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September 29, 2008
Seraphic Secret's Secret Sofer
The secret sofer, scribe, working on a Torah.
And you shall write [the words that I command you today] on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
—Deuteronomy 6:9, 11:19
So Karen says that it's time to check the mezuzahs in the house. The halacha, Jewish law, teaches us that the lettering of the prayer, “Shema Yisroel...” Hear O Israel, on the parchment, has to be clear of all blemishes, the lettering perfectly legible with absolutely no mistakes.
It's vital to make sure that the mezuzahs are still kosher for changes in weather and the natural aging of the klaf, parchment, can crack and smudges the ink thereby invalidating the mezuzah.
It's best to have a qualified sofer, scribe, check the mezuzahs.
Mezuzot are required on every doorway that serve as an entrance and exit to your permanent home—save the bathroom. We have mezuzot on the arch of the courtyard and the front door. Even the entrance to our garages is slotted with mezuzot.
It takes us about an hour to remove all the mezuzot from the doorways and arches.
Yesterday afternoon, we dropped off the mezuzot with our sofer— a pious, low-key gentleman whose work is trustworthy and meticulous.
The handwritten prayer, “Hear O' Israel the Lord Our Lord, the Lord is One,” on parchment inside the Mezuzah housing.
This morning, picking up the mezuzot our sofer says: “Two of the mezuzot are pasul.” Not kosher. And he rolls open twin parchment rectangles and shows me where one letter on each klaf is indistinct.
All in all, that's not bad for twenty mezuzot.
Anyway, not only is our sofer a fine and pious man, but he's a stalwart Republican. I confess to getting all warm and fuzzy as he works on a Torah with a McCain-Palin yarmulke—in English and Hebrew—sitting on his head.
I can't help but feel that our sofer's holy labors with the Republican ticket atop makes for a powerful and synergistic combination.
And finally, let's take six minutes to prepare yourselves for Rosh HaShanah. The titles that appear on-screen are the words to the Rosh HaShanah prayer chanted over the soundtrack.
Karen and I wish all or friends a Shana Tova U'mtukah, a good and sweet year.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at September 29, 2008 01:13 PM
Comments
Seraphic Secret is private property, that's right, it's an extension of our home, and as such, Karen and I have instituted two Seraphic Rules and we ask commentors to act respectfully.
1. No profanity.2. No Israel bashing. We debate, we discuss, we are respectful. You know what Israel bashing is. The world is full of it. Seraphic Secret is one of the few places in the world that will not tolerate this form of anti-Semitism. That's it. Break either of these rules and you will be banned.
It's not precisely pertinent to this post but, time's a wastin', so:
The Dow is down 777.7.
What does that mean?
Beats the heck out of me.
All I know is that after a week of Selichos and, a little bit of market activity, it's Rosh Hoshana.
7 has always been a significant number.
And, 9-11 occurred on the 3rd day of Selichos before Rosh Hoshana in 2001.
One greatest tragedy hits the US to be followed by another, 7 years later.
L'Shana Tova!
May we all be inscribed for Good on this New Year!
Posted by: Moishe3rd at September 29, 2008 01:57 PM
A Shana Tov U'metukah, Robert and Karen and family! Have a wonderful New Year.
Love the yarmulke! I guess Palin will be debating and hopefully blowing Biden out-of-the-water here in Saint Louis right around the time yomtov ends on Thursday.
(My mom's maiden name is Soffer. Somewhere in the hoary past, obviously, we had a sofer in the family, though it predates any relatives I knew of or know).
May we all be inscribed for a good year (and that the Stock market has bottomed for the year!).
Posted by: Maurice at September 29, 2008 03:51 PM
Happy and blessed New Year to my Seraphic Friends. May wonderful and good things come to all.
Posted by: DrCarol at September 29, 2008 06:19 PM
Once again I feel awkward about my understanding of the right ettiquette for this, but: A happy and blessed New Year to you.
Posted by: Kent G. Budge at October 1, 2008 09:15 AM
This seems like a good place to point to The Rebbetzin's husband's post about a mezzuzah scam alert from a couple of months ago.
Wishing you, Karen, and all those you love a גמר חתימה טובה!
All the best for 5769!
Posted by: Juggling Frogs at October 2, 2008 05:21 PM
great blog, i love the posts, specially this one which is connected to my own blog. keep it up!
Posted by: yk at March 8, 2009 02:39 PM