Is Anybody Still Fighting The Beis Yosef – Ari Zal K’sav Battle?

There are two types of safrus lettering: Ashkenaz and S’faradi. Ashkenaz breaks down into Beis Yosef K’sav and Ari Zal K’sav. Most people of Lithuanian descent use Beis Yosef K’sav. Most people of Eastern European descent (including all Chasidim) use Ari Zal K’sav. The Labovitch Chasidim use Ari Zal K’sav or Alter Rebbe K’sav which is a type of Ari Zal K’sav.

There are several differences between the Beis Yosef and the Ari Zal in how to make some of the letters. The most significant difference is the letter ‘tzadik’. In K’sav Beis Yosef a tzadik is made by joining a yud to a nun. In K’sav Ari Zal a tzadik is made by joining a backwards yud to a nun. The question is: How do we know that a backwards yud attached to a nun is kosher?

In the past fifteen years I have read many sources that indicate that a person who does not follow the Ari Zal’s customs in general should not use Ari Zal K’sav. Practically speaking, I have rarely heard of a rov who poskens that a person should replace his mezuzos or tefillin if they are Ari Zal K’sav and his minhag is Beis Yosef or vice versa.

One of my customers is a true Yekee (he follows the customs of the German Jewish community). Since he has tefillin that are written in Ari Zal K’sav, I thought I would let him know. He in turn asked Reb Feival Zimmerman, the Rav of Gateshead, also a Yekee. He poskened that my customer need not worry about it, and there is no reason for him to change his parshios.

Another customer told me that he received his tefillin from his father who received them from his father. After many years he had his tefillin checked and found that the shel rosh was k’sav ari and the shel yad was k’sav beis yosef. He asked Reb Dovid Feinstein what the halacha is in such a case and Reb Dovid Feinstein told him that this is a case of tartei d’sasrei (two things which contridict each other) and that they need to be replaced.

Of course, you should not rely on the story for p’sak halacha. If you should find yourself in this situtation you should consult with a rabbi.

Safrus Police Issue A Ticket

When you see your tefillin paint fading, bring them in. Is it halachah or aesthetics? Although b’dieved if tefillin are not black they may still be used, there are those (reshonim) who hold that black battim is a halacha l’moshe m’sini (a law that was passed down orally from the times of Moshe), namely Tosafos, Mordechai, Noda B’Yehuda, Vilna Gaon. If this would be your Shabbos suit would you wear it? The Shabbos Suit Testis my way of making people aware of the appearance of their tefillin. We all understand that it would be incongruous to be makpid (careful) on every detail of our dress on the one hand, and uncaring as to the appearance of  the object with which we fulfill one of our most precious mitzvos. Our crown, our jewel, that’s what we don’t have time to keep in perfect looking shape? what we are going to So be consistent and get your holy tefillin painted.

Retzuous Black On Both Sides That Flip Over

We know that it is not a good thing if your retzuous flip over to the other side. But what if they are the kind of retzuous that are black on both sides? Does this feature elimante the problem? I asked Reb Avraham Tzvi Wosner this morning and he told me that even when they are black on both sides, the outside is still nicer because it is shiny. The gemara says that the nicer side is supposed to be on the outside. Therefore, even if they are black on both sides one should still be careful to not let them flip over.

What Kind of Pen Do I Use For Touch-ups On Tefillin & Mezuzos?

My current choice of correction pen: The Rotring Rapidoliner .25. It is easy to fill up with dio, and it doesn't clog very much. I have found that it doesn't clog at all if I dab it on my tongue after each use.

I have gone through many different periods when it comes to correction pens. I guess I should start with the dilemma so you’ll understand where a bodek (examiner of tefillin and mezuzos) is coming from. The dilemma is like this: If I use a kolmus (feather pen), sooner or later I’m going to mess up an expensive set of tefillin. Then instead of earning a few dollars, I’m buying somebody a new set of parshios andthat’s not my idea of fun. If I use a Rapidograph pen filled with Dio (official safrus ink) I’m going to spend all my spear time sucking little bits of dried (bitter) ink and spitting them into the sink. If I use a Pilot G-Tec-C4 I’m hoping that there are no treif ingredients in the ink. Since it is made in some very far away nation, Pilot will not reveal the contents to me. I heard rumors that Israeli Soferim checked it out, but who knows what that really means. Now the Pilot has some real advantages. For one, they only cost a few dollars apiece, so I can afford to lose, break, and give them away to aspiring soferim. And they make a precise dot of ink exactly where you want it. You can still mess up if you don’t know what you are doing, or even if you do know what you are doing but you are in a rush, but safety-wise they are about as good as it gets. Now here is where the story gets exciting. Rabbi Daniel Melamed told me about a kind of rapidograph that although I had seen it, I had never experimented with it. It’s the Rotring Rapidoliner size .25mm. Of course two days latter I was at Pearl Paint in Peramus, NJ checking it out. Not being able to read the  Swiss or German (or whatever they were) directions, I was left to my own common sense to figure it out. Having played around with more than a few pens in my efforts to discover the perfect correction pen, I studied it, determined that it looked promising, and took a $17.91 chance. So far I must say I am impressed, but it hasn’t had too much time to get clogged up. I can tell you that it puts a nice small drop of ink exactly where I want it, and it seems to flow without too much kvetching (not like Kohiner Rapidographs that clog like every two seconds–literally–you have to shake them every few seconds that they are not in use or the ink won’t flow). Of course the biggest advantage is that I filled it with real old-fashioned dio! The first modification that I did was to put a small pocket clip on the pen side (as opposed to the top side where they are normally found). This was done to keep the pen from rolling of the table and destroying the fragile point in the fall.

Update: I’ve been using the Rotring for two weeks, and as long as I dab the pen on my tongue after each use (even if I only use it for a drop of dio), the moisture from my tongue keeps the pen from cloging. Of course if you don’t like the taste of dio (and I’m not quite sure why you wouldn’t (can you say, “Tannic acid”?) you could always dip it into some conveniently placed cup of water.

This small device is what I use to clean out the tip of the pen. It is a part from an old Kohiner Rapidograph pen. I small, thin, wire would do. Just make sure it is really thin! I tried to measure the width of this wire, and it didn't register on my digital calipers. That means it is less than .o mm!

Here is a picture of the tip of the pen being uncloged by the 'tip cleaner'. It is a bit difficult to actually get the wire into the tip, being that the tip itself is very thin, and the hole where the ink comes out is VERY thin, and the wire is very delicate. With a bit of practice, you will get it down pat.

The Craziest Question I’ve Been Asked On A Mezuzah House Call

“Rabbi, could a posel mezuzah cause a chicken egg to be found in the lighting fixture in our bedroom?”

She explained that they don’t have little children, and the fixture was installed on the ceiling only a few months before. So could a posel mezuzah cause something like this to happen? I’ll plead the fifth.

Which Side of the Door Case 1

You walk through the front door, walk down a hall to a bedroom, enter thebedroom, go through the bedroom and enter the garage. The only way into the garage from the house is through the bedroom, or from the outside door into the garage. Which side does the mezuzah from the bedroom to the garage go on? I thought to say that it goes on the right side going into the bedroom from the garage because the garage is only a beis haotzar (storage room) while a bedroom is a real beis dira (room that one lives in). I asked Reb BenTzion Wosner and he disagreed. He said that we follow the rule that the mezuzah always goes on the right side as we go deeper into the house (derech k’neisah).

A Look At My Students

Robert Hirsch (left) with me working on kolmosim. Robert is an accountant who is learning safrus as a hobby. He resides in Fair Lawn, NJ

Avraham Birnbaum, from Monsey, NY is learning safrus as a hobby.

Elchanon Zuckman, President and CEO of Z Electrical Contracting Inc., one of my first talmidim, and a great friend. If you need a great electrician you can find him by looking on the right sidebar under "Get it done right by the pros I trust".

Moshe Amar started out with me, and is now a well known S'faradi sofer. He is from Spain, and resides in Har Nof, Israel with his wife and children.

Reb Yosef Hammer from Monsey, a very focused talmid of the Safrus Program

Rabbi Daniel Melamed, one of my very first talmidim. He now resides in Yerusalem with his wife and children. He learns in kollel and works as a sofer. I sell tefillin and mezuzos that he writes. Contact me for more info.

Rabbi Melamed consulting with one of the Dyanim of the Badatz. They are discussing the halachos of tefillin battim.

Rabbi Gedaliah Levitin resides in Lakewood, NJ. He is working on his first megillah, and is learning how to check tefillin and mezuzos. Rabbi Levitin was zoche to finish shas this past year! Tzkeh l'mitzvos!

Mezuzah With Window For Shakai

It is a very old custom that the back of a mezuzah has Hashem’s name (Shakai) written on it.  Sometimes the margin of the mezuzah is too large and when the mezuzah is rolled, it covers the shem. It is brought down that when we walk by the  mezuzah we put our hand on the shem and kiss our hand, in the same way that people kiss the sefer torah.  The best way to do this is if you actually see the letters of  Hashem’s name. Some people make a window by cutting the klaf as shown in the above picture, but it is better to simply fold the klaf. I asked Reb Wosner if it is really better to cut a window in the klaf than to just cut the margin of the klaf down a bit. He agreed that once you are cutting the klaf it hardly makes a difference if you are cutting a window or cutting the whole margin. Sometimes instead of cutting the klaf or making a window, people fold the edge of the klaf. This is the most preferable method. If you have mezuzos and you need help folding them please call me. For a small charge I will neatly roll up your mezuzos and put them in the cases. If you would like to see how I roll mezuzos watch my video in  How To Roll A Mezuzah.

How To Roll A Mezuzah

Here are a few pointers to help you roll up your mezuzos.
1) It is only difficult to roll up new mezuzos. Once they are old they are already round and easily roll up to the size you need.
2) You roll mezuzos from the end of the mezuzah to the beginning, that is, if you are looking at the writing, from the left to the right.
3) If you don’t have an electric pencil sharpener insert you can use a round pencil. But trust me, the pencil sharpener insert is much better.
4) If you can’t see the shem Shaki on the back after you are done rolling it, loosen up the tension on the mezuzah. It can be as big as you need as long as it can fit into the case.
5) Mezuzos writen on thick klaf may be difficult to roll. You may need to hold them shut with a bit of tape.   

6) The reason I roll the mezuzah on something round is so that they don’t get creases. Your mezuzos will last much longer if they don’t have any creases. Over time the letters will fade where there are creases.

7) Many people use plastic rap to roll mezuzos. I prefer waxed paper. I find that it lets the mezuzah breath, resulting in less instances of water damage. Additionally, it is much easier to work with. I can cut fifty or a hundred pieces of waxed paper to size and store them one on top the other. Try storing Saran Rap pieces in a pile. What a mess that will be when you try to separate them!

If you need help rolling your mezuzos please give me a call at 845-290-2546.

How to roll aMezuzah

How To Roll a Mezuzah

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