The “Mezuzah Controversy”, An Interview With Sofer Menachem Moskowitz

Rabbi Menachem Moskowitz, a Sofer for over 30 years, is the son in law of the Rebbe’s Sofer, Rabbi Eliezer Zirkind z”l. He was under the tutelage (Shimush) of Rabbi Zirkind for 28 years, and had unparalleled access to him throughout the years. He gave an interview to CrownHeights.info regarding the simmering “mezuzah” controversy that has taken place in Crown Heights.

NOTE: This interview took place following multiple attempts by the interviewee to find a peaceful solution, including through approaching Rabbonim.

Q. Hi Rabbi Moskowitz, thank you for speaking with us. Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your history and credentials?

A. My name is Rabbi Menachem Moskowitz, the son in law of the Sofer, Rabbi Eliezer Zirkind z”l, who succeeded Rabbi Shaye Matlin z”l, as the personal sofer of the Rebbe. I have been a sofer and baal magiah for over 30 years, and had shimush under my father in law for over 28 years until his passing. Since I lived in the apartment above him, I had plenty of access to him for shimush and shailohs, asking questions to him day in and day out.

I was zoiche to be checking tefillin and mezuzahs during the tkufa when the Rebbe was frequently giving out answers “bedikas tefillin and mezuzahs,” and many times the Rebbe requested a duch on the checking and to enumerate any issues. I was there when shailohs regarding STAM were called in or brought in from other sofrim or from balabatim to my father in law, and was there when Rabbi Aron Wolf from Chicago, the father of the Rabbi Yisroel Wolf who posted the videos against Sofrim in Crown Heights, would call my shver frequently with shailohs. Being that I worked in his apartment, I was privy to these shailohs and their answers.

Q. What is prompting you now to speak about the issue of the videos regarding STAM in Crown Heights?

A. I generally do not speak, especially in public, however, I feel that due to the new STAM video scandals that were released by Rabbi Yisroel Wolf of Chicago, I have to respond and clarify some matters for my shver’s kovod.

When a letter from me was published on a Chabad website, Rabbi Wolf responded that he was continuing the legacy of my father in law, Rabbi Zirkind Z”L. He is not!

Rabbi E. Zirkind started an organization called Agudas Kosvei Stam Anash Of Crown Heights in the early 80’s on the request of the Rebbe, who gave a brocha and haskoma and was mishtatef towards the organization. The function of this organization is multi purposes. Number one is to hold firm against other STAM organizations who would criticize Chabad Lubavich STAM activities, and would criticize and Pasel Alter Rebbe’s Ksav. Number two is to uphold the high standard of STAM in Crown Heights. And number three, it was also given the mandate from Rabbi Zalmen Shimon Devorkin, who was the morah d’asra of Crown Heights at the time, to give Kaboloh of safrus in Crown Heights.

The vaad has since discovered two major scandals. The first being the use of plastic in many batim boxes of tefillin. The battim machers were lazy, and wanted a fast way to make a buck instead of repairing with the long process of wetting the batim and stretching the hides leather to repair them. The second was in the manufacturing and transport of klaf without simonim on them as well as goyim working in the factory producing the klaf which is not halachicly acceptable.

Sadly, some people want to expose and make exposes and undermine the righteous people who are trying to do their best; especially the righteous sofrim who have proper shimush under the teachings and guidance of an expert sofer that the Rebbe picked to be his personal sofer and ordered tefillin through him.

To frame and slander honest and experienced sofrim is unacceptable and deserving of Macho’h Brabim, a public protest.

Q. So what was wrong with the videos that Rabbi Yisroel Wolf presented?

A. To understand how wrong they were, you need to understand some basic concepts in checking STAM, and Rabbi Zirkind’s derech hachayim.

One of his drochim is to be a “Maykel,” lenient, especially in safrus. He always said, “To be a Machmer, stringent, is no kuntz,” but to be a Maykel, lenient, that you gotta know the books.”

The reason for his being Maykel on STAM is because it is brought down in seforim that every Shem Hashem is accounted for. If a sofer is eager to put STAM in shaimos, after 120 years the shaimos hakdoishim ask lemalah for din vcheshbon why it went to gnizah instead of being used. It is considered like being Moichek Shem Hashem, erasing Hashem’s name. That’s where the concept of using a krias tinok is crucial, of course, where allowable, in order to save the STAM item.

Another main issue Rabbi Zirkind taught and emphasized, is that when a sofer checks STAM, he must use his naked eyes and not use any instrument to blow up and magnify the letters of the STAM item. This is the case in all of Torah. Checking for an esrog, checking for bugs etc. The same is true for using modern technology to pasel any STAM item. Like using a caliper to measure battim. Once it has been used by the costumer, it may not be measured for the squareness except with your naked eyes. However, prior to selling a pair of Tefillin, it is advisable that the Sofer chek the squareness of the Battim, but not once the Tefillin has been used for a Mitzvah. We are not Malochim, and Moshe Rabeinu didn’t have a caliper. So one is forbidden to pasel with a caliper or any modern technology.

When checking STAM, one must not bring the item close to your face, eyes or the use of a light table. The STAM item must be flat on the desk or table. According to Shulchon Aruch, one should check the item that’s about an Amoh away, about a foot and a half, similar to someone reading a sefer torah. That’s the proper way of checking.

Another thing Rabbi Zirkind instilled in his talmidim is that if a sofer paseled an item he can’t sell him a new one. From the pasuk “Veheyisem Nekiem,” it’s a conflict of interest. Then, the sofer has no vested interest in making the item posul in order to sell the customer a replacement.

Another lesson that was taught and frequently reiterated was that “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.” There is a rule called Kol Hamoisef Goreah, if the letter is kosher the way it is, adding more ink won’t always make the situation of the letter better. A Sofer has to use his shikul hadaas, his judgement, to fix it or not to touch it.

When the Rebbe would comment on someone’s Tefillin or Mezuzahs, he emphasized the terminology “Kosher Kdin.” Halachikly Kosher, not necessarily perfect. Nothing in STAM is pure black and white, and there is lots of gray areas in safrus. The judgement of STAM depends on the shikul haddas, judgement, of the einei hasofer or einei hamoirah, the eyes of the sofer.

So with understanding the derech a proper Sofer must take when looking at STAM, nothing in the videos are right.

Number one, my father in law would always specify when answering shailos if this is halochoh lemaasah nogaiah now, or hypothetical. He never wanted to answer hypothetical questions like if, what, or buts. He always brought The Nodah Beyehudah that says that if one is not asking a true shailoh and its not halochah lemaaseh the Rov doesn’t have Syata Dishmayah. So too goes for all these tests that Rabbi Wolf demonstrated in his deceiving and slanderous video. None of the Sofrim had the true answers. It was based all on deception and fraud.

Number two, Rabbi Wolf followed according to the most stringent of opinions in STAM, which does not even follow according to the teachings of the Tzemach Tzedeck, who is one of the a Lubavitcher Rebbeim. He followed the Machmir opinion, more than kosher K’din, and paseled more than was needed, being Moichek Shem Hashem, a very very big problem.

If a parsha in Tefillin or a Mezuzah is written according to halacha, with all the taggin and proper points in the letters, it is 100% kosher regardless of the beauty of the ksav.

The biggest issue though, is much more problematic.

In the second video, Wolf states that he took the mezuzos from shaimos that had particular issues and he sent them to various sofrim to check. When receiving the mezuzos back from each sofer, he tampered with the mezuzos to bring them back to their original questionable state. There are problems with this method though.

One, if a Sofer kashered it according to his knowledge, then how can Rabbi Wolf make it posul again thereby destroying kisvei kodesh? And it is a kin to burying Hashem’s name in the earth.

Even if it is pasul that and can never be fixed, one is never allowed to play or deface any kisvei kodesh. Its brought down in shulchon oruch yorah daieh in hilchlos Sefer Torah, that if a sefer torah got ruined it may not be burned, but must be placed in an earthen pot and buried properly and with dignity. The same goes for all STAM. They must be buried properly. So who gave Rabbi Yisroel Wolf the rights and the heter to do such acts? Which Rov gave him permission? And don’t tell me that’s how they test for Kaboloh of safrus. Two wrongs don’t make a right.

It also is an issue in for the accuracy of the videos. By tampering with the mezuzos each time, it will not be the same original shailoh. Also, today, a lot of mezuzahs and parshios which are kosher are put into shaimos in order to sell more beautiful ones. Therefore, it is questionable if such mezuzahs should be used in such an unscrupulous manner for this test, since he may have actually paseled an originally kosher Mezuza! And once it was fixed by the sofer he sent it to, it’s kosher k’din, and can not be tampered with.

Q. So you are saying that the videos were wrong and the mezuzos were all kosher?

A. No, I am saying that his approach on how to view Safrus is wrong, and that the kashrus of STAM is based off the Sofer who gives it his stamp of approval, not anyone else. He has no right to claim that they are Posul the way he did.

I will tell you a story that will prove the point.

The Rebbe entrusted my father in law, Rabbi Eliezer Zirkind, with the task of writing a pair of rabbeinu tam tefillin for Rabbi Moshe Feinstein Z”L. The gadol and posek hador, Rab Moshe Feinstein requested that Rabbi Zirkind write the letters in the old European ksav which we don’t write these days. Reb Moshe personally went over each letter before it went into the batim boxes before being sewn up. Each letter had his stamp of approval. This whole story is brought down in Reb Moshes Shailos U’Teshuvos Sefer Igeres Moshe. Years later, after his passing, the Tefillin went to be boidek (checked) and the Sofer paseled the Tefillin because of the style of the ksav. The sofer who paseled it was approached by Rabbi Mordechai Tendler (Rabbi Moshe Feinshtein’s grandson), who asked how can you pasel these parshios based on the Ksav, when Rabbi Moshe himself went over ksav of each letter individually and approved each letter?

When the gadol himself gave the stamp of approval, you can’t come after and say it was posul. The letters hadn’t degraded, the sofer was trying to say it was posul just based on the ksav, and he can’t.

Q. But wasn’t there a sofer that he Rabbi Yisroel Wolf checked it the Mezuzos by? Can’t he say that they are posul?

A. The sofer he used is not a Lubavitcher sofer, and went was machmer, making everything posul that he could, even when he didn’t have to. Except for Raskin’s at Mochon Stam. Those were magically all kosher.

An interesting note and observation, is that what a coincidence that in both slanderous mezuzah saga videos the only one that got the perfect score is Rabbi Yitzchok Raskin of Machon Stam, I wonder why? It’s no coincidence since they are cousins, that’s a conflict of interest, he is a Nogaiah Bedovor.

It’s also interesting to note that around ten years ago when Rabbi Yitzchak Raskin moved to New York and he started Machon Stam, at the time he was only writing Tefillin and Mezuzahs, and I personally sent him customers. A year or two later he decided to start checking tefillin and mezuzos in which one needs proper shimush for years in which he didn’t have. He would frequently come over to me and ask me questions, shailos on Stam from pictures from his phone. Since I’m a very quiet and nice person I would foolishly answer him. At that time period Rabbi Zirkind was still alive and Raskin didn’t have the decency to ask his shailos to Rabbi Zirkind when all the other sofrim and rabbonim of the community did so.

My shver would often tell me to tell Rabbi Yitzchok Raskin that he should go to his teacher who taught him safrus and don’t answer him. But like a fool I answered his questions, not realizing the consequences of my actions, because he never came with the actual Stam item, only with a picture that you are not supposed to pasken from.

Now I am coming to the realization that he has a huge file on me and other sofrim that he asked Shailos from, to bashmutz us and ruin our reputations in concert with his cousin. They are in kahutz together! The proof is that I haven’t discussed safrus with Rabbi Raskin in over three years, and all of a sudden after a response I wrote was posted on a chabad website, Rabbi Raskin starts sending me pictures asking if a letter is kosher or not. Within minutes from Rabbi Raskin, I also got pictures from Rabbi Wolf with a Stam item if it’s kosher or not.

Q. One second, your saying that Rabbi Yitzchak Raskin is involved in this scandal?

A. Yes, very much involved. They are working together.

Also, more than that. Rabbi Raskin does something very wrong in STAM. He takes a picture of the mezuzos that are sent to him for checking, and shows them everything that is questionable or just simply not the nicest ksav.

This is motzai laaz on other sofrim, and by taking pictures of clients Stam in a way which that makes a chalishos Hadas (worry) to the clients that they don’t have such good quality mezuzos and tefillin, he is making them more likely to buy new ones and put the perfectly kosher STAM item to gnizah. Even if one hundred rabbonim say that it’s kosher, the client still wants to change the Stam item. It’s a terrible issue of being Mochek Shem Hashem.

Q. So tachlis, is Rabbi Yisroel Wolf correct in his allegations? Are Crown Heights Sofrim selling posul mezuzos?

A. Listen, no one is perfect, but in safrus nothing is pure black and white, there are lots of grey areas, as their is different opinions in halochoh. One sofer can see one thing, and another says something else. But one thing is certain, if a sofer mumcha, with proper shimush says it is kosher, then it is kosher 100% as the Rebbe said, k’din.

To slander the sofrim of Kan Tziva Hashem Es Habracha, especially those that are under the teachings and guidance of an expert sofer who the Rebbe picked to be his personal sofer and ordered tefillin through him, is unacceptable and must be moche b’rabim.

Q. Thank you so much for speaking with us. May we merit to speak only on good news from now on.

A. Thank you. I just want to take this opportunity to mention that the yahrtzeit of my Shver, Rabbi Zirkind, is in the month of Sivan, the same month that all this mayhem broke loose. May his neshamah have an aliyah, and may he be a maylitz yosher for his family, talmidim and klal yisroel.

The following photos are of the stationary used by the Agudas Kosvei STAM Anash that the Rebbe tasked to Rabbi Zirkind z”l. They are being published here courtesy of Rabbi Menachem Moscowitz, Rabbi Zirkind’s son in law.