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...
Used לצורך מצוה especially לצורך רבים.
ReplyDeleteI don't see any problem with this.
The Gemara in שבת discusses being מצניע לצורך מילה בשבת. What is the הוה אמינה that you shouldn’t bring it into shul? Is there a makor?
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DeleteBalak 25:7
DeleteThe Gemara (Sanhedrin 82a) cites the verse regarding Pinchas’ courageous act and explains that it serves as a source to prohibit entering into a bais medrash while carrying a weapon.
The Yad Rama explains that the Gemara understood the aforementioned verse to be stating the following, “he arose” from the bais medrash and only then “took a spear”. As long as he was in the bais medrash he did not have any weapon readily available."
There is wide discussion on this including the notion that a knife cuts a life short while a Beis kneses/Beis midrash extends life.
As I understand it, the shulchan aruch only prohibits a large knife. So a blade to fix a Torah wouldn't seem to be an issue.
I understand re fixing a Seder Torah to be permitted. But what about simply for giving over a shiur with a "show and tell" aspect?
I assumed the problem was bringing in a weapon, not any knife per se. A gun, fr example would certainly problematic, but I cannot imagine that a person with a heter to eat in a shul/beis medrash, for example if there was was an explicit or implicit tnai to use the shul for other purposes, would not be allowed to bring in a knife to cut the challa for shalosh seudos, cake for a siyyum, etc. If so, the same would apply here (unless you make mechikos with a sword ;) ).
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