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If you have a siddur or chumash on your phone and you drop it, do you kiss it if...

  • the siddur is not open
  • the siddur is open, but shem hashem is not showing
  • the siddur is open and shem Hashem is showing
Isaac Moses
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    As, perhaps, implied by the tagging on this question, not everyone has the custom to kiss a dropped (paper) sidur or chumash; this question, presumably, is only about those who do. – msh210 Feb 02 '12 at 16:25
  • maybe if we could get a source for kissing in general we could learn how to apply it in this case. – Double AA Feb 02 '12 at 16:31
  • What about face up vs. face down? – Daniel Sep 05 '14 at 23:12

1 Answers1

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Thankfully, there are currently no smartphones that are made with e-paper.

Because of that, all smartphones today don't have the halachic status of writing, so you are allowed to switch screens from views which have Hashem's name on them, and it is not considered erasing the name. Even if they were made out of e-paper, I assume they would be given a halachic status of writing with sand, but the issue hasn't come up yet.

The reason we kiss books when they fall on the floor is out of respect to the book and the name which is in it. So while the name does not exist in written form in the phone, I can't see any harm with treating the phone with respect while the siddur app is open, or while you consider your phone a special place in which your siddur or Torah learning originates.

avi
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  • The status of e-readers is not necessarily certain at this point. See http://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/7275/is-it-permissible-to-erase-the-name-of-g-d-from-an-e-reader – Isaac Moses Feb 02 '12 at 16:17
  • @IsaacMoses Yes, some e-readers are made with e-paper, but cellphones are not, so they have the same status as computer screens. – avi Feb 02 '12 at 16:19