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".
I have heard in the name of Rav Elyashiv that a hollow “yud” is halachikly a small “mem stuma”.
ReplyDeleteThanks Etan. But does anyone say it's definitely kosher as a yud?
ReplyDeleteOur Tinokot Shel Bet Rabban.
DeleteThat "Sh'mu'a" in Rav Elyashiv's name seems odd. If we see a Mem Stuma with a strong Regel protruding from the bottom right, descending as long as the letter is high and then curving toward the left, and the lower left corner protruding downward, and the top left corner sporting a Makal, we might (at least) have to ask a Tinok is this is a mem.
ReplyDeleteRav Elyashiv always chose to fill in a Yud when given the kavod off filling in a letter because, as R' Etan writes, he held it was (or maybe was - I'm not sure which) a kosher Mem Setuma and hence by filling it in he was actually writing a letter and not just filling in an already kosher letter.
ReplyDeleteMy understanding is that it depends on the way it was done. if it has a nice outline with a short regel -yes it can be a mem stuma , just take a pen and draw a mem stuma and add a small regel-it will still stay a mem stuma-fill it up and you have a yud
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