The International STa"M Forum

I am looking for Checklist and advice  for a Hachnasas Sefer Torah in a modern orthodox community Here is what I have so far..... Kulmus- best to get one that is long white and fluffy.... Dyo -  Eli Gutnick recommends  using the (kosher) rapidagraph ink which drys quickly  Make sure they are Shomer Shabbos, and vadi are gedolim,  if you can't be sure without embarrassing someone have them all just hold your hand. Zev M   If someone not shomer shabbos wrote you may need to erase and rewrite,,,,, if the sofer wrote with tevila or at least tevilas Ezra and the owner wants this standard maintained then the person filling in/completing an os should do the same. Yerachmiel Askotzky Paper – harieni kosev leshem kedushas seefer torah –  sample below with nikud   Transliterated Ask righty – lefty – advise write accordingly- if mixed (pmg posul to be a sofer) then offer to have him hold your hand. Say  the word being written together Thick plastic to cover the re

Are there poskim that permit shaving off the bottom of a Sefer Torah that is full of rips, in order to make it look nicer? I've seen it done and can't find a Matir.

By Rabbi Zushe Winner for COLlive All Sifrei Torah, Ashkenazi or Sefardi, have the exact same words and letters with the exception of one letter in the Torah in which there is a long standing debate. The spelling of the last letter of the word "dakah" in this week's Torah reading (Devarim 23:2) has two opinions, some spell the word with the letter hei and others spell it with an alef, the latter is also the Chabad custom. In the book "Pathways of the Prophets" (Artscroll, 2013) by Rabbi Yisroel Reisman, he raises questions about the propriety of the custom to spell "dakeh" with an aleph. Under the subtitle "The Chabad Sefer Torah" (p.351), Rabbi Reisman states "The Ashkenazic custom, like that of all non-Taimoni Sefardim is to spell dakah with a hei" and goes on to say that "it is preferable not to use this Sefer Torah". However, it must be noted that in reality this is not a Chabad invention but goes back to the earliest

היו"ד לא חובר לגוף הצד"י [כנראה הסופר שכח לחברו] - נראה לי שאסור לתקנה בתפלין ומזוזה משום כתיבה שלא כסדרן. ואע"פ שאין ליו"ד ירך כלל, מ"מ נראה ברור שיש כאן שתי אותיות יו"ד ונו"ן, אלא שליו"ד חסר רגל, וכל שנראה לעינים על ידי ההפסק שנשתנה לאותיות אחרות, א"א לתקנו. ואין זה דומה למה שנוהגים להקל בצד"י של כתב האר"י, כאשר ליו"ד יש ירך בצד שמאל, אלא שמופסקת מהגוף, דנוהגים להתיר תיקונה ע"י קריאת התינוק, כי על ידי הירך המהופך צורת הצד"י עליה, משא"כ בנידון דידן. ראה גם: https://hebrewstam.blogspot.com/2016/10/blog-post.html http://hebrewstam.blogspot.com/2015/11/blog-post_27.html http://hebrewstam.blogspot.com/2015/07/blog-post_89.html

Is this kosher? There is hekker ribuah underneath but no cut out on the top. (Someone just brought these back from Israel where they purchased this from a "top" sofer as a "top" pair of tefillin". Hmmm) (It is a basic halacha that for the ribuah of the titurah there must be a "cut out" on both sides between the titurah and maabarta that creates the two back corners of the titurah and defines the ribuah of the titurah)