Q. the Piskei Teshuvos siman 154 os 37 says that it is a problem to write names of donors inside a shul in any language other than lashon hakodesh - is this really a problem? Would it make a difference if it is written on the Aron Kodesh or Sefer Torah, as opposed to a less holy place?
A. Horav Shlomo Miller's opinion is that certainly it is better to have everything written in lashon hakodesh, however if need be, names and similar could be also inscribed in another understandable language, in honor of the givers and their families. It would also depend on the existing traditions of the shul.
See also Chashukei Chemed (Shabbos 115a) that permits placing a label on the atzei chaim of a Sefer Torah that certifies to the successful computer checking of the sefer and is not written in Hebrew. He proves his point from the fact that the containers of the shekalim collected and stored in the Beis hamikdash itself, were also labeled with the customary Greek numbers used in those days (Shekalim 3: 2).
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as advised by Horav Shlomo Miller and Horav Aharon Miller Shlit'a
Important Numbers
