The Great Escape
How kosher is this Lamed which I attempted to keep out of the Chaf Sofit above it? What is better to do this or make a short one?
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
After already writing the hai and mem of hamelech, I don't think there was any possibility to make a short lamed, there wasn't enough space.
ReplyDeleteIS it better to do this, or make a super long Lamed?
DeleteThe lamed looks fine, the neck is not overbent. If you would lengthen the lamed you would have problems cramping the rest of the line. I think what you did is best.
DeleteThanks, I definitely should have crammed a little before the Lamed and tried to fit it it before the Chaf S. but after the fact... that's the best I could do.
DeleteJust seen this very example in a Torah I've been repairing. Perfectly fine and you have done it well.
ReplyDelete