The International STa"M Forum

 I received the following sheila which I’ll put out to the STaM community: What scanner is required for computer checking? Or is there a camera that works? Is it better to scan and email to a computer checking service? Or to get a program myself? Thank you for your help

 

 

Warsaw Ghetto tefillin discovered 76  after hiding in bunker. Amazing rescue of these precious objects. My thoughts turn to the men who wore the tefillin in desperate circumstances.  News article

  A little ink got smudged in a bad place - inside the Reish. Can this be a shinui tzura to Hei? The smudged ink is rather small but I’m curious to know your opinions.  Git voch YK

 Is it a cheshash if the moshav of an ayin comes down very steeply or has a bit on the bottom of at least an os katana that goes down vertically (I will try and attach picture soon)?  I have heard some are machmir with this so it should not be a shailo of a tzadik pshuta.  Thoughts anyone?

The regel of the nun of בין עינכם appears to be coming from the left corner and then angling slightly to give the appearance of a slight blita rather than actually  being slightly to the right any comments ?  

I'd just like to share a simple tip that has worked well for me over the years.  Rolling mezuzos can be awkward, particularly if the klaf is thick or if the mezuzah has to be rolled tightly to fit into a narrow case. Sometimes it takes several attempts to roll nicely, and often one can make creases in the parchment and even bruising of letters on the left side, both which eventually cause the letters to break or crack and ultimately shorten the life of the mezuzah. What I suggest doing -  is to roll the mezuzah loosely and then put an elastic / rubber band around it. Leave it overnight or even for a few hours so it gets a circular shape and it will be much easier to roll after that. In fact, it will be much like rolling a used mezuzah and you should be able to get a perfect roll without making any creases etc. You can even roll several mezuzos loosely inside each other with one rubber band. I always do this for expensive mezuzos even if the klaf is thin and the case isn't tigh...

Hi, does anyone have video or pictures of a good technique of how to install wrapping-out ("Sefard") shel yad retzuos in the Maabarta? The way I originally learned to do it often causes damage to the retzuah. Thank you.

ד' וה' דבוקים - יש חוששים שנפסלו כי נעשו כחי"ת של רש"י (גג פשוט, ולא מחולק בחטוטרת. ומבואר בפוסקים שחי"ת של רש"י כשרה בדיעבד) קודם שכתב רגל שמאל של הה"א. וא"כ גרירת הנגיעה, הוא חק תוכות. ולדעתי שאין לחשוש כן, במקרה שלפנינו (כלומר אין לחשוש לשינוי צורה, שיהא גרירת הדיבוק חק תוכות, אבל בודאי צריך להפרידם משום שאינן מוקפות גויל עד שיפרידם). וזה בצירוף ג' טעמים: א) הגג כאן אינו פשוט כחי"ת דרש"י, אלא ניכר שנפסק, והן שתי אותיות, כי הדיבוק אינו בכל עובי הגגות. ב) רגל ימין של הה"א - אם נחשיבו כרגל שמאל של החי"ת, הוא באמצעו של האות. ויש פוסלים ה"א [וכל שכן חי"ת] שרגל שמאל אינו בצד שמאלו אלא באמצע הגג. ואע"פ שפסק בשו"ע רבינו שבדיעבד כשר [אם תינוק יכירו], מכל מקום בצירוף שתי השינויים הללו, ברור שתינוק לא יטעה להחשיבם כחי"ת דרש"י. ג) באמת בכתב זה [כמו ברוב הכתבים היום] אין עושים כלל חי"ת דרש"י, אלא חי"ת של חטוטרת כרבינו תם [והוא המנהג הפשוט ברוב הקהילות], ואם כן כאשר נשאל תינוק בה...

הצד"י הזו נפסלה, כי היא גם גימ"ל מחמת נגיעת גג הלמ"ד ותגו לגוף הצד"י, על כן הוא גם צד"י וגם גימ"ל - ופסולה משום שאינה כתיבה תמה [כלומר כתיבה ברורה, כל אות בצורתה המיוחדת]. וגרירת הנגיעה - הוא חק תוכות, ואין תקנה לפרשה זו. דין זה דומה לראש הלמ"ד הנכנס לחלל הד', שפוסל את הדלי"ת - מטעם כתיבה תמה, כי אין ברור האם זו ד' או ה'.  

 

Shalom, Firstly i wanted to thank those that sent me examples of their beautiful ktav for my book. I am still looking though for a beautiful example of ktav chabad. This image below was posted on this forum about 4 years ago and I would very much like to use it and am asking the person who posted it (for now i will not mention his name ) if i may. (also, question to the administrator, is there a way i can contact the person, if he is an author on this site, to ask him directly?) thanks in advance, Izzy

As I was editing the other post, an important question popped up:  Are the organizations that give Ktav Kabbalah opened? (Vaad Mishmeres STaM/Yd Refael)  Anyone has any information on this?

 Excuse my inactivity, recently I have been trying to plan my trip to Yeshivah in Israel, and too much has been going on.  I around 3 weeks ago wrote this Pitum Haketoret, right before I tested positive for the coronavirus.  Baruch Hashem, there were no severe symptoms and I finally got cleared to fly out to Israel. I wanted to know if there is anything I should work on my Ktav, (especially since I will soon try to get my Ksav Kabbalah in Israel) Details: 8mm lines, written by a plastic kulmus (Not used to writing 8mm ktav) As always, thanks for the help! 

This Video was surfacing social media, have no idea who this is, but was wondering if this a Joke or Broad daylight robbery?

It is with great sadness that I heard about the recent passing of Zvi Shkedi, a member of this forum, who was the inventor of "Dyo Lonetzach", a revolutionary type of ink that is waterproof and does not crack or flake.  His many articles and discussions can be found on this forum by searching his name in the search bar on this page. Here is some info on his life and achievements, which can be found by clicking the link below. https://collive.com/zvi-shkedi-73-obm/ I hope his ink continues to be produced, as I have personally found that the Stam written with his ink are easier to check  - as there is no cracking or bruising apparent in the ksav, particularly  on the folds of the shel rosh in tefillin, which, when written with regular ink often need touch ups as they age (particularly if the tefillin are checked often). If anyone has any personal stories or further info about the production of Dyo Lonetzach, please feel free to post. Boruch Dayan Hoemes.

Shalom. I apologize if this is off the usual halachic topics here, but maybe someone on this forum can help me out. I am coming out with a book on the Beauty of the Hebrew Letter, and I naturally want to include beautiful examples of STaM. I know beauty is a subjective matter but if you know of a person who does outstanding work in STaM - I am looking for both Ktav Ashkenazi (Beit Yosef or Ari), and Sephardi, and maybe even Chabad, and who would give me permission to use their work, it would be greatly helpful. I would be willing of course to contact the person myself if you have contact information. I am really looking for the best of the best - I already have very nice examples but I am looking for outstanding work. I am not looking for calligraphic works with ktav Ashurit, but rather pure STaM - mezuzot, tfillin, megillah or Sefer Torah. I don't want to take up room on the forum with this request. I can be contacted privately at izzy@impwriter.com Thanking you in adv...

 Yes, we hope for "chatima tova" throughout the entire year. As Soferim, this is a rather crucial quality of our profession. So now, before Rosh Hashana, those words take on greater significance as THE Sofer considers each and every person, and writes their fate for the upcoming year.  To my dear colleagues, teachers and friends in this incredible work we do - שנה טובה ומבורכת

These Israeli WhatsApp groups have some real Tzadikkim!  I made it into a google file so anyone can download, print etc etc Maker: Romi Brener   https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-1OJRMp6Y_mas7PHyqVtFtNIStxt4WtZ/view?usp=sharing *Please inform me of anything that might need to be fixed, I will contact Romi to fix*