Review by Joseph Serge
Thought-provoking film profiles female sofer
The ancient Jewish sages say that everybody is commanded to write a Torah. But does everybody mean men and women?
Traditionally, only men have written Torah scrolls, but one Canadian Orthodox woman is seeking to change that.
Soferet: A Special Scribe, airing on Vision TV Nov. 16 at 10 p.m. and again Nov. 17 at 11 p.m., tells the story of Vancouver’s Aviel Barclay, said to be the world’s first female Jewish ritual scribe, who is helping to transcribe a Torah for a small congregation in Seattle, Wash.
Barclay’s desire to write the sacred text stems not from a rebellious, feminist nature, but rather from her soul.
She’s doing it for spiritual reasons and believes she’s been called to the task by God.
In fact, she wishes the precedent had been set before her and has no desire to be in the vanguard of this particular revolution.
Barclay was born Alison Barclay in Prince George, B.C., and was raised as a Christian. She first saw the Hebrew alphabet in Fiddler On The Roof when she was a young girl.
“It looked like fire to me,” she relates. “I was drawn to it.”
Amazingly, she taught herself the Hebrew alphabet at age 10, around the same time she became interested in calligraphy.
As an adult, she found herself drawn to Judaism and chose to convert and enter the Orthodox community. She rediscovered her interest in calligraphy and desired to become a soferet.
But there were many obstacles in her path. Needing a mentor, she advertised for one, but no one was willing to take her on, until one day a scribe in Jerusalem contacted her to help her with her calligraphy.
Meanwhile, a sympathetic rabbi combed available halachic sources for a ruling that would allow a female Torah scribe.
Her quest is highly controversial. Many Jewish authorities believe rabbinic law forbids a woman from writing a Torah scroll for ritual use. But others interpret the law differently. At the same time, Barclay has no intention of causing a furor and wishes to respect the community she’s chosen to live in.
Directed by Donna and Daniel Zuckerbrot, Soferet is a thought-provoking documentary that is well-worth watching.
