[Avodah] STAM Not Glatt!

[Danny Schoemann]

[This comes from an Areivim discussion. While mei'iqar hadin any skin from
a beheimah tehorah may be used for STa"M, someone raised the posssibility
of a chumerah arising of using only skins from an animal that is kosher
altogether -- shechutah, no mummim, etc... -- and thus of Ashkenazim
who insist on glatt kelaf for their Sta"M. This was actually suggested
facetiously, but it turns out there are real raglayim ledavar. At that
point the discussion veered into meqoros, and the Areivim mods pushed
the topic here. I felt a need to add this background to RDS's post.

-micha]

R' Zev Sero responded:
>This is of course true.  It's an open halacha in Shulchan Aruch and
>everyone knows it.  However it is a well-known (though not often
>practised, because of the expense) hiddur to use only the skins of
>actually kosher animals.

Since people requested a source for the above - and the mods didn't
allow this onto Areivim, so here it is on Avodah:

The Gemoro (Shabbos 108a) clearly allows STAM from Neveilos and
Treifos and nobody argues.

This is codified in SA OC 32:12.

The Be'er Heitev (16) brings 3 sources (abbreviated - and I can't
figure them out ambiguously) that it's preferable to use skins of
animals that are Kosher-to-be-eaten.

The Mishna Berura does not weigh in on the entire Se'if.

- Danny