Hebrew Voices #181 – The Woman Who Writes Torah Scrolls: Part 1
In this episode of Hebrew Voices, The Woman Who Writes Torah Scrolls, Nehemia joins Avielah Barclay, the first female Jewish scribe in modern times. They discuss why Judaism clings to such ancient technology, how writing with the proper intent is just as important as the correct content, and erasing mistakes in accordance with a variety of Jewish traditions.
I look forward to reading your comments!
Related Verses
- Genesis 24:12, 27, 42, 48
- Genesis 19:5
- Deuteronomy 6:9; 11:20
- Jeremiah 17:1
- Gittin 45b (Talmud)
- Ezra 2:55
- Nehemiah 7:57
- Esther 1
- Genesis 19:18
- Deuteronomy 25:17-19
- Exodus 17:8-16
- Genesis 24:63
- Exodus 11:7
- BOOKS MENTIONED
- Even Sapir (1866) by Rabbi Yaakov Sapir
- RELATED EPISODES
- Hebrew Voices Episodes
- Support Team Study – Paleo-Hebrew and Papal Parchment Repair
- Hebrew Voices #142 – Sign Language of the Synagogue
- Hebrew Voices #145 – Decorative Doohickeys
- Support Team Study – The Dog Ate My Torah Scroll
- OTHER LINKS
- Online Course - Introduction to Hebrew Calligraphy (Allison Barclay (Avielah)) | Domestika
- Soferet Avielah Barclay (@soferetavielah) • Instagram photos and videos
- Soferet (2006)
- Dr. Gordon’s PhD dissertation:
- The Writing, Erasure, and Correction of the Tetragrammaton in Medieval Hebrew Bible Manuscripts
- To email Avielha: soferet.avielah@gmail.com
- Avielah’s (outdated) website: http://soferet.com
More from this episode
Part 1
Hebrew Voices #181 – The Woman Who Writes Torah Scrolls: Part 1
Part 2 · Partner Studies
Support Team Study – The Woman Who Writes Torah Scrolls: Part 2
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Comments
Interesting content! I like the history
Thank you for the fascinating interview with Avielha Barclay!
Thank you for the inspiring and insightful video, I really enjoyed it.
Hello Nehemia, I just finished watching this video for the first time. I intend to go back and watch it again. There is one concern I have regarding a female scribe, which would also apply to a female rabbi. That is, during the time of a woman’s uncleanness (in her menstrual cycle), she would be considered, in a Biblical context, to be unclean. That state of uncleanness would prevent her from handling the Torah, in my opinion. Does this particular scribe work on a Torah scroll during her cycle? Thanks in advance, Robert Pill.
I saw the documentary about this lady a number of years ago. I was fascinated by her pioneering in this area. I was born and raised on Vancouver Island, B.C. and never knew of anyone there who did this. I also find the whole tradition of reproducing the Torah scrolls mesmerising. The reverence, dedication and accuracy with which it’s done takes my breath away. The fact that modern day scrolls show only miniscule deviations from scrolls written hundreds of years ago, even reaching all the way back to the Dead Sea Scrolls, just blows my mind! Truly God works through these people.
She was absolutely delightful to have as a guest, her knowledge and ability is clearly staggering in depth, it’s also fun to see Nehemia ask the questions and learn and display he is still a student and always growing and learning, Prayers for Israel, Nehemia, Lynell, Makor HF, Rood, Keith, Jono and everyone else in Nehemias Orbit keeping us deeply involved in Scripture!
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