Netivat Sofrut: diary of a Soferet

Adventures of a female sofer learning to heal the world by doing Holy Work...writing a Sefer Torah

נחזיר את השכינה למקומה בצייון ובתבל כלה

"Let us restore the Divine In-Dwelling to Her Place in Zion & infuse Her spirit throughout the whole inhabited world."

So wherever we are, let us bring the Peace of G@d's Presence.

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Location: Vancouver/London, British Columbia/UK, Canada

SCRIBAL EVANGELIST As the only living certified Soferet (סופרת - female Jewish ritual scribe) & the first woman to practice sofrut (creation of sacred Hebrew texts) in over 200 years, I feel an obligation to blog about my experiences of The Work. I am also currently researching the foundation of a lost tradtion of women practicing this holy craft. For more on the services I provide, please see Soferet.com; Sofrut Nation. I am now available to engage with students, male or female, wishing to enter into the preliminary stage of learning sofrut. You are welcome to join me on this path. "Tzedeq, tzedeq tir'dof - Justice, justice you shall pursue." Devarim/Deuteronomy 16:20.

Saturday, September 06, 2003

HOW TO SCORE

B"H


Friday, August 22nd

Met with my sofer at 9 a.m. for learning the fine art of sirtut (scoring klaf [parchment]) & the next installment of letters: Dalet, Reysh & Vav. I'd cut more quills & made many experimental "play" strokes as homework after my first lesson with him, on the broad, the flat & the shpitz (corner) of my new nibs. Now he wants me to cut some of them thinner - Megillah size.
We have to use klaf (parchment), gidin (sinew), quills & a sargel (awl made from bone, wood, or a rose thorn) from kosher animals because "the Torah is to be in our mouths". This is from the Laws of Tefilin. I was surprised to learn that the sirtut must be done upside down (!) in order to create the ridge required for proper writing. My sofer demonstrated a few times the yaw & the pitch of the sargel & then had me try it. We use this ridge to kinesthetically guide our writing strokes.
Homework was to review Qeset HaSofer about the laws of correcting the letters properly re overwriting, scratching out, which you must do in what order, etc. To study the laws of writing with the proper kavanah (intention), chapters 1 - 11. Also, to do sirtut with 1cm spacing & to make a series of horizontal stroke exercises he assigned.
He let me use his computer before I left, but canada.com was unreachable - grrr.
At home I unsuccessfully attempted to negotiate the Bezeqint automated helpline in Hebrew for an internet connexion.
Headed to Rova for net - canada.com STILL unreachable
I then walked to Internet Club in the Russian Compound & FINALLY did e-mail re Joel & Life & everything, answered extraneous messages.
Home for shabbes :)
Shabat Shalom!!

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