Soferet (film)
| Soferet: A Special Scribe | |
|---|---|
 Avielah Barclay writing a Torah scroll |
|
| Directed by | Donna and Daniel Zuckerbrot |
| Produced by | Donna and Daniel Zuckerbrot |
| Release date(s) | 2005 (USA) |
| Running time | 48 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Soferet is a 2005 documentary about Avielah Barclay, who studied to become a sofer, which is a traditionally male position transcribing Jewish Hebrew texts. The documentary explains how she became the world’s first known traditionally trained female scribe in October 2003 [1] [2]. The film explores the importance of the Torah in Jewish life, the perfection required to execute a kosher Torah scroll, and a feminist perspective on the battle waged by some Jewish women to assume responsibilities traditionally reserved for men.
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[edit] Summary
 |
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Aviel Barclay was born a church-going Christian in Prince George, Canada.[citation needed] But she never felt entirely comfortable in Church and later converted to Orthodox Judaism after exposure to the Hebrew alphabet. The film chronicles Barclay studying to become a Sofer in Orthodox Judaism.
[edit] Reception
The Jewish community is divided as to whether or not a female is permitted according to Halacha to write a Torah scroll.[2] The Talmud Gittin 45b indicates that women are prohibited from writing a Torah scroll for ritual use, as it states:
R. Hamnuna son of Rava from Pashronia taught: a sefer Torah, tefillin, and mezuzot written by an informer, an idolater, a boarder, a woman, a minor, a Samaritan or an apostate are invalid, as it says (Deuteronomy 6:8-9) ‘you shall bind them [tefillin]…you shall write them [mezuzot]’. Those who fall within [the commandment to] ‘bind them’ are those who fall within [the class eligible to]‘write them.’
However there seems to be some dispute concerning the approach of the Rishonim and Acharonim as to whether they ruled women are permissible writers of the Torah based on their non-explicit disqualification of them.[3]
Some modern Jewish leaders argue that being free from the obligation to perform the mitzvah of scribing is not the same as being prohibited from performing it.[2]
Some people in the Jewish community are incredibly excited by Aviel Barclay's success. When she heard that Barclay had been asked to complete a Torah for Kadima, a Seattle-based Jewish community, artist Amy Golant was so excited she fell off her chair.“That these woman had the chutzpah to make this happen is so special. It adds another dimension," Golant said.[4]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ http://jwablog.jwa.org/soferet
- ^ a b c Lowenstein, Alice (June 3, 2005). "A Female Scribe's Trailblazing Effort". The Forward. http://www.forward.com/articles/3614/. Retrieved 30 July.
- ^ Singer, Ross (December 2004), “Women and Writing Megillah”, Edah Journal 4:2 3-4.
- ^ Pine, Dan (February 25, 2005). "First female Torah forging ahead with breakthrough Project". j.. http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/25070/format/html/displaystory.html. Retrieved July 30.
- Lowenstein, Alice (June 3, 2005). "A Female Scribe's Trailblazing Effort". The Forward. http://www.forward.com/articles/3614/. Retrieved 30 July.
- Pine, Dan (February 25, 2005). "First female Torah forging ahead with breakthrough Project". j.. http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/25070/format/html/displaystory.html. Retrieved July 30.
[edit] External links
- Aviel Barclay's website
- Review of the film by Vision TV
- The Forward's article on Aviel Barclay
- The producers website
- Soferet at the Internet Movie Database
