Double Trouble?
“Two Handfuls”
(Menachos 11b)
During WWII, Jews were exiled from their homes. A letter was sent in that period by Rabbi Zev Landerer, a prominent personality of Krakow, who was then in exile in Siberia, to the Gaon of Tchebin, who was then in Buchara.
Hashem’s Name Written Twice in a Sefer Torah
The letter contains a question that characterizes the era. The exiles in Siberia had only one Sefer Torah. The trouble was that in two places, in Parshas Vayera and in Parshas Pinchas, the sofer had erred and written Hashem’s name twice. Was the Sefer Torah kosher? The Tchebiner Rav sent them his decision, based on our sugya that treats the kemitzah (taking a handful) of Menachos (Responsa Dovev Meisharim 3:63).
An Extra Word Disqualifies – A Duplicate Word Does Not
According to the author of Avnei Nezer (Responsa, Yoreh De’ah 2:301), Rambam and Ra’avad disagree as to whether adding words disqualifies a Sefer Torah and tefillin just as omitting words disqualifies them (see Rambam, Hilchos Mezuzah, 5:3-4; Magen Avraham, 33, s.k. 32, who cites the Raavad, and Responsa Noda’ BiYehuda, 1st edition, Yoreh De’ah 74, and Pri Megadim, Orach Chayyim, end of 143 in Mishbetzos Zahav). The Tchebiner cites his father, the author of Kochav Mi’Yaakov (122), who claimed that everyone maintains that extra words disqualify but that duplicate words do not. What’s the difference?
The answer lies in our sugya. Our Mishna (11a) says that the amount of frankincense (levonah) needed for a Korban Mincha is enough to fill a Kohen’s hand (kometz), and if one puts on less, the Mincha is disqualified. The Gemara explains that if one puts too much frankincense on the Mincha, such as a kometz and a half, he also disqualifies it. The Gemara finds difficulty with the Mishna’s two contrasting statements – “put on less” and “put on more.” Rami b. Chama explains that if one set aside two handfuls and one was lost before the taking of the flour, the offering remains valid. Tosafos (s.v. Kegon) explain that although adding half a kometz disqualifies a Mincha, one who adds an entire kometz does not disqualify it. As each entire kometz is kosher, there is no reason to disqualify it; this is true even where it was not lost before taking the handful of flour.
Doubling Is Not Considered a New Entity
We thus learn that doubling something does not create a new entity and therefore a Sefer Torah containing a duplicate word is kosher. (See Dovev Meisharim, ibid., that this depends on the disagreement of the Tanaim about five corners with relation to tzitzis, but regardless, the halacha was thus decided.) Nonetheless, the Tchebiner Rav concludes, all the aforesaid relates to repeating any word aside from Hashem’s name, whose repetition does disqualify a Sefer Torah, as it resembles two deities (according to tractate Soferim, Ch. 5, cited by poskim as halacha).