Reading from Sifrei Torah Mixed with a Defective Scroll

From: Rabbi Moshe Sofer

To: Rabbi Shlomo

Description

When a defective Sefer Torah became indistinguishable from valid ones, the Chasam Sofer rejects permitting Torah reading via bitul b'rov, since a Sefer Torah is a davar chashuv that cannot be nullified. He endorses the Beis Lechem Yehudah's approach of permitting reading after exhaustive searching on the basis of a sfek sfeka — perhaps this is not the defective scroll, and even if it is, perhaps the error is not in the section being read.

Source: Shu"t Chasam Sofer YD §277

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