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...
 
I heard him say that the only chidush of ksav chabbad is in shatnez getz other wise it was the same like tha ksav in that place and time
ReplyDeleteWhat's the chiddush in sha'atnez ge"tz?
DeleteApologies, I had to delete the post in response to this because it was causing problems to the layout....
ReplyDeleteif you tell me how to properly upload a picture,I'll post it again
ReplyDelete1. Reduce the size of the picture so that it is 650 pixels wide.
Delete2. Can you make the letters look darker?
3. Give the picture a new name, because the old name already exists, and I don't know if it can be deleted.
4. Can you tell us which letters are different from the common כתב חבד today?
Without getting into the history and sources for today's ksav Chabad, I think the biggest general difference in how the late Rabbi Zirkind's Z"L ksav presents compared to most other styles is in its simplicity. This is because strongly believed in the fact that it says "Uchsavtem" ( not Utziyartem etc) and that many of the more detailed and ornate ksavim (particularly Ksav Chabad) done today are "drawn" rather than simply "written". This argument was consistent with his general shittah that there is no such thing as "hiddur" when it comes to ksav, there is no makkor in halacha for a beautifully written ksav being in any way advantageous to a simple (yet obviously halachadic) one: Either it is kosher k'din or it is not.
ReplyDelete