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
Was this written in China?
ReplyDeleteI don't see how this ksav is that unique for a basic level ksav that it should rouse such a response. It's overall better than lots of cheaper parshios and mezuzahs out there. In all likelihood the Yud was scratched.
ReplyDeleteIt appears as though the yud was touching the reish and it was scraped.
ReplyDeleteLa'aniyus daytime it's a Shalas tinok (although the "chaser eiver" community would probably passel outright)
Out of context, it has no Tzura of a Yud. Eiver or no eiver. In context, even an asterisk can be "read" as a Yud.
ReplyDeleteI discussed with shailah with 2 colleagues, senior talmidim of our rebbi, Harav Friedlander zt"l. One felt it was pasul due to lacking a guf. Another felt it could be fixed as a bedieved. I hear both sides.
ReplyDeleteWhile I was asked about the Yud and didn't take notice of other letters, one sugested that the Chaf peshuta (next to the Yud, is a shailas tinok.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about the yud, but about the chaf, Rav Menachem Davidovitch was Machmir in any Rosh that did not have 2.5 Kulmus widths, but Rav Friedlander ztl was Mekel up to 2 Kulmus, where in that case he refered a Tinok. Again, as a rule, he said you can count the width of the Regel as belonging to the Gag also,. After taking that into account it doesnt look like the haf poses a problem.
ReplyDeleteBut what about the nun underneath it, or the vov of the lamed on top, and, hey, that's a nice tzadi of artzechem (or is it an ayin)?