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, March 04, 2006

BLACK AS THE TENTS OF KEDAR

בס"ד
5 Adar


Well, with all the work I've been taking on & all the social engagements I've been enjoying, I managed to miss the entire Chutzpah! Festival this year. I would have really loved to catch Rain Pryor's show. We're the same age & I remember watching her TV show years ago. I've always found what she had to say about bigotry intensely real. Obviously, to rely on myths & stereotypes when judging a situation or person is glaring misconduct, but Rain lives this every day, because her father (the late Richard Pryor whose death I predicted from a premonition/dream I had while in NYC last December) was black & her mother is Jewish.

From lives like those of Rain Pryor, if not from our own, we can be aware of some unfortunate truths:
if you're not white, you're theoretically disempowered
if you're not Christian you're theoretically disempowered
if you're not male, you're theoretically disempowered
if you don't speak English, you're theoretically disempowered

I say "theoretically" because it really depends on where you are in the world & what you want to achieve in your life: whether you have access to the appropriate resources to enable you. For example, to be a Jew in Israel is a fine thing to be (unless you're that joker who set off firecrakers in the church in Nazareth - what's your problem, dude?), but being a Jew in Pakistan? Not so much...

Anyway, I believe we all have a responsibility, & this is a Torah principle as well, to not oppress others & to hear the voice of those who are made to suffer. It's our job to right the wrongs being done to them, before G@d shouts, "Don't make me come down there!"

Shavu'ah tov!




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3 Comments:

Blogger Regina said...

It's unfortunate that we still have to deal with inequality these days- it seems as if we never learn. And it could be so easy, too. When you see something happening in front of you that smacks of intolerance or out and out bigotry and discrimination, do something about it. You can keep your focus narrow, like wrongs you see happening in your neighborhood, in the supermarket, in your own family. If you don't feel the call to step up in local situations, it's no use crying over what's happening half way around the world.
We do all have a responsility, Aviel. Thanks for this post.

6:40 a.m.  
Blogger Regina said...

BTW- meant to tell you I like your sidebar up on top!

6:43 a.m.  
Blogger Soferet said...

בס"ד
I hear & applaud your comment, Regina. & thanks for letting me know about the sidebar - apparently, when I post photos the sidebar appears down at the bottom to those who use Explorer as their browser. Which is a real shame, since most people use Explorer (I use Safari) & I really want to post photos more regularly...
...I wish I were more of a computer geek...

12:14 p.m.  

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