beis - caf
Is this beis [be'eto] kosher?
Is this caf [artzechem] kosher?
How about the Bais of Uleovdo?
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Not a "khaf"
This gave me a "Safrut smile"... OK, I realise that this is not Ktav STaM, however it is interesting what happens when graphic/font Hebrew becomes too stylised. Case-in-point, a colleague and I were visiting the mayor's office in the Gaza Belt region of Shaar HaNegev (adjoining Sderot). He is new to reading Hebrew and pronounced the welcome sign as " brooning " or " broobing " (instead of the intended " brookhim ". I replied that he was more correct than the graphic designer, as the letter meant to be a " khaf " was closer to a halakhic "Nun" or "Bet", and had this been Ktav STaM, the letter would likely be considered pasul as a "Khaf".
shin in "Alter Rebbe" script
Both the Shulchan Aruch Harav and the Mishnah Brurah use similar terminology when describing the importance of the shin being "pointy" on the bottom and all three branches of the letter shin meeting at a point or "chad" at the bottom of the letter. There is a strong foundation in Halacha for this and for the bottom of the shin to be flat like a moshav (base) is considered questionable (Pri Megadim) and definitely not Kosher Lechatchillah. It is worse if the moshav is very wide, but it is still questionable if it is lechatchillah if there is a thick noticeable base rather than a chad. Even for Sephardim, who lechatchillah make an angular base, it is still important that the base is indeed on a (significant) angle. If the base is flat, even if all three branches of the shin come out of the base connected , as in the top picture, it is problematic. It is worse in the bottom picture below where the right head/ branch comes out of the right part of the base and the m
I would think that the chuf is kosher since it is not meruba 90 degrees.
ReplyDeleteThe ב seems like a shailos tinok since there is a little of a blita going to the right. (Although I admit I would personaly make this a shailos chacham).
I printed this out and showed it to R' Shammai Gross this morning. His maskana after looking at it a few times is that the Chof is pasul. The Beis he said a tinnuk should be asked.
ReplyDeleteWhy should the Beis need a Shailos Tinok when there is a Blita on the right bottom corner? Doesn't the A"R Shulchan Aruch say that an Akev Av is according to Kabbalah? Does that not mean that any Blita sticking out of that lower bottom corner would suffice to be called a Beis? See also Mishnas Hasofer #22 Siman Hey.
ReplyDeleteYitzchok,
ReplyDeleteAkev Av is according to kabala, but a minimal akev might be me'akev to differentiate between this Beis and a caf?
But even according to a thought that a square edge or anything boilet is suffice - that doesn't automaticaly make it a kosher beis, it isn't so easy to differentiate between this beis and a caf, so even if accepted hallachicaly as a zavis/akev it still might be problematic or shaylas tinok!
See the AR on letter caf that has a square zavis top and bottom right-side is pasul because it is דומה לבי"ת that means it might not be a kosher beis, but still not accepted as kosher caf either.
It looks to me that the bottom corner of the chuf is not exactly 90 degree angle. Although from the screen it could be a little different in seeing it in person. Cant machshir in this case through a tinok?
ReplyDeleteR' Shammai at first said it was a shailos tinnuk. He then looked a few more times, covered up the letters around it, looked again, thought..Finally said that it's pasul.
ReplyDelete