[Avodah] Qumram

[Eli Turkel]

<<would think the Qumranim would fall under "seifer Torah shekasvo min",
even if the whole thing were in Ashuris.>>

It is still debated who lived in Qumram and wrote the dead sea scrolls.
They were defintely not Saducees. perhaps Essenes perhaps some other group.
It seems they went to Qumram because they considered the bet hamikdash
as being too much le-kulah.
I am not sure why they would be classified as minim.

BTW it was common in those days to write shem hashem in ktav ivrit.
It was assumed then tha that was the original script (not like TB)
and so while the general Torah was written in the new ktav ashurit the
shem hashem was in the original script.
Thus this was done to give extra kedusha to the writing. IMHO it
would certainly qualify today as having kedusha (I refer to the
original manuscript not the photographic copies which is a different
question).

A question for bar mitzvot - I have frequently seen on bar mitzvahs
during the week that the bar mitzvah boy gets an aliyah and someone takes
pictures. If the photo contains also the sefer torah and one can
see the shem hashem - does it have kedusha?
The photographer was thinking of the bar mitzvah boy near the Torah
not the content of the sefer Torah

-- 
Eli Turkel