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A sofer at work, Ein Bokek, Israel A sofer sews together the pieces of parchment A sofer, sopher, sofer SeTaM, or sofer ST"M (Hebrew: סופר סת״ם, "scribe"; plural soferim, סופרים) is a Jewish scribe who can transcribe Sifrei Kodesh (holy scrolls), tefillin (phylacteries), mezuzot (ST"M, סת״ם, is an abbreviation of these three terms) and other religious writings.
The Jewish scribes and Talmudic scholars also had frequent recourse to abbreviations. Between the seventh and ninth centuries the ancient Roman system of abbreviations gave way to a more difficult one that gradually grew up in the monastic houses and in the chanceries of the new Teutonic kingdoms.
Most influential scribe of his generation (Post-war) Mordechai Pinchas: 20th and 21st centuries UK modern orthodox scribe www.sofer.co.uk: Aviel Barclay: 20th and 21st centuries Canada, first certified soferet of modern times Jen Taylor Friedman: 20th and 21st centuries First Torah by a soferet of modern times Julie Seltzer: 20th and 21st centuries
The education of scribes in ancient Israel was supported by the state, although some scribal arts could have been taught within a small number of families. [71] Some scribes also copied documents, but this was not necessarily part of their job. [72] [page needed] Jewish scribes at the Tomb of Ezekiel in Iraq, c. 1914
Ktav Stam (Hebrew: כְּתַב־סְתָ״ם ) is the specific Jewish traditional writing with which holy scrolls (Sifrei Kodesh), tefillin and mezuzot are written. Stam is a Hebrew acronym denoting these writings, as indicated by the gershayim (״ ) punctuation mark. One who writes such articles is called a sofer stam.
There is also evidence of Jewish women working as scribes of Hebrew texts from the 13th to 16th centuries, though these women primarily worked out of their homes rather than religious institutions, as daughters and wives of scribes. [12] Women were not only the producers of these texts, but could also be the consumers or commissioners of them. [12]
Jen Taylor Friedman is a soferet (Jewish ritual scribe). On September 9, 2007, she became the first woman known to have completed a Torah scroll. Taylor Friedman's sefer Torah was commissioned by United Hebrew Congregation, a Reform temple in St. Louis, Missouri. [1] Taylor Friedman was born in Southampton, England, and educated at Oxford. [2]
A printed version of the Torah is known colloquially as a Chumash (plural Chumashim). Although strictly speaking it is known as Chamishah Chumshei Torah (Five "Fifths" of Torah). They are treated as respected texts, but not anywhere near the level of sacredness accorded a Torah scroll, which is often a major possession of a Jewish community.