- Q. Kvod Moreinu Horav Shlit’a. I asked the Rov personally the following question. I know it is not permitted to leave an open Torah Sefer of any kind without any covering, and if one does, it creates forgetting of the Torah. I wonder if that applies to a common occurrence in our days, when learning from computers and even phones, if one leaves the screen on and there are words of Torah on the screen, is that included in the prohibition above?
A. Shach and Taz (Y.D. 277: 1) quote Bach and Yerushalmi Megila, that the one who stops learning and goes to another room, leaving an open sefer, will forget his learning. They quote Kabbalah sources which teach, that an angel named Shed (the first letters of Shomer Dafim or the one watching over the Torah pages), will become empowered and make the one who so behaves forget the Torah he has learned.
The above is based on Shulchan Aruch (Y.D. 277: 1) which rules that if after writing a page of a Sefer Torah, if the ink is wet, to avoid dust falling on the wet letters while they dry, one should avoid turning around that page around, as this is considered disrespectful and derech bizayon. One should rather leave the wet page up and cover it with a hanging cloth until it dries.
On question 3194 we adressed the above question as follows:
Q.It says that if you leave a sefer open when you leave the room you are learning, it will cause forgetfulness. Does that apply also to one learning from a screen in a computer? Does one have to turn off the computer or cover it when he goes to another room?
A. on question 1365 and 383 we wrote “Most Poiskim rule that Hashem’s name written on a screen can be erased and they have no sanctity as the pixels which make up the letters on a computer screen are being refreshed many times a second and are considered to be more virtual than real.
T’shuvos Vehanhogos (3: 326) permits erasing Hashems name adding also the fact that it was not written with the intention of kedusha. He also points out that s’eforim like chumashim and sidurim, are commonly printed today by using computers and so are the very effective and essential programs to check the kashrus of sifrei Torah and tefilin. So too is lenient Avnei Yoshfe (4: 105) and Nishmas Shabbos (Mechika Uksiva 137) and others (see Piskey Teshuvos 174).
However, some Poiskim are more stringent, Shevet Halevy (7, 4) rules that even though erasing a name written on a screen is not Biblically prohibited one should avoid doing so only in cases of great need, a similar opinion is to be found in Sheilas Shoul (Y.D. 59: 3). Horav Shlomo Miller’s Shlit’a opinion is that it is permitted to read Torah and Tefilos with Hashem’s name from a screen when needed, but one should always do so with decorum and kedusha.
Following the above, Horav Shlomo Miller’s Shlit’a opinion is that a phone used for davening, since the words screened temporarily are not considered writing, does not acquire any sanctity, therefore it is not given the love and respect given to a chefetz shel kedusha and should not be kissed when it falls.
Consequently, the Rov advises that people should rather when possible daven from a printed siddur that has a degree of kedusha and not from a phone.”
The Rov also maintains that leaving a screen on when displaying Divrei Torah is different to an open sefer and is not subject to the same restrictions. However, as mentioned above, while the words are on the screen, it should be treated with respect and not be carried inside a bathroom or similar.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as advised by Horav Shlomo Miller and Horav Aharon Miller Shlit’a
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by, Horav Yaakov Hirschman, Horav Dovid Pam, Horav Aharon Miller, Horav Chanoch Ehrentreu and Horav Kalman Ochs Shlit’a
Important Numbers
