[Avodah] Science and Halachah - The Trumpeting Stone

[Micha Berger via Avodah]

This stone, at the excacations south of the Kotel, apparently marked
a location where the shofar would be blown on Fri afternoon to warn
people about the approaching and arrival of Shabbos.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trumpeting_Place_inscription

It says "lebeis hateqi'ah lh[k?b?]" and was at the corner of Har haBayis.

My obaervation is about the font. Notice the base of the lamed, which
is a diagonal. The same is true of the Qumran texts and of texts from
the Cairo Geniza. but this pushes the date for this tradition of script
back to Herod's rebuilding of the BHMQ.

This kind of lamed is also found in Kesav Vellish, that used in Sepharadi
sta"m, but not in Kesav Beis Yoseif or the other Ashkenazi variants.
http://sofercenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/different-ksavim.jpg

Now, the stone is in far from the formal Ashuris required for Sifrei
Torah, but if Kesav Beis Yoseif is correct, why aren't other fonts from
the period more similar?

If this does indicate a preference for one script over the other, we
could discuss how the various approaches to Halakhah and Science would
handle this case.

{In terms of being yotzei, I think the only problem Ashkenazim have with
the Sepharadi kesav is that variants that predate the Chida lack Rabbei
Tam's qutzo shel yud. And since the popularity of the Ben Ish Chai,
this issue has become very rare. Lehalakhah, the Tur, Noda biYhudah,
Tzitz Eliezer and R' Ovadiah all alow using the other's sefer. Even with
the spelling differences!)

:-)BBii!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Man is equipped with such far-reaching vision,
micha at aishdas.org        yet the smallest coin can obstruct his view.
http://www.aishdas.org                         - Rav Yisrael Salanter
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