The International STa"M Forum

I've consulted with a renown rosh kollel Choshen Mishpat and dayan. He said that the fact that a sefer Torah is written by 2 sofrim affects it's value. I have a situation in which a sefer was commissioned from scratch through me to be written by a particular sofer. It's a basic mehudar ksav, retail price is 123000nis. He went ahead and had another sofer write the last 16 yerios. The ksav is halachically similar (basic mehudar) and is somewhat similar looking. I'm leaving out lots of details but the bottom line is that a 2nd sofer finishing the sefer came as a surprise to me and I will be informing the buyer at the same time I suggest a price deduction. On the one hand the buyer may just want to "cut and run" and will accept a fair offer, as the sefer has taken a year longer than intended due to health and personal circumstances out of the sofer's control and if he has to (re)write the last 16 yerios himself we'd be looking at another 4+ months. O...

Git Vinter / Zimmer to all, What is your opinion about the Yud in the Shem? Thank you YK

Would the ayin of nishba be a shinui tzurah as it’s not touching the head?

Found this tiny dot of ink inside the reish of asher. what are your thoughts? Is this enough to pasul the reish? Enough that it’s a sheila l’tinok? Or not an issue at all? If the image doesn’t do justice - it’s really a tiny dot of ink. I note that the yalkut hasofer of sefer mishnas hasofer writes under os daled: if a small drop of ink less than an os ketana fell inside the daled, then if a tinok reads it as a daled there is room to be lenient and scrape it away... I wonder how small is small...

Firstly, a gemar chasimah tovah to everyone, and apologies for the recent lull in activity. I'm sure everyone else has been busy as well. (This is the first time I am looking at this forum in a month!) Today I was asked to repair a slightly damaged letter ( by moisture (probably spit)). I immediately noticed a large gap on the page,  after the word "bemisporom" which I thought may even be the width of nine yudin combined (which would be possul since it is acceptable as the shiur stumah, and there is not supposed to be a stumah there). See picture below After closer investigation it was determined that the space is not large enough to fit 9 yudin, but one could fit three large letters there, which is the accepted shiur stumah of rabbeinu Tam. Such a space is not possul but definitely somewhat problematic, as can see here in this excerpt from the L'dovid Emes (footnote 4) , who rules that one does not stop reading from it in the middle of the kriya, but o...

Sholom uvrocho, I need help what is the best way to clean dust and black residue from Sefer Torah. What chemicals can be safe to use? Tizku lemitzvois

Can anyone direct me to resources on the Aleph with Yud Hafucha, similar to the Arizal tzadi? I've heard that the Noda BiYuda is machshir but I cannot find this psak, or any other discussions. Thank you and Ksivo Vachasimo Toive

May I suggest the "sofer" who wrote this strongly consider a different career path.

I received a request to post the following sheila: Is it possible to make גויל for a ספר תורה which is מעובד בסיד, or is usable גויל only able to be made in אפצים, due to differences in the result of the עיבוד ?

What is the proper way of sewing Megillat Yeriot together? I know that the Keset brings down the idea of Meshuleshet (28:10), but I am unsure what exactly that means... 1. Is that case only with regards when someone does not have enough Gidden to sew the whole Megillah or is it for any sewing of a Megillah?  2. If the sewing needs to be Meshulashet, does that mean it needs to be a number divisible by three? So that means 3,6,9 etc are the numbers that fulfill this opinion? 3. Is the number Megillah stitches equal to the number for a Sefer Torah's stitching? 4. Any difference Minhagim for Sephardim, Ashkenazi, Chabad? As always, your inputs are helpful and I am extremely appreciative!

I once heard that there are poskim which lechatchillah allow leniencies in  a sefer torah saved from the Holocaust. I've even heard that a Holocaust sefer can be used lechatchillah even if the majority of opinions render it problematic, so long as there is a "yesh lismoch",  it is OK to use. For all other sifrei Torah such a rule would only apply if you have already taken it out and found a problem during the laining (we can be lenient because of tirchei ditzibura). Has anyone else heard such a thing and if so, can they please advise which poskim hold this and are there any printed teshuvos on the matter? Thanks

I received an email with a request to post the following sheila: I received a request from a potential client to scribe for him the kavanot of "maaseh hamerkavah." i have never endeavored to do this although the ktav itself seems easy enough. the question i have for the "olam" is if there is a specific sequence in which the maaseh hamerkavah must be written and/or specific amirot that should be said (similar to when writing a sefer torah, tefillin, mezuzot) -- basically, what, if anything, is required to undertake this project?

Please see attached. I never saw anything like this before. Does anyone know where this coming from?

New high-res images have been taken of the entire Megillah! They can be viewed at: http://www.yeshivasstam.com/maharash This is the only extant work of STaM  by a Chabad Rebbe that is still in its perfect original form. There is another Megilla written by the Rebbe Maharash which is housed in the library of Agudas Chasidei Chabad. It, however, underwent an extensive "makeover" by a Brooklyn Sofer in the 1940s. It therefore has lost its original qualities. G-d willing the complete Megillah will be posted in time the Yohrtzeit of the Rebbe Maharash - 13 Tishrei. It should be noted that the Rebbe wrote of the Rebbe Maharash: http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=15753&st=&pgnum=29 "בקי הי' ואומן בכתיבת סת"ם. לכל אחד מבניו נתן מגילה כתובה בכתי"ק ... כן ישנם מזוזות גכתי"ק. People mistakenly believe that he did not write מזוזות. This is clearly inaccurate based on the above testament of the Rebbe. It should also be noted: ...

In connection to the Yorzeit of the אר"י ז"ל 👆 from ספר שיח סופר כלל וא"ו

I gave my Sefer Torah for repairs. This is one of repaired amudim. Is it quality work?

I found this chart listing the shemot that are Chol or Kodesh according to the Keset HaSofer, Kol Yaakov, and to הרה"ג הרב אלישיב זצ"ל as brought down in his Sefer נקדש את שמך From the Or LaSofer online Forum for Soferim. https://drive.google.com/a/vth s.org/file/d/1Z8BhQqlhhqzMTSLG WEB0_Phnn97EFuag/view?usp= drivesdk x

נשאלתי:  האם מזוזה שקבועה מאחרי הדלת או לפניה [פונה כלפי חוץ, ולא כלפי חלל הפתח], כי אי אפשר לקבעה בחלל הפתח כראוי לה לכתחילה, בגלל מבנה או צורת המשקוף. האם יש צורך לעשות מאמץ ולהוציא הוצאות יתר כדי לחפור לה מקום בחלל הפתח, או שהיות שאפשר לקבעה לפני או אחרי הדלת בדיעבד כדינה, אין צריך לטרוח יותר? בהשקפה ראשונה נראה לי שהיות שבמצב ההוה אי אפשר לקבעה בחלל הפתח, אינו חייב לטרוח טירחא מיוחדת לעשות אופן שיוכל לקבעה שם ע"י חפירה וכיוצא בזה. לא מצאתי מקור ברור לדבר זה לעת עתה, לא לחייב ולא לפטור. וכן צ"ע האם יש במקרה כזה וכדומה - חיוב [חז"ל] להוציא עד כדי שליש יתר מכדי דמיו לקיים מצוה מהודרת? כלומר, האם מבחינה כספית חייב להוציא עד חצי מכדי דמי המזוזה, כדי לקבעה בסף בצורה יותר מהודרת, כשם שיש מצוה לקנות מזוזה כתובה מהודרת יותר, אם אפשר לו לקנותה עד חצי מדמי מזוזה זולה, כמבואר בשו"ע בנוגע לאתרוג. אודה לכל מי שיש בידו להעיר בנושא.

Sholom uvrocho, I wanted to ask about the following Torah. Please see picture below. Did you see anything like that?

Can someone write that he's writing leshmah or do Shomah ke'oneh in order to make his Sta"m or Shemos Leshmah? I was recently asked this question and do not recall ever seeing the question, if any one has mareh mekomos it would be appreciated