[Avodah] Modern Day Sifrei Torahs

[D&E-H Bannett]

Just a few of the "facts" to clarify some of the lack of 
clarity or the inaccuracies in some of the postings.

Harav Yitzhari of Rosh Ha'ayin has written a t'shuva that 
Yemenites shouldn't make a brakha on a non-teimani sefer 
Torah.  Aside from the differences in spelling and in 
paragraph spacing, he also points out that the non-Yemenite 
sefer has 42 lines per column instead of 51 lines as is the 
Yemenite custom.

The alef or hei ending of the word daka is not the only 
difference in spelling in the sefer Torah.  TTBOMK, there 
are nine differences in spelling, only one of which changes 
the pronunciation. The others are all malei or chaser vav, 
yud and alef/hei.

The Yemenite sefer follows the Rambam and, therefore, the 
Keter. The only "error" (change from the Keter) is in the 
first word of a line in Ha'azinu. The Rambam lists gam as 
the first word. the Yemenite sefer starts logically, 
therefore, "gam bachur gam b'tula". The Keter line starts 
with "gam b'tula".

R' Mordekhai Breuer "proves" that six of the different from 
the Keter spellings in Ashkenazi and Sefaradi s'farim are 
definite errors while the masoretic evidence for the other 
three is strong but not quite absolute.

R' Shlomo Ganzfried in his Keset Sofer says that finding one 
of these known different spellings does not posel but it 
should be corrected to the Ashkenazi accepted spelling at 
the first opportunity. R' Ganzfried did not have the Keter 
or the other now accepted accurate mss.  I asked R' Levi 
Yizhak Halperin what to do if I find a correct spelling 
instead of the usual incorrect one and he said that based on 
the knowledge we now have, the spelling should not be 
"corrected".  Any of the nine words should be left as is, 
with either spelling, and a brakha can be made on the sefer.

The above is far from exhausting the subject but will 
suffice for now.  I will even spare you one of my 
illustrative stories which, however, will remain in my 
warehouse for possible future use.


k"t,

David