RULES OF THE GAME

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Due to the direction the comments veered to on this post, I'm going to spend a little time developing a blog policy.

What d' y'all think of that?

MI SHEBEYRAKH

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Please add to your prayers Dr Eric Ray, Aryeh ben Emmy, in your mi shebeyrakhs for healing.
Dr Ray is one of the foremost sofrim st"m in the world. An excellent teacher & very charming person, he is one of the very few sofrim left on the planet who can identify Sifrei Torah, their materials, age & location of origin - even the sofer who wrote them. He is truly a treasure not only of the scribal world, but of the entire Jewish people.

He's been hospitalized for a few weeks now with pneumonia, in intensive care and still battling infection although at last off a ventilator.

For any of you who recognise that our lives would be poorer without our elders, our teachers, our mentors, please pray for HaShem to quickly restore his body & soul.

Ameyn v'ameyn selah.
 

NICE THREADS!

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Menachot 43a states that Rav Yehudah attached tzitzit to the aprons of the women in his house.

Rambam Hilkhot Tsitsit 3:9 says that women and slaves who want to wrap themselves in tzitzit may do so without a brakhah. The same with other mitzvot from which we are exempt: if we want to perform them without a brakhah, one does not protest.

Fazonia, the first wife of Rabbi Haim ben Attar, wore talit and tefilin, as did Rabbi Haim's second wife. Hanna Rachel Werbermacher, the Maid of Ludomir, also did.

Some of the Rishonim, including Rashi and Rambam, said that women may choose to perform mitzvot from which we are exempt but we would do so without reciting a brakhah, since the brakhah's phrase "who has commanded us" would not apply. BUT, the largest group of sages of this period ruled that women may voluntarily perform mitzvot and recite the same brakhah as men. These sages include Rabbenu Tam (Rashi's grandson) and Rabbi Zerahia haLevi.

I can't help but wonder what influence Rabbeynu Tam's mother, Rashi's daughter, as well as Rashi himself, had on the blossoming Rabbi. I mean, if one grows up in a hosehold where a woman - your own mother & aunts - laying tefilin is normative, then how strict can your rulings be on these matters?

THE L@RD GIVETH...& THE L@RD TAKETH AWAY...

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This morning: Blessèd news from Citizenship & Immigration Canada - I have officially been approved as a sponsor for Joel! Which means he only has to be accepted by the Canadian Consulate in Buffalo now before he can receive Canadian residency! & then we'll be able to live together here in Vancouver once he emigrates! Barukh HaShem!
We were so relieved at the news that Joel recited the "hatov vehameytiv" blessing :)
We've spent close to a thousand dollars on our application, between the fees & his medical exam; that doesn't include the countless hours spent on filling out innumerable forms, getting fingerprints done & printing photos of our engagement party, wedding, etc...
...& still another thousand dollars to spend on his "landing fee". Which is basically an immigration tax. It's been a real struggle for us financially, but how else are two people from different countries supposed to make a home together?

So that was today's gift....

Today's loss was that our poor car, an '86 Escort which was given to us by Joel's Uncle Harvey so we could court (thanks, Harvey :D), decided it was time to go into a coma. Right at the corner of East Broadway & Commercial Drive, too! At rush hour! G@d sure has a sense of humour.
So my hero Joel rode his bike to my rescue, a trucker named Aldo helped us out (thank G@d), we joined BCAA & got towed to our local mechanic.

Tomorrow we'll find out whether we fix the car or pay the rent...

As Tevye said in "Fiddler on the Roof", in response to Perchik's statement that "money is the world's curse":
"MAY THE GOOD L@RD SMITE ME WITH IT...& MAY I NEVER RECOVER!"

THE LOGICAL SONG

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The tumtum (one with no discernable external sexual characteristics, from the Hebrew root meaning "sealed" or "closed" or "water-tight") is obligated by Jewish law to observe all mitzvot as they apply to men, even those mitzvot from which women are exempt. So, for example, "he" must don tefilin.
(se the Pri Megadim, Orach Chaim 39:1 & Mishnah Berurah 38:10)

However, see that the Minchat Chinuch rules that tefilin written by a tumtum are not kosher to be used.

So they have to wear 'em, as long as they did not write 'em...

How can you obligate a person or group of people in a mitzvah & yet not allow them to produce the object through which the mitzvah is performed?

[much head-shaking]

ACCEPTING THE YOKE OF OBLIGATION

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A woman may voluntarily take upon herself the performance of a time-bound positive commandment, and according to the Rama (Rabbi Moshe Isserles) even to make a blessing "that He commanded" on its performance.

So why not a positive non-time-bound commandment, such as writing a Sefer Torah?

The fact that such a thing as a soferet may or may not have existed before is no Halakhic impediment. In a different context, R. Joseph Karo (Beit Yosef to Tur Yoreh De'ah Chapter 1) notes an important principle: "Lo ra'inu eyno re'ayah" - "the fact that we have not seen such things in the past is no proof [that they should be forbidden now]."

P'TIL TEKHELET

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This take on Shelach Lekha by Sir Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi of the UK, inspired me greatly this Shabbes. So much so that I ordered a set of Karaite tzitzit from here.

More later.

Shavu'ah tov!

4 CORNERS

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Danya has a brilliant & simple idea to facilitate women obligating themselves in the optional mitzvah of tzitzit. I say "optional" because it only applies to you if you happen to own a garment with at least 4 corners none of which are rounded. If you do not happen to own a garment which fits the Halakhic description of a garment requiring tzitzit, then you are not obligated to go out & buy one.
Anyway, this week's parsha has got me thinking more & more about voluntary self-obligation...

Shabbat Shalom!

NOT THE WHOLE MEGILLAH...

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I know that this image is WAY too large, but I uploaded it at this size so the details of my ketiv could better be seen. This is amud Gimel & Dalet (column 3 & 4) of my latest Megilat Esther:

SEEKING TORAH?

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Shalom u'verakhah! Peace & blessing!

I'm looking forward to meeting you during my 2005 North American Tour, when I will be visiting many communities speaking on sofrut & giving presentations as well as checking & repairing Sifrei Torah.

At Elat Chayyim, the inspirational Jewish retreat centre in the Catskills, I will be teaching my popular course on Hebrew Calligraphy & Midrash on the Alefbet. This is a rare opportunity for those living on the east coast, so I would like to warmly welcome any first-timers to join my students & me in this Journey through the Hebrew Letters. You can find all the details about this session by clicking on ShalhevetYah.

I am also thrilled about the positive reception the latest news articles on the Women's Torah Project received:
The San Francisco J, picked up by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
The Jewish Daily Forward (also available here if you scroll down a few days' posts)

If you have any questions about these or any other of my upcoming events, I would be happy to respond; simply contact me through this blog or Soferet.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

Chazaq ubarukh! Strength & blessing!

BLORANGE

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Kol ha-kavod to her.

& pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

CALLING ALL POTENTIALS

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I am now available to engage with students, male or female, wishing to enter into the preliminary stage of learning sofrut.

Watch my site for upcoming details...or just e-mail me.

Barukh Atah Yah, Chey haOlamim, shehechiyanu vehigiyanu vekiyamanu lazman hazeh.
Shavu'ah tov, all.

OUT, LILIT!

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"3 Angels Childbirth Amulet" based on Sefer Razi'el HaMalakh copyright © A. Barclay
Lightfast ink on vegetable parchment

The top text is a series of angel names, invoked for the safety & health of the mother & child. The middle is an illustrated focal point, representing the 3 angels who have power over Lilith as birds on one hand, mysterious shapes on the other. Adam & Eve are banishing Lilith from the birthspace. The bottom text is a blessing for the mother, here referred to as "Plonit bat Plonit", or "What's-her-name daughter of What's-her-name". This space can be personalised.

I sold the original work to a female obstetrician/gynecologist in St Louis, MO.

THIS GUY IS MY HERO

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He rescues Sifrei Torah.
He's going to have a sweet Afterlife.

CHILD BIRTH PROTECTION AMULET

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"Xoatchl's Birth Amulet" copyright © A. Barclay
Dyo on qlaf

Translation/transliteration from outside to inside:
Around the edge, "In the name of HaShem G@d of Israel to my right Mikha'el to my left Gavri'el before me Ori'el behind me Rafa'el & above me The Divine Presence for Zandra daughter of Alisa daughter of Norberta daughter of Mikha'elah"

Bottom: "Open for me the Gates of Righteouness & I will enter, praising G@d." (Tehilim/Psalms 118:19)

Letters in star pattern: "ARGaMaN" (traditional acronym invoking the angels Ori'el (G@d's light), Rafa'el (G@d's healer), Gavri'el (G@d's strength), Mikha'el (G@d-likeness) & Nuri'el (G@d's flame). Argaman is the royal purple colour referred to in the Torah to be used in the Mishkan & the Temple

Three names in inverted triangle arrangement: "Sanvei, Sansanvei, Semangelef" (Three angels who, according to Midrash, traditionally are thought to protect mothers & children from being harmed by Lilith)

Centre: "Zoe"

The amulet/qame'a is round like a mother-to-be's full belly. All the letters draw a shield around & spiral into the centre, bringing the focus of protection & blessing through the invoked Gates of Righteouness, through a Magen David shape, through an inverted triangle symbolic of the mother's birth canal/Gate of Life to the middle of the parchment, with the emerging child's name. The child's name was transliterated in a way that it would have the gematria of 18 (life).


As a Soferet, I am called upon to create written prayers, psalms and names of G@d or angels, for people who seek a concrete way of requesting Divine help. Qame’ot (protection amulets) & Segulot (empowerment amulets, from the Hebrew root “to become capable or chosen”) are not magical spells or objects of idolatry, but tools for focused consciousness-raising. I write these as we have done in our Tradition for millennia. As this is a special, personal gift from G@d to share I provide these for a donation to your charity of choice. Gotta keep the flow of chesed free in the world!

NEVER GO THERE

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Vancouver's infamous downtown east side has a spreading multi-drug resistant strain of TB. 1 in 4 people who contract this will die. It would cost the government as much as one million dollars to cure a single person with this type of TB, which could still re-occur later in life. As the bacteria which causes the ailment can hang in the air for several hours after somebody coughs or spits, I'm going to steer clear of this neighbourhood. From now on.

I understand that a healthy person must be exposed to the bacteria many many times before it can get a hold on one's lungs, & even then will probably lie dormant. However, this is small comfort when, in this day & age, anyone could at some point become temporarily immune-compromised (from chemotherapy, for example) then be attacked from within.

This is what comes of people not taking their full round of antibiotics, using antibacterial room sprays, etc.

My concern is not only for my health, but for the people who are forced to live in the downtown east side by their poverty. I encounter many people begging for money & food when I've gone down there, usually to an out-of-the-way groovealicious art gallery. I always offer to buy food or to at least give them a few coins, but if I'm going to avoid the area, I'll be doing less tzedaqah. Obviously I can write a cheque to a charity instead, but making human contact with some of these folks is a greater gift than anything else we give them. Sometimes what they are starved most for is a friendly conversation.

I am now looking for ways I can maintain the little personal contact I have with those less fortunate, to keep reaching out to my fellow humans, created b'tzelem Eloqim, & to thereby keep humanising them in my own mind & not distance myself from those in need while protecting my own health.

MEDITATION SHIELD

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"Magen Hitbonenut" copyright © A. Barclay
Ink on vegetable parchment

Chodesh Tov!

SUNDAY MOVIE

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Joel & I saw the "Walk on Water" matinée at the Ridge yesterday. Probably the most complex, sensitive Israeli film I have ever seen.
Kol hakavod to the whole cast & crew!

MY POST AT JEN'S BLOG

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BS"D
Well, welcome aboard, Jen! This is the carnival otherwise known as "The Media".

As I said in my e-mail to you on Friday (after I first saw the article), I am sorry that the Forward didn't give you more coverage. I feel they should have at least named you & given your web address. I also know that you aren't a copycat & that you were inspired to follow this path before you had heard of me. I'm also very sorry you feel portrayed in that light. Thank you for saying publicly that you don't blame me for that. I assure you, I gave the Forward no such impression of you.

As promised I am looking for other sofrim who might teach you Azkarot, etc & certify you, so you can continue your work. I don't want you having to take 8 years to complete your training like I had to :)

I must agree with livredor about notoriety. If you want to see *bad* press, I'll show you! Most journalists who interview me want to get into my personal business & sensationalize my private life (which actually isn't so sensational ;+>). They also like to paint me as some Orthodox Jewish Boadicea brandishing a quill. They won't listen when I say that other women in Jewish history have practiced sofrut, maybe even written a Sefer Torah. But that doesn't sell papers. So I actually turn most journalists away, because they're unethical.

I wish you *just* enough fame that you have plenty of the sort of work you love, with good clients, Jen. Beyond that, it just gets weird, so my HaShem guard you from it.

Shavu'ah tov,
Aviel

TWINS

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"Twins" ketubah copyright © A. Barclay
22x32" watercolour & ink on paper & parchment

THIS WEEK'S JEWISH FORWARD

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Buy yourself a copy - it has shiny pictures in it :)
Shabbat Shalom


A Female Scribe's Trailblazing Effort
By Alice Lowenstein
June 3, 2005

Though the phrase "a new kind of Torah" may seem like an oxymoron, a Jewish community in the state of Washington is preparing to receive just such a thing: a Torah penned by a woman.



Kadima, a 27-year-old Jewish congregation in Seattle that had relied on borrowed scrolls, has commissioned Aviel Barclay, the world's only known, traditionally trained female scribe (soferet, in Hebrew), to produce its first-ever Torah scroll. Barclay's trailblazing story is fitting at Shavuot; the holiday, the celebration of the gift of Torah at Sinai, is the time the Jews recount a biblical story of brave heroines in the Book of Ruth.



Paving the way for a woman to enter an almost entirely male field has been a natural enough move for Kadima, a longtime pioneer of social issues such as gay and lesbian inclusion, but the figure of the female scribe has not been met with universal approval. As word of Kadima's intentions has spread, both the congregation and Barclay have heard objections (sometimes vociferous) from those who hold that under Jewish law, only men are qualified to be ritual scribes.



For Barclay, 36, the project is not about implementing a progressive agenda. Tucked into the apartment that she shares with her husband in Vancouver, the Canadian city to Seattle's north, she is simply doing work that has called to her since youth. Barclay fervently believes there is a place within traditional Judaism for her endeavor. "I'm part of an Orthodox community that tries to wrestle with Halacha," or rabbinic law, she said. "I wanted to find permission within traditional sources." This she has done by drawing from Jewish texts and rabbinic commentaries.



However, finding scriptural permission was easier than finding a teacher. Historically, scribal responsibilities for Torah scrolls, as well as the scrolls that are mounted on doorposts in mezuzot and bound to the forehead in tefillin, have been the province of observant Jewish men trained in a system of apprenticeship with a practicing sofer, or male scribe. Many are then accredited by a certifying organization. To date, no woman has entered this field officially, in part because gaining the necessary training entails convincing a practicing sofer that a woman is among those qualified to write scrolls for ritual use.



In Barclay's case, a teacher found her — sort of. Already a self-taught practitioner of Hebrew calligraphy for artistic and ritual objects such as ketubot, or marriage contracts, Barclay had long wanted to expand her skills. "I was trying to find a sofer to teach me for 18 months. They told me to get married and have babies," Barclay told the Forward. So when her eventual teacher contacted her through her Web site (now at www.soferet.com), she responded with enthusiasm.



Initially, the Jerusalem-based teacher who reached out to her only offered to help improve her calligraphy, not to teach her to be a scribe. He became her mentor only after Barclay persuaded him that there was room within the Orthodox tradition for a woman scribe. Ultimately, she received training in the calligraphy itself and in the many laws governing the production of ritual texts. Because of the controversial nature of his act, Barclay's teacher has chosen to remain anonymous.



While Barclay, her teacher and others who support her work are satisfied that they have found justification in rabbinic texts, agreement on the legitimacy of female scribes is far from total. According to Dov Linzer, head of academics at New York's Chovevei Torah rabbinical seminary, the Talmud clearly states that women are not allowed to write a Torah scroll for ritual use. Linzer pointed to an oft-cited passage (Tractate Gittin 45b) that specifically includes women among those who cannot produce a kosher Torah scroll. Others on the list include children, slaves and irreligious Jews. The Talmud and subsequent commentators on the subject argue that the commandment to write ritual scrolls is linked directly with the specific commandment to don tefillin, which women are not required to do.



Arguing the opposing view are Fern Feldman, a Renewal rabbi in Seattle, and Harry Zeitlin, an Orthodox rabbi, also from the Seattle area. In their view, the traditional rules governing the writing of a Torah scroll fall into two schools of thought. One links the writing of a Torah to the commandment to study Torah. The other does not. By both methods, Feldman and Zeitlin say, source can be identified to support Barclay's work.



Addressing the first point — that as a group, women's obligation to learn Torah is not the same as men's and, therefore, women are not among those who can write a Torah scroll — Zeitlin argued that being free from the obligation to perform a mitzvah is not the same as being prohibited from performing it. He used the commandment to don tefillin as an illustration. "Whether or not a woman can write tefillin comes from the same point of view that if women don't wear tefillin, they're not supposed to write them," he said. "But you have historical examples of Rashi's daughters wearing tefillin," suggesting that while women are not required to perform the mitzvah, they are not barred from doing so.



Zeitlin also pointed out that in many cases, a woman's all-consuming role as mother and wife has evolved since the time when most rabbinic law was codified. "It is a logical step that being excused from something for a cause would mean that when the cause is eliminated, then, if not obligated, at least you should be welcomed in," he said. Furthermore, Zeitlin argued, it is generally agreed that women do have some obligation to study Torah.



Feldman cites additional sources maintaining that the commandment to write a Torah scroll is separate from the commandment to learn Torah. "When we count 613 [commandments], writing a Torah is counted as its own mitzvah," she said. She counters the talmudic passage that includes women on the list of those unqualified for ritual scribal work by listing other commentators who do not include women on their lists.



For Barclay, these differences of interpretation aren't troubling or particularly consequential. "We're Jews," she said. "We do things differently." Her quest isn't to win the argument but rather to dip quill in ink and write the holy Hebrew letters. Zeitlin concurs. "Eventually it comes down to the kavanah," or intention, he said. "I don't think she's writing the Sefer Torah to make a statement. To be a valid Sefer Torah, one has to write it as a mitzvah lishma — doing it for the sake of performing this mitzvah."



Unintentional though it may be, Barclay's act is making a statement. It also may be the first wave of a new era. In New York, another traditionally trained observant woman is studying to be a Torah scribe. She intends not only to produce Torah scrolls but also to teach other women this closely guarded craft, even as the halachic debate wages on.






Alice Lowenstein is a writer living in Boston

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"Rose Bower" ketubah copyright © A. Barclay
Traditional Aramaic text with lightfast ink on vegetable parchment & lightfast ink & watercolour on 100% cotton cold pressed watercolour paper

JUNE IS BUSTING OUT ALL OVER...

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"Species" ketubah copyright © A.Barclay
Lightfast ink & watercolour on vegetable parchment & 100% cotton watercolour paper