Daf HaYomi B'Halacha Daily Email

Can a letter enter the open area of another letter?

A sofer must be careful that the tops of letters do not enter the open areas of letters that are written on the line above them. Care is necessary when writing a lamed, for example, or when putting crowns on letters, to make sure that they do not reach into the air space of an aleph, hei or “ende” chof which are above them. Similarly, one must be certain that legs of letters do not enter the openings of letters below them (e.g. the legs of an “ende” chof or nun entering letters such as aleph, tes and ayin). If a letter reaches into another letter and distorts its form to the extent that it cannot be read by a child, the distorted letter is pasul. If, for example, a lamed enters the opening of a daled, the daled will be pasul since it was made to look like a hei.

[סעיף כח, וס"ק קכט-קלב; ביאורים ומוספים דרשו, 173]

Can tefillin be written from memory?

Generally, to prevent mistakes, a sofer must use a sefer as a reference to write Sta”m. Alternatively, he can have another person dictate to him. He must also repeat the words before writing them down. If the sofer is already proficient, he may write tefillin or mezuzos from memory. Even when he is writing from memory, he must still articulate the words before writing them down. With the articulation, the sofer instills kedusha into the words that are being written. B’dieved, if a non-proficient sofer wrote from memory, the parshios are kosher as long as they are mistake-free.

[סעיף כט ו־לא, וס"ק קלד, קלו, קלז ו־קלח; ביאורים ומוספים דרשו, 176-174]

How large do the margins of tefillin have to be?

At the top of the klaf, between the letters and the edge of the klaf, there must be a margin as long as the upper part of a lamed. At the bottom, there must be a space equivalent to the length of the leg of an “ende” chof. Some hold that there should be an additional space equaling half of a fingernail. According to the Shulchon Aruch, significant margins are not required at the right and left sides of the klaf. Only a small space is necessary so that the letters are mukaf gvil. Rema says that the custom is to leave slightly more space. In the case of a mezuzah, the margin must be large enough to wrap around the entire parsha (i.e. a blank area large enough to wrap around a full column). Some Achronim say that this is recommended for tefillin as well.

[סעיף לב וס"ק קלט-קמב; ביאורים ומוספים דרשו, 178]

All Sta”m must be written in black ink. If it is written in another color, it is pasul. If the Sta”m was written in black ink that changed to brown shortly afterwards, it is also pasul. The change reveals that the ink was not made from the correct ingredients.

There are certain clear substances which can be spread over the letters to prevent them from fading or changing color. Some poskim are lenient and allow this gloss to be spread over the letters. They explain that since it is clear and is meant to protect the letters, it becomes part of the klaf.

It is forbidden to erase even a part of Hashem’s name. If two of the letters of the name became attached to each other at the time they were written, it is permissible to separate them because the letters were never kosher and they will be fixed through the erasing.

Can one line of a parsha extend past the rest of the lines?

Why are certain rules for tefillin more stringent than for a Sefer Torah?

The importance of keeping the name of Hashem in the column

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.