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.
I'm not so certain a child was to be asked. The Reish is correctly proportioned and the oversized Shins surrounding it are confusing to a child. I've discussed this shailah in the past with 2 morei horaah and one said it's fine and the other suggested (but didn't require) a tinok. Also, the Shin next to it is oversized, which could confuse the tinok.
The Reish in comparison to the normal size letters is a little smaller. However, next to the large Shins it looks much smaller. Cover the 2 Shins surrounding it, which gives a false impression when looking at the somewhat small Reish and it looks like a Reish, besides having the correct proportions of a Reish.
בגלל שלי היה נוטה יותר שהוא רי"ש, והתקשיתי לקבל שהתינוק יקראנו יו"ד. וגם חשדתי שהתינוק הראשון לא הראו לו יודין ורישין תחילה כראוי, במקרה כזה אני נוהג לשאול כמה תינוקות כדי לילך אחר הרוב
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...
Why was more than one child asked?
ReplyDeleteI'm not so certain a child was to be asked. The Reish is correctly proportioned and the oversized Shins surrounding it are confusing to a child. I've discussed this shailah in the past with 2 morei horaah and one said it's fine and the other suggested (but didn't require) a tinok. Also, the Shin next to it is oversized, which could confuse the tinok.
Ignore the last sentence. I forgot to delete it after I added it above.
Deleteהרי זה דומה לדין של ד' קטנה אשר כתבו הראשונים שדינה שאלת תינוק
ReplyDeleteומכאן הוכיחו האחרונים שאין צריך לכסות מלפניו, כדי שיראה בערך שאר הכתב
The Reish in comparison to the normal size letters is a little smaller. However, next to the large Shins it looks much smaller. Cover the 2 Shins surrounding it, which gives a false impression when looking at the somewhat small Reish and it looks like a Reish, besides having the correct proportions of a Reish.
ReplyDeleteWhy was more than 1 tinok asked?
בגלל שלי היה נוטה יותר שהוא רי"ש, והתקשיתי לקבל שהתינוק יקראנו יו"ד. וגם חשדתי שהתינוק הראשון לא הראו לו יודין ורישין תחילה כראוי,
ReplyDeleteבמקרה כזה אני נוהג לשאול כמה תינוקות כדי לילך אחר הרוב