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Klaff Tanning question:
By
Rabbi Eli Gutnick
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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.
Rabbi Reuvain Mendlowitz clarifies his position on Ksav Chabad (and my final thoughts)
By
Rabbi Eli Gutnick
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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...

It still is more to the left side by a small amount.Ask a tinok.
ReplyDeleteit's likely a tinok but ask a moreh horaah first.
ReplyDeleteWhy ask a moreh horaah? What better example of a shaylas tinok could there be??
ReplyDeletebecause it may be possel straight up i.e. not geder shailos tinok. Sometimes you need a posek to establish the geder prior to asking a tinok...because if its mamash possul a tinok doesn't help, although in this case I'd be inclined to say it could just squeeze in as a shailos tinok...
DeleteFor most sofrim and some magiim, most often, not just sometimes, a posek should be consulted to determine a shailas tinok. A slight variation can make the difference of kosher or pasul and we don't want to ask a tinok when it's not called for.
ReplyDeleteRav Friedlander told me b'shem Rav Elyashiv that it's proper to as a chacham to determine if a shailas tinok is called for.