Daf HaYomi B'Halacha Daily Email

Do attached letters have to be rewritten?

Letters that become connected to one another while they are being written are pasul. If they become attached afterwards, they are also invalid according to some views. It is acceptable to merely scratch off the ink which joins the letters. This is not considered chok tochos. Although the letters are connected, they are viewed as having been written properly if they are clearly discernible individually. Some say that if they became attached before they were fully formed, it is proper to erase and rewrite both letters. This is not an option if the sofer already continued writing the next letters, since the letters must be written in order.

[סעיף יח, ס"ק עח, פ ו־פא, וביה"ל ד"ה ואם]

Can illegible letters be fixed?

If letters became attached to the extent that they are no longer capable of being identified by a child, they are invalid. In this case, it is not sufficient to just remove the attachment. Since the letters themselves were not recognizable, scratching away the ink would be an issue of chok tochos. When the letters attach in this fashion, they are pasul regardless of whether the attachment happens during the writing or afterwards.

[סעיף יח וס"ק פ-פא; ביאורים ומוספים דרשו, 119-117]

Can attached letters of the Shem Hashem be detached?

It is forbidden to erase even one letter from Hashem’s name. Even if it is an auxiliary letter, such as an “ende” chof at the end of the word Elokecha, it may not be erased. If the letters of the name became attached at the time of writing, they may be separated. Although this may lead to erasing part of the name, it is permitted because the name was never written properly. If the letters became attached after they were written, they may not be detached in a case where they are only pasul due to uncertainty. Since there is a chance that the letters are still kosher, the erasing could be unnecessary.

[סעיף יח, ס"ק עט, שעה"צ ס"ק כא, וביה"ל ד"ה ורי"ש; ביאורים ומוספים דרשו, 116 ו־121]

If part of a letter was written correctly and part was then covered by a drop of ink, it is acceptable to scratch at the ink in order to finish the letter.

If a letter was extended in a way that makes it pasul, Shulchon Aruch rules that only the stroke of the quill which created the improper form must be erased and rewritten.

If a daled was written with two different strokes, and its leg was extended so that it resembled an “ende” chof, only the leg needs to be erased (and not the roof).

Must the leg of a hei be detached from its roof?

How is an aleph written?

Which other letters are comprised of a yud?

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.