The International STa"M Forum

Dear Chaya and Ronit,   Thank you for your response to my email. I have conveyed to Mr. Harris your kind offer to refund his payment for the problematic mezuzah scrolls. He is reluctant to return the mezuzot by mail and has asked me to bring them to Israel the next time I travel, which will be G-d willing for Passover. I hope that it will still be OK to bring them back in a few months.   Also, I noted in your email that you say you are aware that some people do not consider the mezuzot you sell as kosher. You also write that you are doing the sales only as a “service to your customers”. Please excuse me for saying this, but I cannot see any type of leniency that would render these mezuzot kosher. Many of them have blatant spelling mistakes and all had flaws that are completely and utterly unacceptable. Again, if you doubt the seriousness of my claims, I suggest you show them to an independent rabbi.   Furthermore, if you are doing this as a service to your customers and yet you know t

I recently saw an article where mishmeres stam exposed a sofer who was selling magnificently written ksav velish mezuzos, parshiyos and sifrei torah (see pic). However the sofer was using a dubious technique - he was printing on the klaf with a machine, and then writing over it. While ksav al gabei ksav is common in Sifrei torah, esp. refurbished ones, and presents no Halachic problems, the issue here was that the first ksav underneath was computer generated and printed, not hand written. Rav Elyashiv Sh' and others ruled the sefer should go to genizah. If you look at the second picture, you can see and example of  the way he was caught out. The printed ksav underneath was not always perfectly covered by the new ink. This led to "double edges" and edges that were a different shade and texture, which was a giveaway, particularly when examined closely with a magnifier. I once had a discussion with a prominent rav as to whether you could use a stencil when writing stam.