I know that erasing G-d's name from a handwritten tanakh scroll, will render it non-kosher, but will accidently erasing G-d's name in a printed tanakh render it not fit for use? If so, does this apply even for non-Hebrew texts?
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What's the difference between "not kosher" and "not fit for use"?– DanielAug 31, 2015 at 16:37
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Fit for what kind of use?– Double AA ♦Aug 31, 2015 at 16:38
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If I will get downvotes for no reason I will better delete this question too. Either say what made you downvote it or stop doing that again (I am not addressing a specific person)– milAug 31, 2015 at 16:53
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1@mil, as asked, the question raised a lot of confusion and deserved to be downvoted (though I was not the downvoter). I hope my edit captured your intent.– Seth JAug 31, 2015 at 16:55
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I'm one of the downvoters. I downvoted because your question doesn't address @DoubleAA's essential question. Are you asking whether it's ok to read from it? Are you asking if it's ok to use it for kriat haTorah. Why do you suspect that the erasure of God's name from one part of the book would affect the other parts of the book?– DanielAug 31, 2015 at 17:00
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1 Answer
Mil, You may need to gain some sense on what items are considered "holy objects". I don't recall the full list, but among them are Torah scrolls, mezuzah, tefillin, etc. (I'll see if I can link something later).
The point is that a printed Tanac"h is not within this category of what is called tashmishei kedusha ("holy objetcs"). That doesn't mean that you can treat is as a novel and just dispose or deface it, intentionally. But, even if an entire page were ripped out, you can still use the rest of the book. There is no concept of "fit for use" or "kosher" use for printed books as there is for a Torah, mezuzah or tefillin, etc.
There are two related ideas - *holy objects" and "Mitzvah objects" discussed in Talmud Megillah. I cited this, below, so you gain some understanding of what these area. As you can see, a printed "Tanac"h" is not in either of these categories.
Megillah 26b:22-26 (Sefaria translation):
תשמישי מצוה נזרקין תשמישי קדושה נגנזין ואלו הן תשמישי מצוה סוכה לולב שופר ציצית ואלו הן תשמישי קדושה דלוסקמי ספרים תפילין ומזוזות ותיק של ס"ת ונרתיק של תפילין ורצועותיהן
Accessories used in a mitzvah [when worn out] may be thrown away; accessories of holiness are must be placed in a geniza. The following are accessories used in a mitzvah: A sukkah, a lulav, a shofar, tzitzit. The following are accessories of holiness: large sacks for scrolls of Scripture, tefillin and mezuzot, a mantle for a Sefer Torah, and a tefillin bag and tefillin straps.
This article described how to handle tashmishei kedusha, in general and briefly.
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This answer seems to imply that a printed Tanac"h can be thrown away when worn out, which is incorrect. There is a difference between a lulav and a printed sefer.– YpnypnAug 31, 2015 at 19:03
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@Ypnypn It's not incorrect accd to everyone. Consider judaism.stackexchange.com/q/159/759– Double AA ♦Aug 31, 2015 at 19:29
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@Ypnypn The link that DoubleAA provided indicates some leniencies as well as some misnterpretations of what consititutes "Shaimos" that must be buried. B/c of this misunderstanding, numerous shuls have piles of books and similar items that occupy unnecessary space. (My shul, included. Though, in my case, I've retrieved some excellent usable items from the "shaimos" stack that I have used.)– DanFAug 31, 2015 at 19:43