Jump to content

Soferet (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Beland (talk | contribs) at 04:21, 3 July 2023 (convert numeric HTML entities (via WP:JWB)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Soferet: A Special Scribe
Aviel Barclay writing a Torah scroll
Directed byDonna and Daniel Zuckerbrot
Produced byDonna and Daniel Zuckerbrot
CinematographyAndrew Binnington
Edited byMichèle Hozer
Music byAaron Davis
John Lang
Release date
  • May 2006 (2006-05)
Running time
48 min.
CountriesCanada
Israel
United States
LanguageEnglish

Soferet: A Special Scribe is a 2006 television documentary about Aviel 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.

Summary

Barclay was born into a Christian family in Prince George, Canada.[3] As a girl, she enjoyed calligraphy and taught herself the letters of the Hebrew alphabet by the age of 10.[3] She converted to Judaism as an adult and joined the Orthodox Jewish community.[3] The film chronicles Aviel Barclay studying to become a sofer (Jewish scribe) in Orthodox Judaism.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Simchat Torah with a Soferet's Torah | Jewesses with Attitude". Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2010-10-23.
  2. ^ Lowenstein, Alice (June 3, 2005). "A Female Scribe's Trailblazing Effort". The Forward.
  3. ^ a b c "Soferet [videorecording]: A special scribe". University of Toronto Libraries. Retrieved 15 December 2015.