MONTREAL — Congregation Dorshei Emet will be the first synagogue in Canada and only the third in the world to have a Sefer Torah written by a woman.
The Reconstructionist synagogue has commissioned a female scribe, or soferet, to write the Torah as the highlight of its 50th anniversary, to be celebrated next year.
As a testament to the equality of women in synagogue life, the new scroll will be used as the congregation’s primary Torah.
New York-based Jen Taylor Friedman, who is the only known female scribe anywhere to have ever completed a Torah scroll – two, in fact – will be present at the launch, where she will pen the first letters in the sanctuary.
This project will be kicked off at a family event on May 24 at Dorshei Emet, located in Hampstead.
The writing will be displayed on plasma screens so that everyone can see.
Identical to all other Torahs, this scroll will be inscribed following the exact sequence and format of those from biblical times, with a feather quill and ink made from natural sources. It’s expected to take 12 months to complete the Torah, making it ready for delivery by the spring of 2010 on Shavuot, the holiday when Jews celebrate receiving the Torah.
The new scroll will be composed of 79,847 words (304,805 letters) written on 62 panels of parchment joined by a sinew string from a kosher animal.
Where this Torah will differ is in size and weight. Slightly smaller, and therefore lighter, it will be more easily handled when used by women and bnei/bnot mitzvah-aged children.
Other women – all Montreal artisans – will design and create the covers, as well as the tie, pointer and crowns for the scroll.
“The empowerment of women in Jewish life has brought new energy and creativity to the life of our people,” said Dorshei Emet’s Rabbi Ron Aigen.
“Over the past 30 years, women have become rabbis and cantors, but it is only now that the soferet… has emerged as a legitimate role for women.”
Torat Imeinu – The Torah of our Mothers, as the project is known, was created as a tribute to all women.
Event committee co-chair Joyce Becker added, “Our May 24 Family Day, called Two Hands on a Quill, will give the congregation the first opportunity to meet our scribe. She will hold the hands of several synagogue members while she writes the first letters of the Torah. This is an exciting and unique moment in our congregation’s 50-year history in Montreal.”
The inscribing will be accompanied by a trio of women singing Hebrew songs.
The event will also include musical entertainment by a klezmer band, a calligraphy art class given by Taylor Friedman, and lunch.
Becoming a soferet was not Taylor Friedman’s original career plan, although she always enjoyed calligraphy as a hobby. Born in Britain, she studied mathematics at Oxford University and continued learning in Jerusalem and New York.
By chance while at university, she became interested in Jewish law and learned about the role of the ritual scribe.
“Eventually, the combination of her analytical reasoning, her Hebrew calligraphy skills and her understanding of Jewish law led her to this path,” Becker said.
Her first Torah, completed, in September 2007, was commissioned by the United Hebrew Congregation, a Reform temple in St. Louis, Mo., and her second was penned for Congregation Shir Tikvah in Troy, Mich., which is also Reform, last year. She has also done six megillot, all scrolls of the Book of Esther, which is read on Purim.
There are believed to be five Jewish female scribes worldwide, according to information available online. They have begun to write a Torah, but never finished the task, according to the congregation’s information.
Dorshei Emet, meaning Seekers of Truth, was founded in 1960 by Rabbi Lavy Becker. It was the first Reconstructionist synagogue in Canada, and over the years it has been the spiritual home of many Montreal Jewish community leaders.