Does one need to spell their name the way it is halachically written in a Kesuba/Gett?

 

Question:

Should one davka be spelling their name the way it is halachically written in a Kesuba/Gett?

Perhaps it can be argued that those rules were written for legalese/contract laws and beis din, just so there’s certain ground rules (even if they may perhaps not make sense in reality), but for day-to-day one should spell the way it makes sense linguistically?

For example the the name לייב, although on a gett it is written with one yud, practically speaking -outside the legalese of contract writing- if one wants to write the word lion in Yiddish (if a name is Aryeh Leib – it is obviously being used as a translation of Aryeh) one doesn’t write it with 1 yud. This aside for the fact that ליב with one yud is a completely different word, with a completely different definition. So logic dictates two yuds, and legalese is legalese.

(Perhaps the Rebbe had his own cheshbonos as per his brothers name, but who’s to say that has any bearing on how one should be spelling their own name – assuming they’re not names after the Rebbe’s brother.

Also, why is שיינא spelled with 2 yuds [at least on the matzeiva of the Rebbetzin] even though its a tzeire?)

 

Answer:

Even though one may technically spell their name however they wish on documents that don’t require Halachic correct spelling, a talmid chacham should ideally not do so. See sources below.

See more here and in the sources cited. (See there as well for your last question).

There is a specific Chabad tradition to spell שיינא this way.

 

Sources:

ראה בתשובת מהרש”ל שבשו”ת הרמ”א ס״ו והובא בנחלת שבעה סי”ב סקט”ז, שתלמיד חכם יש לו לדקדק אפילו באגרת כיון שלמדים ממנה לגיטין. והב״ד גם בשו”ת מנחת יצחק ח”ז סי’ קי”ז.

ולהעיר מגט פשוט סי’ קכ”ט ס”ק קכ”ז, הביאו בשם הגדולים, ערך מהר”ר ישראל בנימן, מערכת י’ סי’ ת”ו, בנוגע אופן כתיבת השם בנימן בגיטין חסר י’, והביא ראי׳ מאופן חתימתו של מהר״ר ישראל בנימן, יעו״ש.

שיינא – ראה רשימות נז ע׳ 9. סה״מ תשי״א ע׳ 106. אבל להעיר משו״ת הצ״צ אה״ע קפז. וי״ל. וכמובן, אין להוכיח מזה לגבי שאר שמות שלא באה קבלה עליהם.

 

 

See also:

What is the proper spelling of the name Leib?

 

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