WE LEARNT AN ARGUMENT BETWEEN RASHI AND TOSFOS WHICH IS MORE KAVOD FOR A SEFER TORAH.STANDING POSITION OR LYING DOWN. IS THERE ANY INYAN TO PLACE A SEFER TORAH IN A HORIZONTAL POSITION IN THE ARON HAKODESH TO SATISFY BOTH VIEWS?
A. FREILICH, BROOKLYN , U.S.A.
You are asking whether the Sefer Torah needs to be placed in a diagonal position.
See the BACH in Yoreh De'ah 289:10 (end) who writes that one should lean the Sefer Torah. This is the Minhag in Belz (Where the Bach was the Rav),
D. Zupnik
In practice, it is not really possible to put the Ashkenazi Sefer Torah in a direct standing position, without leaning it against a wall (unless a special Torah-stand is built, which I assume is rather rare). The Sefardi Torah, on the other hand, does stand. But since the Sefardim rule like Rashi with regard to Mezuzah, their practice is consistent with their rulings.
M. Kornfeld