YeshivaThe torah world Gateway
Beit Midrash
- Sections
- Chemdat Yamim
- Bemare Habazak - Rabbis Questions
Answer: The complicated rules of selling holy objects, with a sefer Torah being most stringent, appear primarily in the context of communal ownership. Regarding a sefer Torah owned by an individual, the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 153:10) cites two opinions whether he may sell it. While even the lenient opinion forbids doing so if it was given over to the community for their use, the Magen Avraham (ad loc. 22) says that when one explicitly does not want the rules of communal items to take hold or when that is the minhag, it is permitted to sell. One can rely on the lenient opinions in this matter (see Achiezer III:79), but they are not needed for your case for the following reason.
The two problems with selling a holy object do not apply here. One is using the object for something mundane or less holy (e.g., allowing a shul to be turned into something else), and obviously your trustees will make sure it is used as a sefer Torah. The other is using the proceeds for whatever purposes you want, and here you will not be getting any money. The Mishna Berura (153:68), basing himself on the Rama (ibid. 13) says that when one simply gives a sefer Torah as a present, with the sefer Torah continuing to be used as a sefer Torah, there are no limitations.
In truth, the trust you are describing (there are different types of trusts) would probably both halachically and legally be viewed as assigning the sefer Torah to charitable use (hekdesh). Just as someone can take a sefer Torah and donate it to a shul, so can you take one and donate it to a trust, whose trustees will decide who will benefit from it in the future. Doing so not only protects the sefer Torah from an uncertain future, about which you seem to be concerned if you leave it where it is, but also from any reservations you may have about your halachic and/or legal inheritors (after 120 years of good health).
Yet, there is another issue. The Torat Chayim (Sanhedrin 21b, cited by many Acharonim) says that the mitzva of writing a sefer Torah requires continued possession, and it is improper to sell or donate it (fully) because that uproots one’s mitzva. If the trust takes effect during your lifetime, one could argue that the transfer would thus be a problem (if you do not own another sefer Torah). Not all agree with the Torat Chayim. For one, the Seridei Aish (II:77) posits that the consensus accepts the Torat Chayim only in regard to selling a sefer Torah. He views donating it as a way of using the sefer Torah for its proper mitzva use. There is likely a very different reason why uprooting the mitzva is not an issue for you. That is that one does not fulfill the mitzva of writing a sefer Torah by possessing a sefer Torah he inherited (Sanhedrin 21b; Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 270:1). In other words, if you presently are not fulfilling the mitzva, there is nothing to lose in this regard. However, this point is not unanimous. Igrot Moshe (Orach Chayim I:52) claims that there are two mitzva elements: to write a sefer Torah and to possess one. If one inherits a sefer Torah he fulfills the element of possession, just not of writing, and thus giving away such a Torah robs one of the element of possessing.
In summation, the issues of selling a sefer Torah per se do not apply to the creation of a trust of the type you describe. While one could claim that the founder of the trust uproots his mitzva of owning a sefer Torah in the process, there are ample halachic reasons to counter that claim, and it should not prevent you from doing what you feel is right for the sefer Torah’s future.
Bemare Habazak - Rabbis Questions (649)
Various Rabbis
27 - The Fallout from Cancelled Checks
28 - Making a Trust for a Sefer Torah
29 - minyan
Load More
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
fast navigation
Shlach Lecha "Why So Many Don't Make Aliya?" - Parshat Shlach
This short article deals with the weird phenomena that every single time Am Yisrael is meant to enter the Land of Israel, throughout the Tanach, 2nd Temple and until today, they "chicken out" and look for excuses. What's the problem with this mitzvah that proves so challenging. The article, based on sources, suggests that the difficulties of Eretz Yisrael is precisely her secret and beauty!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 4
The class deals with Islam and how the Muslim tries convincing the King of the Khazars, and why he was also rejected.
Beha'alotcha JEWISH STATE= GUIDE TO G-DLINESS & SELFLESSNESS
A Jewish State not only is a good idea, but educates us towards selflessness, altruism and G-dliness in our daily lives.
Ein Aya In Zion Even the Smoke of the Bark is Sweet
Just as Jewish nationalism is different from others, so too our capitol of Jerusalem is totally different than other national capitols. Rav Kook beautifully explains the passage in the Talmud that the trees of Yerushalayim were cinnamon trees.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 3
The second speaker invited to convince the Khazar King is the Christian, who presents their beliefs. Even before the questions of the King, "between the lines", the author R. Yehuda HaLevi already begins disproving them.
Ein Aya "Intimacy: Love, Life & Giving or Egocentric Taking & Expiration"
Today, many confuse between intimacy in marriage, based on love, giving and life which are diametrically opposed to empty "sex", pornography and prostitution which destroyed the Beit HaMikdash. The practical importance of clarifying this topic in today's western society is obvious, especially for young adults.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 2
The King of the Kazars, in his search for truth, starts by inviting the philosopher. This is a "crash-course" on Aristotelian philosophy and the reasons why the king is not convinced. Through this dialogue, R. Yehuda HaLevi already foreshadows some of his central ideas that will appear later.
Shavuot "Love of Torah = Love of Israel"- for Shavuot
People often identify Judaism as just a religion, but upon examination, we see, even halachically and explicitly in the siddur, that the Torah is dependent upon Am Yisrael, Jewish nationalism.
Ein Aya The Middle-Child & Anti-Tzni'ut Syndrome- Negative Attention
Although tzni'ut is for men just like women, Rav Kook deals here with the sources in Yishayahu and the Talmud which deals with the special problem of lack of tzni'ut in women's dress and actions, where it's not just a problem of midot and character traits, but also can include practical, social and national ramifications, as well, which caused the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash and exile from Israel. The class continues the previous one (Ayn Aya Shabbat vi, 29), and is a must for all educators and parents of high-school aged and young adults.
P'ninat Mishpat P'NINAT MISHPAT: A Mess of Loans, Repayments and Grievances – part II
based on ruling 83033 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
based on ruling 83033 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
