Dear Readers and Members, The forum has been down for over 6 months because the domain name (www.stamforum.com) lapsed and it is no longer available to re purchase. Although this forum is now defunct (it has morphed into several whatsapp groups), I have had many requests to put it back online because it contains so much information (over 1,800 posts and thousands of comments in the discussions, on a wide range of topics related to STa"M). I have therefore put the forum back online at blogger, so the address is www.stamforum.blogspot.com. The forum lasted for a decade...not a bad effort! It was pretty popular back in the days before whatsapp and managed to receive over a million hits in it's short life. It was one of the only organised forums in the STa"M world and definitely the largest in it's heyday. I would like to thank all those who cobtributed over the years, particularly the early members who helped build it up. Thanking you all, Eli
I have this on my website. I'm not sure if the first paragraph is connected to the 2nd. Nor do I have the specifics where it's to be found:
ReplyDeleteKetores is a segulah (a remedy) to eliminate epidemics, to save Israel from oppression by the nations, to bring a. blessing into a person's work, to save him from the punishment of gehinom, to ward off evil spirits, external forces, and "the other side" i.e. Satan's camp.
Reading of the ketores also breaks the spell of sorcery, eliminates evil thoughts, enables a person to inherit this world and the world to come, to free him from punishments, to grant him favor in the eyes of all who see him, and to grant him riches. (Ein Ma'avar Yabok)
I will try to find the Ein Ma'avar Yabok, thank you.
DeleteFound it, he has many pages on it - difficult but interesting. Your quote is actually from the Zohar Parshas Vayakhel, the Maavar Yabok brings it before expanding on it. https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=14051&hilite=7c627cc2-ef71-45ce-ac25-aa14eec00962&st=קטורת&pgnum=252
DeleteThanks!
I was looking at Merkaz Hasoferim online shop, and I found this paragraph on their Pitum Haketoret item:
ReplyDeleteAccording to the Zohar, The Pitem Haktoras is the segula of stopping the plague, according to the Scripture "וַיִּתֵּן אֶת הַקְּטֹרֶת, וַיְכַפֵּר עַל-הָעָם. וַיַּעֲמֹד בֵּין-הַמֵּתִים, וּבֵין הַחַיִּים, וַתֵּעָצַר הַמַּגֵּפָה"
In light of this, Rabbi Chaim Pelagi wrote in the" Book of Life" (Mark 16:16): "He will write a parable of the Pitem Haktoras written on Torah scroll and read it and make it a segula, enriching and assuring him that he will have a good livelihood and economics in profit and not in diminution."
article is live, I thank you both for your input. I'm still looking for other sources so if anyone has more on this I will be happy to edit the post.
ReplyDeletehttps://lavlor.blogspot.com/2020/06/pitum-haketoret-on-klaf-good-idea.html
Once came across this shiur discussing whether it’s permitted or not :
DeleteTen Minute Halacha - Saying Ketores (from a Klaf)
https://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/924415
Dear Daron,
DeleteThis was an excellent resource, thank you. My article is already live since last week, and it is in line with this shiur. He brought the Rav Ovadia source, which I was looking for but failed to bring the most important source for this minhag, the Seder Hayom.
Regards
YK
See issue #59 of קולמוס - המוסף התורני של משפחה, שבט תשס"ח
ReplyDeletewritten by הרב משה אייזיק בלוי
can be found in אוצר החכמה
https://tablet.otzar.org/en/book/book.php?book=176290&width=-17&scroll=0&udid=15912250855685672&pagenum=1
Dear Yisroel
DeleteThis is also a great resource, very detailed and I might add Rav Vozner's idea to the article.
Thanks
This is a minhag were much confusion has entered and confounded our traditional practice. From what I have studied, the basis of reading Pitum HaKetoret from a Kelaf stems from a misinterpretation of a very popular book named Seder Hayom. The book was written by Rabbi Moshe ben Makhir who was among the great men of Sefat some 400 years ago.
DeleteIn his book he writes that a person should be careful to read Pitum HaKetoret twice daily as per our minhag.
ולכן ראוי לכל בעל נפש להשתדל בכל עז לאומרה בכל יום פעמי' בבקר ובערב ולכוין בו מלה במלה
However, in subsequent editions the text appears as follows:
ולכן ראוי לכן בעל נפש להשתדל בכל עז לאומרה בכ"י פעמיים בבקר ובערב ולכוין בו מלה במלה
Now, this last version here could be misread as meaning that it should be read from a manuscript if כ"י stands for "כתב יד", and not "כל יום", which is what appears in earlier versions. However, none of them mention anything about kosher parchment, כתב אשורית, or a guarantee. These are later developments that were added layer by layer by others – too long to trace for this forum. Kaf HaHayim was definitely a strong and influential force in promoting this new minhag.
The source seems to be indeed the Seder Hayom, but not the passage you quoted. The quote is:
Deleteהחושש עליו ועל נפשו ראוי להשתדל בכל עז בענין הזה ולכתוב כל ענין הקטורת בקלף כשר בכתיבת אשורית ולקרות אותו פעם אחד בבקר ובערב בכוונה גדולה ואני ערב
You can find the link to the source in hebrewbooks in my article. I doubt it can be claimed to be a Tous Sofer, or later addition.
Still, the sources are few - Seder Hayom and Kaf Hachaim, and the Halachic consensus seems to be surely against this minhag, as far as I have seen. However in the Safrut world, I think almost no sofrim are aware of the potential problems of writing the Ketoret in klaf.
found the Seder Hayom link: https://beta.hebrewbooks.org/reader/reader.aspx?sfid=41230#p=8&fitMode=fitwidth&hlts=&ocr=
Delete