[Avodah] ksav ivri

[D&E-H Bannett]

Re << My PhD student can read ivri script without any 
difficulty.>>

I don't think a PhD is required.  A number of my 
grandchildren use k'tav 'ivri to send notes to one another.

When my first great grandchild was born, a had a kippa 
(s'ruga) made with the text,  "Sabba Rabba David, Sabba tov 
Yerushalayim" in k'tav 'ivri.  It might surprise some list 
members how many times, when visiting, small kids inm shul 
read it or ask me to turn it around so they can read the 
other side.

Shortly after making that kippa, someone told me that there 
is someone in Beer Sheva who puts me to shame. He has a 
kippa with a text in k'tav y'teidot (cuneiform).  A few 
years later I met the man - when my granddaughter married 
his younger brother.

As to the comments on letter shape (in k'tav m'ruba) 
changing with time, I've found one change that shocks many 
and is hard for them to believe is that, in all old 
manuscripts (Keter, Leningrad, etc.), the left leg of the 
hei reaches the horizontal gag just as does the left leg of 
the chet. The difference between the two letters is not in a 
gap in the leg but in the projection of the gag beyond the 
leg.  If anyone on list was one of the unbelievers, take a 
look at the photos of the Keter on the internet.


David