Northwest Austin synagogue dedicates newly copied Torah
Handwritten scripture is first in state to be completed by a woman.
At the center of the sanctuary of Congregation Agudas Achim on Sunday, Jen Taylor Friedman finished the patient work of writing a Torah, which has taken her more than a year to complete by hand.
The written Torah refers to the origins and teachings of Judaism dating back thousands of years, bound in scrolls for use in religious ceremonies. This particular Torah is the first in Texas to be completed by a woman, and it will be used by this congregation for decades to come.
Traditionally, the Torah is copied by hand by a man known as a sofer, or scribe, who trains for years to do the work. Friedman, who is from Southampton, England, and lives in Montreal, is one of maybe two dozen women in the world who work as
soferets, or female scribes. She’s written six Torahs in different parts of the world, counting this latest one, and each typically takes a year or so to write, on deerskin parchment using a feather pen dipped in ink.
She apprenticed with a sofer to learn the art. But there are still obstacles for women who want to learn the art of writing a Torah.
“I can’t go to sofer school in Tzfat, being a lady,” she said, referring to Safed, Israel. “It’s a bit harder if you’re not a chap.”
The decision to commission a woman to fulfill the 613th mitzvah was a deliberate one for Congregation Agudas Achim in Northwest Austin, which has 700 families as members. Rabbi Neil Blumofe said it was important to exemplify the egalitarian values the congregation holds.
“It’s not without its controversy,” Blumofe said, noting that other Jewish traditions might question the legitimacy of having a woman write a Torah.
“This Torah, written by a woman, underscores the meaning of being a traditional, fully egalitarian community,” he said.”We represent traditional Jewish values where men and women have full and equal access to (come and) explore, to ask questions and to be part of something that spans thousands and thousands of years.”
The Torah, which includes the teachings of the prophet Moses, incorporates 245 columns of Hebrew texts, with each column taking about a day to complete, Friedman said. This Torah was written on 62 sheets of parchment that are then attached to rollers.
It’s painstaking work, and no mistakes can be left in the Torah. But Friedman can scrape off mistakes from the parchment with her scalpel, which is important when untrained people — particularly children — are helping her to write.
People could handwrite a single letter in the Torah if they donated to the congregation, and Friedman invited families to stand together on the bima, the elevated platform in the synagogue, and remain mentally present while each member of a family writes a letter.
At least 600 people, both Jews and non-Jews, inscribed one character in this Torah, guided by Friedman’s very steady hand.
“This is about connecting the people who are going to be reading from the scroll with the scroll,” Friedman said. “It’s about connecting them with the text — into the tradition of writing the text. It’s a beautiful, special experience.”
Congregant Sandi Hauser wrote one of the final letters in the Torah on Thursday, smiling with tears in her eyes as she looked at her handiwork. Her father, who had fled Nazi Germany when he was a boy, raised his family according to an orthodox Jewish tradition in which women are not allowed to do things such as stand on the bima, have a bat mitzvah or touch the Torah.
“To touch the Torah is so meaningful to me,” Hauser said. “I really wanted to be able to touch it. It makes me feel a connection to my people.”