The International STa"M Forum

How does the use of a rapidograph with a metal tip ‎sit with the kabbalistic concept of not using metal as a writing instrument.

I hope everyone had a great Yom Tov, Someone came to me last week and asked me to write yud kay vov kay of sheim hashem 7 times on seven small pieces of klaf (vertically). When I asked him why, he told me that he has a growth in his throat and a Rabbi / Mekubel in Israel had said to put the 7 pieces of klaf in 7 cups of water so that the ink should mix with the water. He should drink one cup of water each day for a week. Two questions on this: 1) Would it be a question of mechikas hashem to do this? Or is the fact that it is written vertically remove this chshash. 2) Is it safe to drink water that has ink and klaf soaking in it? Feedback appreciated

Please take a careful look at the TZADE of the word MATZOT.  The YOD HAFUKHA has no YEREKH and meets the body of the letter in the form of a pie-shaped wedge on the outside. However, on the inside the shape appears normal.   This anomaly appears to have arisen due to someone going over the letter and causing damage to it.   The question here is, do we hold that the letter maintains its shape, and we're therefore allowed to correct it.  Or, would we maintain that it does not maintain its shape and therefore has no remedy. Your educated responses are always appreciated.

Someone told me on Shabbos that there is a Rav in Israel selling Rashi and Rabbeinu tam parshiyot together in one bayit so that only one pair needs to be worn. Does anyone know anything about this?

Why?! Any comments?

Zayinim - very wide rosh. Your thoughts

This (nun from eineichem) was done by a magiha by accident who was fixing the tagin of the lamed. Not sure which direction the tikkun was made in but I don't think the end result is a  shailo of a gimmel because the negiya is not on the right but towards the left side. Thoughts anyone? This one, on the other hand, is more of a worry.

What is the status of the 'Pehs' where a line protrudes and closes the gap completely? In one of the peh's the line closes even the bottom moshav completely! (feh of nafshechem)

What is the right thing to do with a damaged Mezuzah case (without the Mezuzah) that was taken off a door post? Does it need Gnizah? Can it be thrown away?

The line connecting the two letters is a bit lighter than the letters themselves. You don't really see that in the pic

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