A place for English speaking sofrim (scribes), magihim (examiners), rabbis and vendors of Stam (Torah, Tefillin and Mezuzah scrolls) from around the world to communicate, share ideas, ask questions and offer support and advice.
Since we recently had a lot of talk about "Mr Metayeg", here is a "metayeg" who put Christian crosses on the first line and shem Hashem's. This was recently found in Israel.
Definitly in gniza, it is very quite obvious that the mezuza was written by one person [possibly a kosher sofer], and the crosses added by some meshigener.
The truth is I think before putting it in geniza, it is a mitzva to erase the crosses, because the disgrace to cisvei hakodesh. This is on the probable assumption that the mezuza wasn't written by a min. Had the mezuza been written by a min, it should be burnt, the csav and ....
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
We all know that there is no ancient source that requires ink to be מן המותר בפיך . Possibly, as said here before, because in the olden days ink was always מן המותר בפיך and the question was never raised. It was probably self-evident. Nowadays, no decent Rav will approve an ink which is not מן המותר בפיך . Who was the first one to raise this question? Was it raised because of animal ingredients or because of non-kosher wine?
Elad,
ReplyDeletethis is not Mt Mitayeg's work, but some Jew for x-man [Hashem yerachem] added on a mezuza.
What should be done with such a mezuzah l'maseh? Put in Geniza or something else?
ReplyDeleteDefinitly in gniza, it is very quite obvious that the mezuza was written by one person [possibly a kosher sofer], and the crosses added by some meshigener.
ReplyDeleteThe truth is I think before putting it in geniza, it is a mitzva to erase the crosses, because the disgrace to cisvei hakodesh. This is on the probable assumption that the mezuza wasn't written by a min. Had the mezuza been written by a min, it should be burnt, the csav and ....
ReplyDelete