The STa”M Project

Restoring transparency and reliability to the field of Sifrei Torah, Tefillin and Mezuzos

The Issue

Mezuzos, Tefillin, Sifrei Torah, etc., have long been produced by individuals working independently, with no supervision. As a result, there are countless stories of STa”M articles which have been in use for years – or even decades – and subsequently discovered to be invalid. Even more alarming, countless Jews around the world are still using STa”M every day, unaware that it does even meet the most basic standards of halacha.

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The
Answer

What KOSHER agencies did for FOOD,
STAMP is now doing for the field of STa"M
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Who We Are

STAMP is a nonprofit organization whose sole mission is to restore transparency and reliability to the field of STa”M (Sifrei Torah, Tefillin, Mezuzos, Megillos and Nevi’im). Our activity is under the direct supervision of five of the industry’s leading authorities: Rav Chaim Sperling, Rav Moshe Uri Bloi, Rav Don Bricker, Rav Yaakov Zions and Rav Reuvain Mendlowitz shlit”a.

STAMP was founded in 2019 by its director, Rabbi Avraham Yechezkel Lessin.

We accomplish our mission in 3 ways:

Regulate

Create a worldwide STa”M market that is 100% transparent and regulated.

Educate

Educate the public about STa”M and its halachic complexities, thereby empowering the consumer to make informed purchases.

Guide

Provide guidance to the public for all STa”M-related needs.

Our Meticulous Certifcation Process:

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Sofer passes STAMP certification test.
Item written with STAMP - approved materials (i.e. klaf and ink).
Item is checked by two STAMP Magihim (certified STa"M checkers).
STAMP Rabbonim review Magihim's work.
Item is reviewed by STAMP's new state-of-the-art computer checking system that identifies issues with staggering accuracy and protects against various forms of fraudulent activity.
Item is assigned an ID card bearing a unique QR code that contains the item's full history and biography. The item and the card are then sealed together in a tamper-proof plastic sleeve.

Other ways STAMP is revolutionizing the field of STa"M:

Training new Magihim • Developing and promoting fair trade standards
Publishing new seforim on STa”M • Offering financial guidance to Sofrim/Magihim
Hosting community education seminars on topics of STa”M
Providing a support network for Sofrim, Magihim and Rabbonim in Israel and abroad.

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The OU is a partner and promoter of STAMP’s work. The OU symbol accompanies all STAMP-certified mezuzos to signify the OU’s approval of the supervision process.

Funded in part by

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STAMP's state-of-the-art Computer Checking System

Artificial Intelligence

Every problem detected by the program is flagged and presented to the computer checker (a STAMP-certified magiah), allowing him to either validate or reject the issue. With the ability to not only receive feedback but also to give it, the program detects the differences between issues that were validated and issues that were rejected, thereby improving the accuracy of its detection moving forward.

Ability to detect additional halachic issues

In addition to detecting spelling errors with pinpoint accuracy, STAMP’s computer checking system is built to identify a slew of other halachic issues: misshaped letters (tzuras ha’osios), detection of mixed writing styles, spacing issues (including shiur parsha), disconnected crowns (tagin), and more..

Feedback for Magihim

When a magiah concludes his manual check, he scans the item and the results of his work are then entered into the STAMP computer checking database. Rabbonim and supervisors are then able to use that information to offer helpful feedback to improve his checking skills.

The life of each article

Each article is paired with a unique QR code which provides the buyer with the article’s full history and biography: Who wrote it, when it was written, which materials were used, who checked it, when it needs to be checked again, etc.

Ability to ID the Sofer’s writing

In an effort to ensure that a sofer is only submitting articles that he wrote, STAMP’s computer checking system is able to match the ksav (“handwriting”) of each item with the sofer who wrote it.

Ability to ID each individual article

As it is impossible for any two STa”M items to be identical, every item can be scanned in order to discern whether or not an article was originally STAMP-certified even years after it was purchased.