5cm mezuza not kosher
was just given this mezuza to check. the letters have a lot of cracks. The klaf is very suspicious and i think that maybe it is just paper. How can i check?
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...
Those types of mezuzot are not kosher irrespective of what material they are written on, but if you really want to check you try ripping a corner. If it rips easily, it's paper.
ReplyDeleteSuch mezuzahs can theoretically be kosher if written correctly on klaf but less than 6cm is a telltale sign it is printed. The fact that the back side is upside down is also a sign it was printed. As mentioned you can try to tear a corner but sometimes they print these on klaf.
ReplyDeleteSomeone once asked me, casually, "Can you give me a rule of thumb to tell if a Mezuza is Pasul?"
ReplyDeleteI said, "If it's smaller than your thumb, it's Pasul."