The International STa"M Forum

I got a pair of Tefillin to check from Klozenberg chossid. the holes are drilled different and I understand there is a specific way to sew the Tefillin back up... I was speaking to another Sofer and he mentioned to me there is a sefer I believe it is called Tefila Lemoshe? by R Moshe Kroizer it has illustrations of all the different Minhogim for Keshorim and ways to sew up Tefillin... Does anyone know where I can get this Sefer or know of a similar sefer? Ty

If the vertical top of the letter Lamed is slanted forward, almost 45 degrees, is it kosher?

״...אבל אם הוא קטן מאוד ונראה כקוץ קטן אין להקל אף בדיעבד, ובתו״מ לא מועיל תיקון...״ (ועיין שבט הלוי ח״ה סי׳ ח ס״ק ד) משנת הסופר סי׳ ה׳ ס״ק פט What does everyone think about this yud?

The chof of lavoseichem and y'mechem. This is a mezuzah I see often which is very basic but sold by a reputable supplier. But are these chofs OK?

See Picture. If it was built for decorative purposes (as an aesthetic feature to beautify an entrance hall) would it still require a mezuzah? (Obviously if it does, there would be no brachah said, as per any entrance without a door). Thoughts and comments welcome...

I recently wrote an article in which I discussed the common misconception of the weatherproof mezuzah case. While in recent years some companies claim to manufacture outdoor weatherproof cases, it seems, at least in my experience, that many of these are not as good as we think. Waterproof cases are normally made of one piece with a screw or plug on the bottom that keeps moisture out. They can be made of metal, plastic, or wood. The metal cases are strong but I find that if exposed to heat ie sunlight, they may become hot and the heat no doubt affects the mezuzah. The plastic ones are good, especially the opaque ones, as they are less affected by heat or sunlight, however they easily develop cracks and can break easily, which renders them no longer waterproof. The wooden ones are great as they don't get hot and most have a waterproof coating / veneer over the paint. This works well initially, but after some time this layer seems to come away and then the wood rots and no longer re...

I took this photo of my friend,  Batim Painter Gabi Rosenbaum as he was checking the prudos on batim at the Os Leyisroel Batim factory in Benai Brak. It was nice to see how careful he was to make sure they were completely prudos and that the charitz was in the correct place all the way to the bottom of the bayis.

The above is from a small 6cm Mezuzah.  In it the letter CHET has three basic problems.  1) The two Zenins are touching each other.  In addition, (2) there is a CHUTRA above them.  Third (3) the left ZAYIN is shaped like a DALED. By themselves, all of the above may not be a problem, as the chutra and touching zenin can be fixed. Likewise, by the left DALED, the BELITA may not be long enough to disqualify the shape of the CHET, although there are many poskim that would. Question :  Is the combination of all of the above factors enough to disqualify this CHET and render it PASSUL, or is there room to be MATIR and consider it KASHER?  Your comments are most welcome.

Shalom to all and a "Gut Moed". In this לשכה"ס the קסת opens with the question of the גט פשוט that the סמ"ק seemed to have contradicted himself. On the one hand the סמ"ק holds that if a droplet of ink falls on a completed letter it is permissible to erase it. On the other hand סמ"ק writes the if one wrote a HEI instead of a DALED one may not merely scrape away the left leg to make it a DALED. The קסת then writes עיין שם (בג"פ) מה שתירץ. ולפע"ד י"ל עוד דשאני התם שנעשה אות אחרת משא"כ הכא.  I am confused by this. The Get Poshut wrote that the Sma"k distinguishes between if the droplet fell on its own or if the Sofer caused the problem by hand (intentionally). According to this, even if the droplet caused one letter to turn into another it is permissible to scrape it since it happened via a droplet i.e. unintentionally. On the other hand, R' Akiva Eiger resolves the apparent contradiction that Sma"k distinguishes betwe...

I was asked to check all the seams in a sefer Torah, and to fix any tsuras ha'os issues that I saw in passing, for a Torah with a number of damaged seams.  If anyone in the New York area could give me an idea of the going hourly rate for this in our area, either by commenting here or by e-mail to sofrus AT dovberger.com, I'd be most appreciative. A zisn Pesach!

Hello everyone, I want to prepare my own Klaf. I have been offered to take skins from freshly slaughtered animals. Fro a farm in Maryland. Does anyone want to get involved in this project? Kol Tuv, Yitzchock

Hello, I recently had a gentile ask me to write him a Song of Songs scroll. He wants it for himself to keep since this is his favorite book. I know we are allowed to teach Torah to a goy that wants to learn it for the sake of Heaven and so forth, but this seems like a grey area. If there is someone who has experience with this sort of thing please enlighten me. Thanks

I would greatly appreciate if sources can be indicated. Thank you.

This question is a bit random, but someone asked me (I guess in my capacity as a sofer) why a) by the Aseres Hadibros in parshas Yisro, all are stumos except the commandment of Shabbos (which is a psucha), and b) in the 2nd Aseres Hadibros in partshas Veschanan, all ten are stumos without exception. If anyone has seen an explanation for this, I'd be grateful if they could kindly share it...

An old friend of mine, (and former employer) owns a Tefillin store in Jerusalem. When he was a child, he contracted a very invasive form of cancer. It was already stage four by the time it was diagnosed. Doctors held out little hope. There was, however, a slight chance. An experimental treatment was to be tested. His parents agreed to have him take part in the first human trial. It didn't work. Of the 400 children treated, 399 died. Only my friend survived. The doctors called it a miracle. They cautioned, however, that he would never be able to have children. He s now the proud father and grandfather of many! When I worked in his store, frequently people with advanced cancers would come to him for counseling. He would put his work aside, and give these people his full attention, He gave them the feeling that there is always hope; not because he had READ it, but because he had BEEN there. As I have written before, divorce is sometimes necessary. But media make it seem almost tren...

The tinok read this as a tav.

An acquaintance is borrowing a Torah from a day school for his daughter's bas mitsve, and the day school is unclear whether their insurance covers the Torah while it's offsite; he asked me what sort of insurance one would need to get to cover the Torah while it's at his house.  (Apparently, Google suggested that he ask a sofer, and I'm the sofer he knows.)  Does anyone have any thoughts on the issue? Thanks in advance for any thoughts on the matter.

A clear shinui tzura - a mistake leading a Ayin look like a Tzadik. I will erase most of it