The Ramban refers to this and it means we don't just look at the item, but at the person who put something into it, so that, for example, a Sefer Torah written by a min must be burned. We need to know who the sofer is. The sefer Beis Yisrael says that if the sofer is a yirei shomayim and he writes l'sheim shomayim, he brings a ruach of kedusha (spirit of holiness) into that Torah. If the sofer is a heretic, he brings a ruach ha'tuma (spirit of impurity) into that Torah and whoever reads from it will be influenced by that ruach ha'tuma.
Since I last posted about this, I've come across some new examples.
A man went to R' Yerachmiel of Pshischa and said, I'm a tailor and have acquired a reputation for my expertise. I received the most important commission of my life. The prince asked that I sew him a suit. But when I brought it to him, he yelled, and said it was awful. Rebbe, I am ruined. All my capital was invested in the cloth and my reputation is ruined too
R' Yerachmiel said, remove all the stitches and re-sew it and Hashem will help.
He did so and the prince loved it.
What was the difference between the first and second time when it resulted in the identical suit?
The first time, the stitches were sewn with arrogance which resulted in a repulsive suit, technically perfect but missing chein. The second time, the stitches were sewn with humility which gave the suit its beauty. (from Week in Review, vol. 8, No 16).
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