Is there anything that would make this mezuza passul?
How about the Bais of Uleovdo?
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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
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".
This mezuzah is AT BEST only Kosher bedieved, - missing most crowns and many bedieved letters.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of actual psulin, you have a number of issues:
1) spacing (the upper space between the words asher and anochi is the same (or even smaller) as the upper spacing between the nun ans tav of the word veshinantom. This can be fixed ).
2) Some of the yudin do not have the kotz elyon. This is fixable.
3) The samachs (pointy on bottom) are problematic acc to many Ashkenazi poskim. Is this mezuzah for a Sfardi or Ashkenazi?
4) The nun pshutah on the rosh does not extend over to the right side. Again, highly problematic as is, but fixable.
I cannot tell from the photo but if it is klaf mashuach it may crack easily, perhaps even as soon as you roll it.
In conclusion: Do not use this mezuzah unless there is no other choice, and only after fixing the above.
The nun from Anochi is a shailos tinuk (ignore the wide chof next to it).
The tagin are b'davka; see Rambam Hilchos mezuza and Shimusha Rabba
ReplyDeleteIf it is sephardi, there is no need for tagin, it would be kosher l'chatchila without them. The K'tav technically could be kosher l'chatchila if the person claimed the right traditions. However, by sephardi halakha it would be posul because it relies on the shita of the Taz for patucha and stuma.
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