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 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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