sofek to render it not mehudar, even after repair.
Since Yosef is a Chabad sofer and by the looks of things this is an Arizal ksav with revochim chabad (and most likely belonging to a Chabad customer) I would say Yosef is correct.
Outside of Chabad, tikkun would make this Ches mehudar. Had it been a proper Reish then tikkun may not do the job to make it even lechatchila but in this case of a "shailos tinok" Reish, the tikkun works. Thank you for your insight on Chabad's stance in this situation. I looked it up in Kesiva Tama and he brings the SA"Has being machmir on a Ches made up of a Reish- Zayin. (The Pri Megadim leans this was as well.) I would agree with you that in this instance, even according to the machmirim, tikkun should make it lechatchila.
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...
Make the left side of the regel a little thicker so the rosh will be shorter. It will be mehudar.
ReplyDeleteThe Shulchan Aruch Harav is far more stringent in this case than the Mishnah berurah. Acc to SA"H, If it actually was a reish it would be a shinoy tzurah and fixing would not be permitted, even by adding to the left side of the regel. However I'm not sure , if in this case its an actual reish, but probablyenough of a sofek to render it not mehudar, even after repair.
DeleteSince Yosef is a Chabad sofer and by the looks of things this is an Arizal ksav with revochim chabad (and most likely belonging to a Chabad customer) I would say Yosef is correct.
Outside of Chabad, tikkun would make this Ches mehudar. Had it been a proper Reish then tikkun may not do the job to make it even lechatchila but in this case of a "shailos tinok" Reish, the tikkun works.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your insight on Chabad's stance in this situation. I looked it up in Kesiva Tama and he brings the SA"Has being machmir on a Ches made up of a Reish- Zayin. (The Pri Megadim leans this was as well.) I would agree with you that in this instance, even according to the machmirim, tikkun should make it lechatchila.