Siyyum Question

I've recently completed a new Sefer Torah and will be holding the siyyum in early June.  At the request of the shul I've left quite a large number of letters open so that "as many as wish to may participate in the mitzvah." My concern is that given the large number of people called up, many, perhaps most of whom I will not know, that among these individuals could be invitees who are not shomer mitzvos, or perhaps even halachically Jewish.  Does anyone have a politic way of allowing people to 'participate' in the filling of the letters without running the risk of rendering a year and a half of work posul? 

Also, what would be the correct course of action if it did come to my attention that one or more letters had been written by someone who is posul for writing, but after the fact I had no way of knowing which ones? 

Would it be permissible to use an ink for the siyyum, dyo l'netzach for example, which before it has fully cured can be peeled off the klaf, and so simply remove the filled in letters and re-write them myself later?

sha'ala on kof

I was sent some Mezzuzah's to check.  Oddly enough one was still new in a plastic wrapper with this hekhsher on the back:

However upon inspecting it visually these were some of the more glaring issues that I found:

Does anyone know anything about this Hekhsher?

Applying Mei Klaf (מי קלף) - eitzahs?

up until now i've employed a small cotton swab (q-tip) to apply mei klaf. the advantage is that a little goes a long way. i would also use the same q-tip each time, eventually causing a slightly noticeable mark to form around the area where the mei klaf had dried. i was told this was from particles of dust or dirt that had been on the q-tip.
i'm looking for a new method to apply mei klaf that conserves on the materials (and amount of mei klaf) being used
any advice?
l'chaim,
pesach

Mezuzah in "space" carved into a doorpost

If someone simply carved out a space in the doorpost and stuck the mezuzah there (inside of a case) would this be kosher? In such a case the mezuzah in it's case will stay where it is however it's rather easy to simply remove from there since it's not nailed in.

If anyone has any insights (or b'frat mareh makomos) on this please share.

scan - size sensitive

The samech of 'vesartem' is tiny. Although there is no shiyur (me'akev) of the challal of the letters, including the samech. But it is obvious that a tiny slit isn't considered at all challal, and is pasul because of shinuy tzuras ha'os.
In the case at hand, the scan shows me a samech that is pasul. But any slight variation will change the picture - the size of the challal in relation to the letter at large.

Therefore I can not decide from the scan in this case, this has to be seen in reality to decide.

Plastic Kulmus Tips

Does anyone know of a way to get plastic kulmus tips in or around the New York City area and/or online? The last time I saw them was in Monsey a few years ago (they may still have them there, I just haven't been to Monsey for a while) and any leads would be appreciated. Tizku l'mitzvos!

I know this might be total am haratzes but ein habayshan lamed I have seen many people on different safrus blogs that they highlight a letter and encircle the letter. Sometimes thought the letter with the problem is in hashems name. I was wondering if this is okay on computer even if it sometimes covers up hashems name. on a more personnel level I highlight hashems name with a highlighter and was wondering if that is okay. Input would be appreciated.

My Article on paskening shailos from electronic images, printed this week in a local Kovetz

Introduction

When checking STa”M (Sifrei Torah, tefillin and Mezuzos), it is not uncommon for an examiner to encounter a shailos chochom, a question that requires the psak (ruling) of an expert rav or moreh horoah.  However not all morei horoah / rabbanim are comfortable answering technical shaolos in STa”M - as a matter of fact very few are. Additionally, virtually all the noteworthy poskim in STa”M today live in Eretz Yisroel.

As a sofer living in Melbourne, I have personally relied heavily on overseas rabonnim to answer my questions, either by telephone or by email. If the question concerns a tzuras haos (formation of a letter), very often I will take a clear digital photograph or high resolution scan and email it to the rov for a ruling.

In the past, upon receiving an answer, I  would often share the email with other sofrim around the world who were on my email list. Likewise, many of them shared their answers with me. (Over the years I have amassed hundreds if not even thousands of such emails.) Then, about two years ago, I started an online forum where sofrim from around the world could post their shailos directly online and everyone could see the responses and discuss it.

Is an electronic image reliable?

One of the problems with electronic images (or even printed images) is that often they do not really portray the exact “metziyus hadavar” and cannot compare with seeing the shailah in real life. A decade ago, an image sent by fax or low resolution scan was often too blurry and lacked detail. Today, a high resolution photograph may have the opposite problem, that it enlarges the image in great detail and may show too much, causing one who sees it to be potentially machmir (stringent). Other factors such as the image being too bright or too dark can be an issue.  Some cameras cannot zoom in enough to get the detail required, some images are a little blurry due to camera shake and some scanners actually thicken the letters a little.

It is interesting to note that of all the hundreds of teshuvos and seforim on STa”M written in the past few hundred years-  many which discuss very detailed technical shailos of tzuras haosiyos -   very few of these poskim actually print images or figures of the shailo.  Today, such “picture books” (as one Rov I know calls them) are more common. This Rov told me that the reason why the “poskim of old” did not include pictures, is because they were worried that a printed image would not portray the exact shailo as it appeared in real life, and therefore did not want to take the responsibility of possibly misleading their readers.

 I think it goes without saying that even the clearest of images connot portray a shailo exactly as it appears in real life. For example on the abovementioned STa”M  Forum, the average size of images uploaded and posted are substantially larger than “life size”.  Yet if one shrinks it down to “life size” it simply will not be as clear as the real life image when viewed on a computer monitor.

On the other hand, it is still far easier for a rav to pasken (rule) from such an image long distance via email than from a verbal telephone description.  And for those without a local rov prepared to answer the question, there is often no other choice.

Poskim on this issue

To the best of my knowledge there are no teshuvos (responsa) printed on this issue, however there are teshuvos that discuss the use of a magnifying glass that enhances an image. (I once wrote an article on this issue you can see it in kovetz  heorols vol . )

However the issues pertaining to the use of electronic images and the use of a magnifying glass are not really the same. The only common ground they have is when the digital image is high resolution and very large, it has magnified the shailo in the same manner as a magnifying device, in some cases making the shailoh seem worse. But all the other problems that can potentially arise from a digital image such as contrast, brightness, resolution and general accuracy etc are not really discussed in these teshuvos.

What is interesting however is that there are many renowned authroties today who still choose to pasken from photos and scans even though they know it does not necessarily portray the shailo in the exact same manner as real life. (Rav Shammai Gross has personally paskened from over 250 images brought to him in the past few years. ) This seems to send the message that it is acceptable to pasken from electronic images.

 My discussion with Rav Friedlander

During a recent visit to Eretz Yisroel, I had a two hour meeting with Rav Mordechai Friedlander, Moreh Tzedek of the Va’ad Mishmeres Stam and Badatz Eidah Hacharedis.  Rav Friedlander is familiar with my Forum and one of the questions I asked him is if a rav can pasken from a digital image posted there.

He said that he agrees that an electronic image will never really be exactly the same as the real thing. However he felt that certain shailos were more of an issue than others. Together we viewed several recent shailos posted on the forum.

One of the shailos was a mem that had the churtem (connection between the right chof part of the mem and left vov part of the mem) connecting very low down on the vov on the left side of the mem. He argued that the size and clarity do not really affect the ruling here because the halacha is that as long as the connection is above the bottom of the base (of the chaf on the right side of the mem) it is kosher (and can be fixed to make it proper).  This criteria needed to render it kosher was apparent both on the scan and would be easily apparent in real life as well. So he felt that such shailos (which are not “size” or “clarity” sensitive) should be acceptable for a rav to pasken from an electronic image.

However he said other shailos are too risky to pasken on based on an electronic image alone, because the size and other factors may lead to a misrepresentation of the shailoh.

He related an incident that occurred with Rav Elyashiv, who was once brought a parsha with a shailoh (of a chof which had a small protrusion on the back of the lower right side which made it look a little like a beis).  Rav Elyashiv  paskened it was kosher. The next day someone else brought him an enlarged photocopy of the same shailoh. Rav Elyashev paskened it was possul . The second person then told him it was a blown up image of the same shailo he was machshir the day before.  Rav Elyasheiv responded by saying that obviously the shailo will look worse when blown up (because it will exaggerate the protrusion), and that the sofer should follow the first psak and ignore the second.

Rav Friedlander argued that the same would apply to a digital image which enabled the rav to come to a different conclusion based on discrepancies between the image (size, clarity etc) and the real life shailo. Many shailos in stam, particularly small negiyos (touching letters) and nifsakim (broken letters)  are extremely sensitive and should really only be judged by the naked eye in real life.

However he did say that a rav who has lots of experience with both viewing digital images and real life images, and who has a good feel for the way a real life shailoh will translate itself into a digital image, can use his “mind’s eye” to pasken from a digital image. This would mean that he would be able to use his judgment to translate how the digital image presented before him would look in real life. He said not many rabbis are be able to do this but it was certainly possible by one who had the correct expertise and experience.

Obviously there are still certain shailos that remain impossible  for even the most expert rav to judge accurately from an electronic image.  Examples of this include small breaks in letters, holes, questions pertaining to ink texture and colour, etc. Often you need to look at these shailos from different angles and different lighting (such as backlight) which cannot be done with even the best images.

 Conclusion

 Based on the psak of Rav Friedlander,  we can therefore conclude that there are three basic catagories of shailos , each with different ramifications when it comes to paskening from a digital image:

1)   Shailos in which size and clarity are not important: For example it would not make a difference if the image is a little larger or smaller or has slightly more or less resolution – the result would be the same either way. An example of this is shown above, with the mem with the low churtem. It is no problem for a Rav to pasken from such an image.

 

2)   Shailos in which size and clarity are important factors:  An example of this would be the abovementioned  beis / chof question that was brought to Rav Elyashiv. Other shailos such as negiyos and nifsakim would fall into this category. However an expert rav with very good judgment can use his “mind’s eye” to see how the digital image would most likely look in real life and rule accordingly.

 

3)     Finally, as explained above, there are shailos which are impossible even for an expert to be able to gain enough information from any image for a proper ruling, such as small breaks in letters, holes, questions pertaining to ink texture and colour and the like.  Such shailos are rarely uploaded anyway, as it is obvious that the image will not be sufficient for even the most expert rov  to pasken from.

problem with akev of beis

The second beis [in 'levavcha'] doesn't have an akev at all.
This type of akev of the beis (found in russian & chabad ksav) is a bend outward of the descending  line "gav", making an akev. It must start around half way down of the back of the beis, so the akev is the bottom part protruding. Here the bend starts immediate after the gag, so it is the back of the beis and not an akev.

Although most poskim pasken that a clearly squared beis is kosher [Mishnat Sofrim, Chatam Sofer], there are some poskim that demand an "akev kolshehu" (some protruding oketz) [see Mishnat Hasofer]. and all agree that lechatchila a beis must include an akev.
Therefore this beis must be fixed, by scraping a bit from the beis before it, allowing space to add an akev.

Is this kosher lechatchillah?

Hi, If a sefer was written in  ksav beis yosef but shemos written like the kaballah of the arizal. I have never seen this before. Is this lechatchillah ok or is there any detraction of kashrus or the like? Its being sold as kosher lechatchillah , is this correct?

Sending a sefer torah in the mail

I can't remember if this has been discussed before on the forum but is one allowed to send a kosher sefer (with aitz chayims) wrapped in a box or suitcase by mail or cargo? Or can it only be taken by hand? Or Does it have to be made unkosher like unstitching two yeriyios if such a thing is even allowed?

I'm sure this has an easy answer but I've only mailed parts of sifre Torah (which is definitely allowed) but I now have to transport a kosher one.

Parsha stumah in Shema by Tefillin d'R"T

A sofer was writting R"T tefillin and didn't leave 9 oisios at the end of "v'haya im shamo'ah" (in the shel yad.)
In Mishnas HaSofer from R' Yaakov Meir Stern (Siman 26 Sif-Katan 15) he writes that by R"T this isn't m'acev b'dieved. In Note 18 he is m'tzian the following teshuvas: Noda B'Yehuda Tinyana Siman 5, Shut R' Chaim Kohen Rappaport Siman 1, Shoel U'Mashiv Mahadurah Kammah Chelek Beis SIman 30 and Remah (רמ"ע) Siman 37.

The question is are the poskim l'maseh makil in this?

Obviously I'm assuming the sofer would have to tell the koneh however maybe he could sell these tefillin for cheaper if the original buyer wouldn't want them.

R' Shammai was asked this shailo and told the sofer that it's a problem (i.e. pasul), however after someone mentioned to him the makilim that R' Yaakov Meir Stern brings down he said he didn't know or perhaps didn't remember there were makilim. However I didn't hear that the psak had changed or not.

Someone in NY who repairs Atzei Chaim

Someone contacted me recently looking for someone in NY who repairs Atzei Chaim. Any leads would be appreciated. Thanks.

Three questions:

1) Does anyone know if there is anything written about the halachic perspective of putting an old possul sefer torah in a display cabinet in the foyer of a shul?

2) I have a sefer Torah that sags a little and its hard to roll during hagbah (ashkenaz style) , they have to fiddle with the klaf  so that it rolls straight. Is there a solution for this?

3) Does anyone know a chasidesher sofer in Amsterdam Holland or even Antwerp Belgium or vicinity who has kabola from Mishmeres Stam? It's for someone in Amsterdam but Antwerp is not too far for them.

Thanks!

Certified Scribe in Baltimore

Looking for sofer musmach in Baltimore that can check alter rebbe ksav parshios. Many Litvishe Sofrim have a problem checking alter rebbe ksav.

R' Shammai Gross and pictures from a computer

Just wanted to share a general point and a "maaseh rav" from today.

Eli had posted recently what he heard from R' Friedlander in regards to paskening from a computer image or print out.

Many shailos that I've seen on this forum and on R' Moshe's Hebrew forum I have brought to R' Shammai as a way of learning (this helped a lot in the shimush that I've made by him. Usually there are shailos in STaM by the Beis Horah every day however it was good to always bring more.) I've so far asked around 250 shailos from printed images and have them all saved in a folder as well as the psakim written in my notes on the computer. I have another 500 or so that I haven't asked yet! Aside from the folder with the printed images I hope to organize one day a Power Point presentation with all the images and psakim written out nicely and clearly.

There were some printouts that I brought that I was asked to get an official psak on. No matter what the shailo as long as it was in the "tzurah" of the ois he was willing to psaken from the printout. Things like color of the dio, etc he avoided of course, even if it would have been on the computer itself (perhaps more "real" then the printout) still he didn't want to pasken.

I know R' Friedlander made a chiluk if it's a shailo in something that if enlarged might change the tzurah then those shailos maybe not to pasken only from a computer or printout.

Today a sofer came with a camera and about 5 shailos he had the Sefer Torah he was writing. Nothing too problematic and he was able to take good pictures to show R' Shammai. He looked at all the pictures and paskend based on what he saw in the camera. Afterwards he said it's such a nice thing that the sofer could bring so many shailos just on the camera and doesn't have to come every time with all the yerios. Noting what a convenient and (seemingly) good thing it is.

Double kuzu - in back of mezuza

Double kuzu - the sofer made a mistake in the first one skipping a samech [BTW the last 2 zayinin, are more vav than zayin] and was afraid to erase the 'shemos' so he wrote a new kuzu above.
1) since these shemos are not me'akev at all the mezuza, it is kosher with 2 kuzu.
2) it was permitted to erase the first kuzu [more accurate from the (lacking) samech down], since these are not true 'shemos' that are forbidden to erase, rather 'kinuyim' (other secondary/derivative names) that are not kodesh and permitted to be erased for great need as tikun. That should of been done rather than write a second one.

Relying on Non Jewish or Non frum company reps with regard to verifying kashrus of ink

Continuing with the topic of ink, which seems to be our topic of interest at present, I have a question for Yehoshuah to please ask Rav Shammai Gross Sh';

If a company representative tells a customer that no animal by -products are in a specific ink can that be relied upon from a kashrus point of view?

The reason why I ask is because I understand that  the common use in the ST'M industry of  Staedtler "Paper 745" rapidograph ink for uses such as tiyyug, tikkunim etc, was based only on telephoning the company and asking if any animal by-products are used. Lab tests were not conducted independently by the rabbis allowing the use of this ink.

I was also told by reps here in Australia that no animal by-products are used.

Can I rely on this?

While I currently only use dyo lanetzach rapidograph ink which has a hechsher,  I'm more worried about the past, I have used the ink for tikkunim based on rabbinic advice that it was OK, and even now I do sell some cheaper mezuzos, tefillin and even sifrei torah that have had rapidograph tagin etc made with Staedtler "Paper 745" rapidograph ink. I cant imagine anyone who sells Sta"m that has not sold a cheaper item esp a sefer Torah with tagin made by a metayeg with such ink.

Water on Nahari ink - experiment

I drew lines with about 5 years old Nahari ink on a business card and on klaf (unknown type and source of klaf). Let it air dry, then baked it in the kitchen oven at about 90 degrees C for half an hour to make sure it is really really dry.

Then, dripped water on the lines. Here is what it looks like.

On the klaf the ink spread a lot. On the card it barely spread. I then dripped more water all over the ink lines on the card. The ink for some mysterious reason did not spread. I don't know why is there such a big difference between ink on card and ink on klaf.

Dealing with mold on a sefer Torah

I was recently contacted by a shul here in the Pacific Northwest about treating a problem with mold growth on two of their sifrei Torah.  Having briefly looked through both sefarim it looks like the mold is fairly widespread manifesting in black spots along most of he margins and in a few places across areas of writing.  Based on my recommendation the shul took immediate action to dramatically reduce the level of humidity within the shul which has been nearly 100% by installing de-humidifiers.  The humidity is now holding at approximately 55%.  At this level, I think mold growth is much less likely, but it still leaves the tricky issue of dealing with with what's already formed on the Torah scrolls themselves.  I've done a bit of research on dealing with mold on parchment and it seems like there's quite a range of opinions, everything from misting the parchment with a solution of alcohol to exposing the klaf to direct sunlight for an hour, to using UV lamps. 

Does anyone have any experience dealing with this type of issue successfully? 

Landlord putting up Mezuzah with bracha

This shailo has come to the Beis Horah many times by R' Shammai Gross and haven't been able to find anyone yet that speaks about it (although perhaps the psak is obvious?)

It says in Shulchan Aruch that if someone rents a dira the chiyuv of putting Mezuzos on the dira is on them. Many times here in Eretz Yisrael (as I'm sure in other places) it's become the custom that the Landlord puts the mezuzos on the dira. Especially in a case when it's a dira being rented as "fully furnished" apartment. While there might be some discussion in this I know R' Shammai holds this to be the "minhag" that such a dira also comes with mezuzos. However in a situation when this is the first tenant the dira is being rented to and it doesn't yet have mezuzos up and the bal dira wants to put up before the tenant comes in can he make a bracha? If the tenant had already made some sort of kinyan and made him a shliach to put them up I would say for sure then he could make a bracha. However if he didn't make him a shliach can the landlord still put up with a bracha?

Retzuah problem larger than we may realize

I noticed yesterday somebody's  retzuos were peeling in a manner similar to the faulty retzuos that everyone was talking about last year. It was peeling a little and then I was able to peel off a 30cm strip of the black veneer.

The retzuos are less than a year old HOWEVER they are from a very large and well established retzuah manufacturer, with a very well known hechsher (not the same as the one that the controversy blew up about last year).

Perhaps Rabbi Traube or someone in the know can tell me if this is a new development or not.

Thanks

I need some advice here...

I posted a question earlier in the week regarding a sefer that seemed to be getting water damaged easily, and what could be done to waterproof the ksav somewhat. I am still a little worried about this sefer, and would like to share my predicament with members of this forum, in hope of receiving some advice or insight.

 Some months ago I sold a new sefer Torah to a shul here in Melbourne. The sofer who wrote the sefer is a sofer mumacha with a beautiful ksav.  As usual,  I had the sefer checked first by computer, then manually, then tikkunim (repairs) and then a second time by computer. (The magiha who did the manual examination is a magiha mumcha with 30 years experience and although he charges twice the usual amount for the job, I find that it is worth it because he is extremely reliable).

The sefer was used for a few months and received many compliments from all who saw or lained from it. So far, so good.

Two weeks ago however, a problem was found and it was put back in the middle of laining. A stain was found on one of the letters which totally passeled it. See the picture below. I received the call from the shul after Shabbos and naturally I was very disappointed and somewhat embarrassed. See the picture below of the stain...

I was convinced that such a stain surely would have happened after the Torah was already in the possession of the shul. Perhaps a rain drop had fallen from someone's hat or the like. To prove it I asked the computer examiner for the photo of that omud from the second computer check. Of course it did not have the stain. Furthermore, if you looked at the stain you could see that on the back of the klaf there was a black mark corresponding to the place of the stain (see below), indicating that the damage occurred after the sefer was already on the aitz chayims and most likely after the siyum.

So I explained this to the relevant parties, and emailed them the original computer image (see below).

The very next week however, also in the middle of laining, another problem was found.  This time it was a big negiya between letters. See below.

Again, I felt there was no way both my magiha as well as the computer check could have missed this. So I asked again for the photo of the second computer check, which again, was clean (see below).

I again explained to the relevant parties that I am 100% confident that this too occurred after it was already in the shul's possession and that it was most likely caused by spittle. I explained that the problem is not the fault of the sofer or that it was not checked properly.

The rabbi asked me if perhaps there is something wrong with the ink. (Fair question, given the circumstances.) . He told me that he had never seen such a thing once, let alone two weeks in a row. I checked with the sofer and he told me he used Dyo Nahari, which is the most popular ink on the market. Furthermore, and in all fairness to the rabbi's concern, there are other sifrei Torah in the same shul (which I had sold them in previous years) which were all written with dyo Nahari and never had such a problem (even once) over the years.

I am now worried that this may happen again. If it does, not only would it be seriously embarrassing  for me, it would also be very embarrassing for the donors, who are already somewhat concerned. This was not a cheap sefer, and none of the other seforim in that shul are showing any signs of damage.

I thought about waterproofing the sefer with fixative, hence my post earlier in the week. I'm just worried about the long term effects it may have on the sefer.

Any advice or insights would be appreciated.

yud of alef touching the guf

Excellent example of the yud touching the guf, most Rabbis passel this and don't allow fixing [chok tochos] in tefilin or mezuza. [In ST you may scrape away the whole yud and rewrite it]. Some Rabbis may permit scraping the negiya from the left side.

Ask your Rabbi !!

Great tool for extracting Parshiyos!

Hi, I just discovered the Sickle Scaler, something you probably have seen only at the dentist. I tried it today to remove a parsha that was stuck inside a tight chalal and it worked like a charm. The matlis and sairos had long disappeared but I was able to stick the sharp point into the bottom of the parsha (under the letters) and carefully pull it out.

Letter Nun

It appears to me that the first NUN of VeShinantam is straight PASSUL; and not even a sheelat tinok. Your comments/insight are welcome.

Legal Advice & Guidance for Soferim

I just went through a very harrowing legal situation with a customer who purchased a Sefer Torah through my store.  B"H, emes won out - but the legal fees and other procedural costs are crushingly hard to bear. 

It seems, though, from talking to other brokers of Torah scrolls, particularly used scrolls, that many people are on pins an needles after the recent scandal regarding Holocaust era and "rescued" European scrolls.  Does anyone else have this sensation?  

A few legal insights and lessons I learned were: 

1) In the sales contract, it must state that "kosher" is not the same as "immaculate physical condition."  It sounds obvious to we soferim, but many people who do not know better cannot make this subtle distinction and assume that "kosher" means pristine and like-new condition.

2) /I will never again agree to give every single detail of the repairs to customers.  I emailed daily logs of everything done to the sefer as per the customer's request.  They absolutely freaked out at every single email - eventually they were convinced that the Torah must be riddled with problems and was somehow "defective."  The issues I repaired were very small things: little tears in the margins, resewed some seams, replaced reinforcing matleisim, and cleaned several smudges.  Oddly, a result of providing them with so much detail, is that they became convinced that I was hiding details!

3) I have a clause in the contract which states that any "opinions as to the origin or age of this scroll are given in good faith and to the best of the Sofer's knowledge, yet are not a guarantee as to the origin or age of this scroll; other experts may disagree with the Sofer's opinions."  In the future, I will add something that binds the buyer to acknowledge that the validity of the purchase is not predicated on the exact origin or age of a scroll.  

4) I will add also that, once the customer sells or transacts the Torah to another entity, or once they have allowed another sofer to perform repairs or replace eitzim, that my initial warranties as to kashrus, condition, etc. are no longer valid.  If another sofer decides to tinker with my work, I will not take responsibilities for his mistakes. 

Does anyone else have any practical advice to safeguard oneself?  I realize that most of us are probably not attorneys, but I am looking to share insights and idea, if anyone has some to offer. 

Shaylas tinok on Beis that resembles a mem

There is a small line in the Beis (ירבו) starting to close it, turning it into a mem. This question was already brought on the forum, see link The International STa"M Forum
There the Rabbi [Dovid L. Greenfeld, head of Vaad Mishmeres Stam] paskened that the letter after Beis should be covered (so the tinok doesn't realise it isn't a Mem, because it is in the middle of a word] the tinok in that case passeled it reading it a Mem.

Here [lower] are 2 similar questions, The tinok was asked and read the Beis's in question as Beis, although the other letters were not covered. Bdieved his reading is accepted, and the letters are kosher, we do not need to ask again.

How do you store your kulmus?

I've always cleaned my kulmus after a writing session, using a cotton swab and a cloth. Then I place upright in a stand or stow in a small case. I've recently heard of other methods, including keeping the kulmus (tip down) wet in a cup of water; and also placing it in the top part of a cup with a divider separating the water on the bottom with the dry area in the upper part of the cup - thus maintaining some moisture whilst keeping the kulmus dry. I'm interested in hearing about best practices. Thank you.

waterproofing ink

Hi all, there is a new sefer torah that has a beautiful ksav but I have already been called a few times to fix it for moisture damage. Once it had what looked like a drop of rain that had maybe fallen from someone's hat, and once it had what was obviously a spit mark that had caused a negiya. The ink seems very water soluble and it's making the owner nervous, as twice already they put it back during laining. While I explained that these things happen, he asked me if there were any preventative measures that could be taken to waterproof the ink, such as spraying the sefer with fixative?

Anyone have any ideas or experience?

Mezuzah Placement Shailoh

In the picture below, it is a safek if it requires a mezuzah because the owner is not sure if the pillars are there for support or as an entrance way of sorts, so he was instructed by his rav to put up without a bracha.

My question is, do we put it in the first tefach of the pillar, as is the custom, or in the center of the pillar so it will be under the main mashkof.

Furthermore, if you look closely, do you consider the white rendering on the pillar as part of the mashkof, because then, seeing that it overhangs a few centimeters even in the first tefach of the pillar, it may be considered then being under the mashkof.

Does anyone know the Zirkind shitta on holes?

Hi I have a parsha from a Zirkind style sofer written on the trademark Zirkind Klaf which has got holes in it, some of them touching the letters. My Rav here passelled it because they are big enough to see in regular light (not against the light) and ink goes through them. But I remember once hearing that Harav Zirkind is meikel on holes and perhaps if its kosher according to him I can tell the customer that there is yesh lismoch for the past and then he can decide what do do for the future.

Thanks.

why kuf?

The halacha regarding a small, thin negiya (kechut hasarah) between the left regel and gug of a hay is well documented. Scraping is prohibited and considered chok tochus. This is in stark contrast to other letters in which such a negiya is fixable, for example where two roshim of a shin are connected with a thin line or the yud of an alef is connected from the other side as well as the yerech.

It seems the hay is more chomur because with such a negiya it can become a ches. However a thin line connecting the left side of the bottom yud of the alef or two heads of a shin are less problematic because in both cases its still clearly an alef or a shin.

So why then do we rule that a kuf, where the left regel and gug of a kuf is connected by a thin negiya, that it's outright possul like a hay. Surely it's still recognizable as a kuf in the same way other letters that have a thin negiya without causing a shinuy tzurah.  Why do we treat it the same as a hay?

I never understood this and if anyone has any svaros / mekoros I'd appreciate it.

Sefer Kesivas St'am By R' M. Mendlowitz - Where to Buy It

I have R' Adam's sefer Yalkut Stam, in it he waxes very poetic about the sefer Kesivas Stam by R' Mendlowitz as an indispensable primer on technical information for a sofer.  Does anyone know where I can get a copy (I'm in New York).
Thanks

PSA: תיקון סופרים וקוראים "מסורה" תל-אביב תשכ"ב

I used the above tikkun for the Eicha I posted about and it has at least one error in that amud alone. The last word should read מלבו  not מלב. Anyone who uses this tikkun should probably check their writing against a different one.

Rav Friedlander on paskening from a computer image

                                                                                                  Rav Mordechai Friedlander Shlitah


During my recent trip to Eretz Yisroel I met with Rav Mordechai Friedlander, M'T of the Vaad Mishmeres Stam (Yerushalayim) and of the Eidah. Rav Friedlander gave me kabollah 12 years ago and I have been in touch with him many times over the years.

For those who have not met him, Rav Friedlander is a world leading posek and is extremely knowledgeable. He is also very approachable, tolerant and broadminded (perhaps because he is American), and he understands the mentality and nuances of different groups within the frum world.

One of the things I discussed with him was this forum. I showed it to him on my laptop and he seemed quite impressed. He felt that it was partuicularly beneficial for sofrim such as myself living in "Chutz laaretz" where there is no real organized support for sofrim and others in the field of Stam.

I asked him if one can pasken via shailos scanned and posted on the forum. He said if it is a shailah such as an unusual tzurah etc it is OK, provided it is a clear scan or photo (for example he saw the shailo posted recently of the mem, where the chof and vov were connected very low, and he said that one could pasken from such a picture). It does not matter if it is enlarged or enhanced.

However he said shailos which are size sensitive such as a small blita coming out of the back of a chof which may look more like a beis when enlarged, can really only judge accurately from the real thing as it appears in real life. (Real life sized images on a computer screen always comes out less clear than the real life original and once you blow it up its already altered). Also he said nifsakim and nekavim would be virtually impossible to judge correctly from such images.

However he did say that a posek with good judgement and exprience could pasken by using his "minds eye" to judge what an enlarged photo would look like in real life. This would be a Rov with a lot of experience with both real life and computer image shailos - and he would also know if the image is not suitable to pasken from.

Beginner question: Appraising this Ksav

I hope this doesn't break the no commercial content rule; if it does I will gladly delete it. The picture below is an amud from my second-ever megilla, this time Eicha. I have better sections and worse ones but this is pretty representative. I was hoping to sell the finished product for about $400 US. Is this reasonable, and if not how much would you say it's worth?

Note that the smudge was on the lens, not the klaf

The whole amud at higher resolution. Click the image for a very close-up view.

As you can see, I also need any writing tips I can get. Different parts of this amud were written at different times. What do you recommend to keep the ink at the same consistency between sessions and the kulmus at the same width after sharpening?

EDIT: Thanks for all the advice, I really appreciate professionals like you taking your time to give me beginner tips. Here are two new pictures of the same amud.

SHTAR FOR LOANING SEFER TORAH

HI DOES ANYBODY HAVE A COPY OF A SHTAR FOR LOANING A SEFER TORAH THAT ONE SHUL DOESNT USE ANYMORE TO ANOTHER SHUL BUT WE STILL WANT TO RETAIN OWNERSHIP ON THEM
THANK YOU

Gevil II

I just wanted to post a follow-up to R' Avi's recent post about gevil, particularly the link he posted to R' Yehuda Sherez website http://www.klaf1.com/.  It really is a fascinating read.  

He does beautiful work and it's nice to see interest in gevil reviving somewhat.  I think the art of making it very nearly went extinct.

As I was looking through some of the images and information on his site, I was struck by the fact that there must exist a variety of traditions for making gevil.  Although all the techniques center on the same process melach to slip the hair, kemach to bate the skin, and afeitzim to tan it, the end results are dramatically different.  The technique I know results in a deep red gevil and glossy surface.

This is a sample of some of my gevil that I sent to YK Sofer in the Netherlands.  This is his ksav on a menorah shaped lamnatzeach.  If you would like to see his whole post it's here http://www.lavlor.blogspot.com/2012/04/writing-on-red-gvil.html

My gevil looks a bit more like some of the old North African sifrei Torah.

While R' Yehuda's gevil is that same soft beige color of the gevil of the Isaiah Scroll found at the Dead Sea. 

 

It would be interesting to compare notes and find out what causes such a dramatically different final result.  Is it a less concentrated solution of oak-gall?  Perhaps the galls are coming from a different type of oak and so effecting the skin in different ways.  

How would you fix this?

Sorry for all the beginner level posts.
Ignoring the terrible ksav, how would you fix this?  As it appears, these are hand smudges which occurred after ksiva.
I am looking for both the halachic status and practical strategies to fix.
Thanks!

Writing Nach

Are there any tikkunim or texts available from which one could write a sefer of Nach?
I know there is some debate about the exact text, but before I figure out which mesorah to use, I want to at least have in hand a text.
Thanks

Ink - food for thought

מימי משה רבינו ועד חורבן בית שני כתבו סופרי סת"ם רק בדיו עשן מעורב בדבק. העשן שימש להשחרת הדיו ושרף עצים שימש כדבק. כמו שנאמר :"כל העשנים יפין לדיו... כל השרפין יפין לדיו" (שבת כג, א). בתקופת בית שני המציאו חכמי יוון המצאה חדשה והתחילו לכתוב במי-עפצים וקנקנתום בלי עשן.  רבי מאיר, כ- 100 שנה אחרי חורבן בית שני, עשה דיו כמו שהיה נהוג מימי קדם ואח"כ הוסיף קנקנתום לתוך הדיו. לא לתוך המים אלא לתוך הדיו. "דבר אחד יש לי וקנקנתום שמו, שאני מטיל לתוך הדיו." (עירובין, יג, ע'א).

מה נקרא דיו ומה לא נקרא דיו? ומה הדין אם מוסיפים קנקנתום?

משנה (סוטה, פב מד): "אינו כותב לא בקומוס ולא בקנקנתום ולא בכל דבר שרושם, אלא בדיו".  לפי המשנה קומוס וקנקנתום אינם שייכים לדיו.

הרמב"ם (הלכות תפילין, פ"א, ד): "כיצד מעשה הדיו? מקבצין העשן של שמנים או של זפת ושל שעוה וכיוצא בהן וגובלין אותן בשרף האילן ובמעט דבש... ובשעת כתיבה שורהו במי עפצים וכיוצא בו וכותב בו, שאם תמחקנו יהיה נמחק, וזהו הדיו שמצוה מן המובחר לכתוב בו ספרים תפילין ומזוזות, ואם כתב שלשתן במי עפצא וקנקנתום שהוא עומד ואינו נמחק כשרים".  הרמב"ם קורא בשם דיו רק לדיו עשן. הרמב"ם מתיר לכתוב במי עפצא וקנקנתום, אך אינו קורא לזה בשם דיו.

ר"ת  אוסר עפצים ומחייב שרף מן העץ. ר"ת אינו אומר כיצד משחירים את הדיו ואינו מזכיר עשן או קנקנתום.

הרא"ש  מפרש את דברי ר"ת שאוסר עפצים ואומר שאם מוסיפים לעפצים גומא אז זה נעשה דיו. הרא"ש אינו אומר כיצד משחירים את הדיו ואינו מזכיר עשן או קנקנתום.

המאירי  (שבת, כג, א): "והוא שהיו מעשנין כלי זכוכית בעשן שמן שעל האור עד שמשחירו, וגורר השחרורית ומגבלו בשמן זית או באחר עם שרף אלנות ובמעט דבש, ומיבשו. וכשרוצה לכתוב, ממחהו במי עפצא ונותן לתוכו קנקנתום".  לפי המאירי עושים דיו עם עשן, ואח"כ מותר להוסיף לו קנקנתום.

מרדכי (גיטין, יט, ע'א, בשם אור זרוע): "ווטריולא (קנקנתום) שמשימים בדיו של עפצים ודאי הוא פסול שאין זה דיו אלא צבע".  לפי אור זרוע ומרדכי אסור להוסיף קנקנתום לדיו. אם מוסיפים קנקנתום זה לא דיו אלא צבע והוא פסול.

מה פסקו גדולי הפוסקים האחרונים, הלכה למעשה?

שולחן ערוך (יו"ד, רעא, ו): "ספר תורה צריך שיכתבנו בדיו העשוי מעשן השמנים שרוי במי עפצים. ואם כתבו במי עפצא וקנקנתום כשר". השו"ע אומר במפורש שדיו חייב להיות עשוי מעשן. השו"ע אינו מזכיר קנקנתום בדיו. בתוספות (שבת כג, א) מבואר ש"כשר משמע דיעבד". בדיעבד, השו"ע מתיר לכתוב במי עפצא וקנקנתום אך נזהר שלא לקרוא לזה דיו. מכאן אנו למדים שמי עפצא וקנקנתום אינם דיו לפי השו"ע. רק דיו עשן בלי קנקנתום נקרא בשם דיו.

שולחן ערוך (או"ח, לב, ג): "יכתבם בדיו שחור בין שיש בו מי עפצים בין שלא במי עפצים". דיו בלי מי עפצים חייב להיות שחור מעשן כי קנקנתום לבד בלי מי עפצים אינו משחיר ואין בו תועלת. על כן, גם לפי או"ח-לב, הדיו של השו"ע הוא דיו עשן בלי קנקנתום.

הרמ"א כותב שדיו צריך להיות עשוי מעשן ומדברים הבאים מן העץ. קנקנתום אינו בא מן העץ, על כן קנקנתום אינו סממן דיו לפי הרמ"א.

שו"ע הרב (או"ח, לב, ד): "אין מטילין קנקנתום לתוך הדיו ...וטוב לחוש לדבריו לכתחילה לעשות הדיו מעשן עצים או שמנים... ואם כתב סת"ם במי עפצים וקנקנתום שהוא עומד ואינו נמחק כשרים". רק דיו עשן בלי קנקנתום נקרא בשם דיו. שו"ע הרב נזהר שלא לקרוא בשם דיו למי עפצים וקנקנתום בלי עשן. על כן, מי עפצים וקנקנתום, אע"פ שמותר לכתוב בהם, אינם דיו לפי שו"ע הרב.

משנה ברורה (לב, ח): "מעשן עצים - פי' ולא יטיל לתוכו קומא או קנקנתום ... גם הרמ"א מודה דמותר לעשות ממי עפצים וקומא וקנקנתום ... דהדיו העשוי מעשן עצים ושמנים מתקלקל ונמחק בנקל". רק דיו עשן בלי קנקנתום נקרא בשם דיו. המשנ"ב נזהר שלא לקרוא בשם דיו למי עפצים וקומא וקנקנתום, ודייק בלשונו והקפיד שלא להוסיף את המלה "דיו" אחרי "מותר לעשות". לפי המשנ"ב, אם אין דיו עשן שאינו מתקלקל, מותר לכתוב במי עפצים וקומא וקנקנתום אך זה אינו נקרא דיו.

יש שקוראים לכל צבע שחור המתקיים על הקלף בשם דיו ויש גם מי שקראו לצבע שחור עם קנקנתום בשם דיו. גדולי הפוסקים האחרונים ידעו את דברי קודמיהם ואעפ"כ הם מאוחדים בדעתם ומדייקים בלשונם ומקפידים שהשם דיו יקרא רק על דיו עשן בלי קנקנתום, ולא על מי-עפצים וקומא וקנקנתום. הם התירו לכתוב בצבע שחור עם קנקנתום כי לא היה להם דיו עשן שאינו מתקלקל. אך, הם מאוחדים בדעתם ונזהרים ומקפידים שלא לקרוא לצבע הזה בשם דיו.

צבע שחור עם קנקנתום אינו נקרא דיו.  
רק דיו עשן בלי קנקנתום נקרא דיו ע"י גדולי הפוסקים האחרונים. 
דיו אמיתי כשר לכולי עלמא עשוי מעשן ודבק, בלי קנקנתום ובלי עפצים.

מעשה רב: 

הרב משה פיינשטיין קנה לעצמו תפילין ר"ת חדשות כתובות בדיו אמיתי
עשוי מעשן בעירת-גז ודבק פלסטי סינטטי, בלי קנקנתום ובלי עפצים.

.

Beginner: Basically my first mezuzah that i just finished.

If its not too much trouble, i would really appreciate any comments, critique and advice

thanks!!

G'vil

I am hoping to write myself a Sefer Torah on g'vil, but in my limited attempts at writing on it (mezuzos) I have had very little success writing sharply at all. I have been writing with d'yo ashan sh'manim. Does anyone have any experience and/or tips on how to write well on g'vil?

How about this then ...

From a small sefer torah that is apparently on its way to me after chag.

Forum Update

Hi All,

I have had some time this evening to update the forum Members list as well as make a few changes to the general layout that will hopefully make it more user friendly.

My eventual goal is still to find a sponsor for this forum and have it laid out more professionally, as well have all the posts classified into proper subject groups. I wanted it to build up a little before approaching potential donors but I'm thinking its already getting there, so hopefully I will be able to take things to the next level soon.

I'm also meeting a lot of sofrim and magihim here in Israel who would contribute if it was in Hebrew. I don't think anyone would have any objections if a post or two here or there appeared in Hebrew. It would still be predominantly for English speaking sofrim.

I would like to thank everyone for their contributions and posts. Please put a few tags at the end of your posts in the future. (Not everyone has been doing this and it helps a lot when you are searching for a subject).

Hopefully this site will continue to grow and improve and be a good resource for many.

If anyone has any ideas to improve this site, please email me or add it in the comments.

Wishing one and all a "Gut Moed" and a "Good Summer" (for those in the Northern Hemisphere).

Wishing one and all a Kosher and Freilichen Pesach

I am in Eretz Hakodesh for Pesach, hopefully I will have some time to work on the Forum while I am on holiday, including updating the Members list, something I have not done for a long time. I alos will be meeting Rav Freidlander, I hope to discuss some shailos with him, if I get any interesting teshuvos I will post them...

Another Funny Patch

I came across this partially peeling patch a few weeks ago, and took this photo, intending to share it when I got around to it. And lo and behold, R' Alberto Attia posts something similar: http://www.stamforum.com/2013/03/tzafun.html.

I was dan likaf zechus that this was from a scrap that was used to practice with. I don't see any reason that one would be required to think otherwise.

I would, however, debate the propriety of putting a matlis on top of a hole. Does anyone have a comment on that?

---

Now, if you will indulge me, I would like to dig deeply into the concept of a matlis with words:

If one were to make a matlis that merely covered a word of the sefer Torah without damaging it, would the Sefer Torah then be pasul? Assuming that it is pasul, if the matlis was then removed, would the Sefer then be kosher, or would it be chok tachos?

If you follow my line of reasoning, I would like to question if the presence of letters on the matlis, even when not visible can pasul the sefer Torah.

Perhaps it is for this very reason that the halacha is that a matlis for writing can only be placed behind; to avoid the problem of one putting a matlis on top of letters that are not removed.

Vikaftor Tachas Shnei Hakanim Mimenah

From an old Sefer Torah I was fixing something in.

No, it's not a typo, it's just an interesting way of writing these repeating words.