Daf HaYomi B'Halacha Daily Email

Can a letter be written by the edge of the klaf?

The letters of a Sefer Torah, tefillin or mezuzah must be completely surrounded by parchment on all sides. This halacha, known as mukaf gvil, can be broken down into three points: 1) there must be at least a small amount of space between the edge of a letter and the edge of the klaf, 2) the letters must be completely disconnected from one another, and 3) there cannot be a hole in the klaf surrounding a letter. If the letters were mukaf gvil at the time of writing and only later became connected, the writing is still valid. L’chatchilah, though, they should be fixed.

[שו"ע לב, טו, משנ"ב לד, וביה"ל ד"ה אבל; ביאורים ומוספים דרשו, 60-59]

Can there be a tiny hole in a letter?

Aside from the halacha that there cannot be a hole on the side of a letter, there is also a prohibition against having a hole in the letter itself. A hole is only an issue if it is noticeable. A hole which is covered by ink and is not felt by the scribe as his quill passes over it is not a problem. The poskim disagree about whether a bit of ink that is removed from the middle of a letter is in the same category as a hole that invalidates the letter.

[שו"ע לב, יג, ומשנ"ב לב; ביאורים ומוספים דרשו, 55 ו־60]

Can there be a hole in middle of a samach?

According to many poskim, the middle of a letter--such as the space in the middle of the letter samach--does not have to be mukaf gvil. Therefore, a hole in that area does not invalidate the letter. The hole can even touch the inner part of the letter. The Talmud Yerushalmi, however, rules that the inside of a letter must also be mukaf gvil and hole free. The poskim disagree about whether the Yerushalmi holds that a hole is only an issue at the time of writing or whether a hole is considered a problem even if it develops later.

[שו"ע לב, טו, משנ"ב לד, לה ו־לז, וביה"ל ד"ה אבל; ביאורים ומוספים דרשו, 62]

The entire process of tanning the hides for Sta”m must be done lishmah (for the sake of the mitzvah). It is sufficient to articulate one’s intention of lishmah at the beginning of the process; the intent will thus be carried through the entire production.

If a non-Jew is tanning his own hides in the same area as a Jew who is tanning for Sta”m, the kosher hides must be marked so that they can be identified later.

The hides used for the klaf of Sta”m may only come from a kosher animal. A similar halacha applies to all sifrei kodesh which are written on an animal’s skin. It is not necessary for the hides to come from an animal which had a kosher shechitah, however.

How does one calculate the space necessary to write the letter yud?

What is the minimal size of the leg of an “ende” chof?

What is the minimal size of the left leg of a hei?

PLEASE NOTE: The information in this email is for learning purposes only. Please review the Mishna Berura and Biurim U'Musafim before making a halachic decision. Hebrew words are occasionally transliterated to enable a smoother reading of the text. Common Ashkenazi pronunciation is generally used in these cases.