(By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times)
It happens in the automotive industry, the food industry, and in the children’s toys industry. Rarely does it happen in the print newspaper industry – but now it did. To avoid a problem of shaimos – the Five Towns Jewish Times, after consultation with leading Poskim, was told to announce to the public that the front cover of the June 21st edition has the shaim Hashem inadvertently printed on it.
It should therefore be cut out of the paper and placed in Geniza, shaimos.
The Poskim were Rav Harfenes shlita and Rav Hershel Ausch shlita.
Although there may be Poskim who are lenient in the matter, most Poskim rule that even the shaim Hashem that appears in a photograph still requires Genizah. The rationale of the minority opinion is that it may not be considered derecho kesiva – the normal manner of writing.
The cover featured Rav Gamliel Rabinowitz pictured with Rav Yosef Milstein giving a bracha to Ozar haTorah International in France. Rav Gamliel is the rosh yeshiva of Shaar Hashamayim Yeshiva in Jerusalem, Israel. He is a world renowned recognized expert in Jewish Law and Kabbalah.
The issue of causing the name of Hashem to be erased applies only to actual print media and not to electronic print.
There are numerous items that are required to be buried when no longer being used:
These include siddurim, bentchers, sifrei Torah, Tefillin, a Mezuzah, a sefer Torah cover, a Tefillin bag, a Mezuzah cover, seforim, any quote of chazal or tanach that has not entered regular vocabulary as an expression (psak of Rav Elyashiv zt”l), three words from a pasuk on one line or any name of Hashem.
The editor, Mr. Larry Gordon, was alerted to the problem by hundreds of readers. The Five Towns Jewish Times thanks its readers for their alacrity. Mr. Gordon has begun developing protocols so that such an error does not occur again in the future.
The author can be reached at [email protected]
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8 Responses
i have yet to figure out your language. you write “there may be poskim…” as the the rabbis say puk chazi. ask a modern orthodox posek of renown – such people exist in abundance, BH.
this is not a picture but an offset of a picture.
With all due respects to R. Hoffman, I think the halacha is different!
When the Christian missionaries print the 5 books of Moses together with the new testament, we were instructed to throw it in the garbage or burn it in its entirety.
So if a photo, which is not even made by type setting has YKVK in it, it does not REQURE geniza, only if one wants to be lefnim m’shuras ha-din or machmir….
NOTE FROM RABBI HOFFMAN: THAT IS BECAUSE THERE IS NO KEDUSHAH WHEN PRINTED BY A CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY – A SPECIAL DIN
Lol MO posters can’t even help themselves from arguing on Rabbi Hoffman just for reporting a recall.
Unfortunately, most of the 5 Town residents will probably be the types to just assume there’s some heter to throw it out in the trash even after seeing the recall…
to RABBI HOFFMAN:
There is no Kedusha when a photo is taken. Does it matter if a Jew takes the photo or a goy takes the photo?
Kedusha comes about from a properly trained sofer writing with a quill on klof according to halacha. a photo lacks all!
Im not sure if its a Digitial Photograph its Shem Hashem either. I am fairly certain the shem hashem has to be written, not a digiital representation in 0’s and 1’s that looks like the Shem Hashem
The headline is misleading. If it was really a recall, it’s the Company’s responsibility to pay for the Shaimos removal. When Toyota sends me a recall notice with my Sienna, I don’t pay anything. I just have to bring my vehicle to my local Toyota dealership and they fix or change whatever the recall is. With the FTJewish Times, they’re just telling you, WE caused a problem and now YOU go take care of it and pay for it. Very nice. That’s NOT a “recall”.
zahavasdad:
If that’s true, wouldn’t it also apply to siddurim, bentchers and other machine-printed books?
“The issue of causing the name of Hashem to be erased applies only to actual print media and not to electronic print.”
Now you tell me?! I already put my computer and monitor into shaimos.