During his visit to Poland this week to take part in International Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremonies, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu also made a stopover at the Warsaw Chabad House, where he wrote a letter in a Sefer Torah. The event was arranged by shaliach Rav Sholom Ber Stambler. Israeli Ambassador to Poland Tzvi Avner was also on hand.
The prime minister told of his visit with the late Lubavitcher Rebbe zt”l, adding “I remember every word he uttered. I am very moved that I merit writing a letter in a Torah in Warsaw. To write a letter in this Sefer Torah is powerful and important, but it is also important to do that which the Torah states”.
The location of the Warsaw Chabad House was in the heart of the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII, and the Torah will serve the Jewish communities of Poland, moving from area to area.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
12 Responses
last i was told for a safer torah to be kosher it has to be written by a frum yid unless you want to say that the sofer was his shileach and wrote the letter for him.
Hey Yosse doesn’t the sofer hold your hand when you write the letter?
I hope they rewrite the letter. I davened there while i was in Poland, and plan to be there again Iy”H. I would not want to be ‘Nichshel’ with leining in a Posule Sefer Torah. With all due respect, he is considered a “Mumer”, which is Posul to write a Sefer Torah.
# 1 You obviously have never been to one of these events. So here, the sofer does the writing, the honoree only holds his hand.
What defines “frum”?
# 5 Not one who living or married to a Shiksa.
I could have predicted these comments as soon as I read the story.
The prevalent minhag with regards to halacha lmaisa, according to the psak of the chsam sofer if I’m not mistaken (or maybe chazon ish), is that not yet frum yidden are considered tinokos shenishba for things like counting them for minyan, leining, etc.
However, for other inyanim we are machmir. These include writing in a sefer torah, eidus and kashrus (pas/bishul yisroel, yayin mevushal). What most probably happened is that the sofer wrote it and bibi’s hand was on the top of his.
#7 Even so, they should rewrite the Ois.
#6 – I was not aware of that issue (as it may relate to this matter).
But, this thread made me think about the matter of people finding personal failure on many fronts – the fellow who is scrupulous about what goes into his mouth, but less careful about goes out of it – and, I am not sure which is worse – to feed one’s temptation for a treife hamburger, or to sully the reputation of a business associate and ruin his parnosoh –
Obviously, we have the historic connections of shmrias Shabbos and ne’emanus – but I always chuckle in shul when the young guys laugh about the fellow who walks in on Shabbos morning smelling of a fresh shower – yet I know that he underwrites the tuition of about a half dozen children – in his shmiras Shabbos he is not great; in his tzedakah and chesed, he is –
#9
Sorry, but you are totally off topic!
Sefer Torah shekosvo min, sorfim oso im hoazkoros shebo. Hopefully a qualified sofer will take necessary measures…
Now that BIBI’s a sofer as well as prime minister, shouldn’t he get a raise in salary?