בס''ד
Q:
Hi Avielah, I have a question. In Ki Tisa we read about the Luchot with the Aseret Dibrot originally written michtav Elohim, the script of HaShem, and then the second version b'yad Moshe. What, if any, do you think the difference of script was - any Midrash you can guide me towards? Thank you, thank you.
A:
Hi, L! Re your question about the first Luchot being written be-ketav Ivrit be-yad Ha-Shem, and the second set of Luchot being written be-ketav Ashurit be-yad Moshe, (or about all the Luchot and original Sifrei Torah written in ketav Ivrit and the switch happening sometime between Matan Torah and Ezra Ha-Sofer) there's lots - mostly in Hebrew:
Sanhedrin 21b-22a notes that this subject is of Tannaitic dispute and that there are three different opinions; Menachot 29b; Shabbat 104a; Teshuvot Ha-Ge'onim (responsum 358, fully quoted by Margolis Ha-Yam to Sanhedrin 21b); RaMBaM's Commentary to Mishnah, Yadaim 2:5; Ha-Mikra Ve-Ha-Mesorah by R' Reuven Margulies; Yerushalmi Megilah 1:9.
Quti'im (Samaritans) still write their Sifrei in ketav Ivrit, and Yemenite Jews up until recently wrote their Sifrei in ketav Ashurit, with only Y-H-V-H written in ketav Ivrit. Since their gradual exposure to the broader Jewish world, they've ended that practice.
There is an academic article at JewishEncyclopedia.com about the Hebrew AlefBet and it's transition, and Omnigot has an interesting page on "Paleo-Hebrew", ie ketav Ivrit.
Hope you like the juicy references - enjoy researching!
Love you :)
Cross-posted on Facebook
Showing posts with label Jewish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jewish. Show all posts
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
*ALL* YOUR CHILDREN
בס''ד
“And All Your Children Shall Be Learned: Women and the Study of Torah in Jewish Law and History" – Shoshana Pantel Zolty
1993 Jason Aaronson
Page 145 reads:
* Goitein, A Mediterranean Society, vol. 2, p.184
Copyright © A. Barclay
Originally published January 2005 at Netivat Sofrut: the Diary of a Soferet
Cross-posted on Facebook
“And All Your Children Shall Be Learned: Women and the Study of Torah in Jewish Law and History" – Shoshana Pantel Zolty
1993 Jason Aaronson
Page 145 reads:
There is also indirect mention of a... female scribe in the Genizah documents: we are told that the Jewish community of Daquq (today called Tawuq), Iraq, was headed by Azarya, ‘son of the female copyist.’ He was praised by the Hebrew poet Yehudah al-Harizi for his noble descent and character as well as his munificence.”*
* Goitein, A Mediterranean Society, vol. 2, p.184
Copyright © A. Barclay
Originally published January 2005 at Netivat Sofrut: the Diary of a Soferet
Cross-posted on Facebook
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Female Torah Scribes = Old News, But Still Good News
בס''ד
When I was certified to write Sifrei Torah back in 2003 after many years of work and study, the client for whom I was to write my first Torah scroll wanted to generate media attention to raise money for their project. Fair enough. This, however, introduced me to The Media Idol, to which so many fame junkies will worship and sacrifice. Very sad.
The Media wanted to bill me as the first soferet in history, the only female Torah scribe of all time. But I couldn't let them. That's a big claim to make, if you can't prove it. Especially when other people's money is involved. So I had to deflate their balloon a little. I had to say, well, I was the first soferet in history as far as I knew. That I might be the only female Torah scribe of all time. It wasn't as tasty a story, but at least it was true.
Sometimes The Media would still make these claims on my behalf, so I began correcting them on my blog, so the public knew I wasn't trying to deceive anyone. After all, a first is something to celebrate because it opens the door for others - it's a position of service. But how could I let the media run with a story which would get so many people excited, only to then have to retract it five, or ten, or forty years later? How embarrassing and irresponsible.
At the end of the day, I had to live with myself, so I kept emphasising the fact that perhaps women came before me whose names and work had been lost or hidden, and that I wasn't willing to take the credit they deserved. Besides, wouldn't it be better if there was some kind of precedent? Wouldn't it be good for all Jewish women - and not just me - if we had the firm foundation of a women's scribal tradition on which to stand?
Well, duh.
Besides, there's nothing wrong with being "the first in a very long time".
It has a ring of renewal to it.
This inspired me to do research on the topic, which eventually lead to the discovery of a few handfuls of women who had indeed written or repaired Torah scrolls through the generations. Yay us. You can read about it more at my old blog. I had great fun discussing these women with other male and female scribes too, as they began cropping up.
The text in Devarim Shebichtav refers to a woman who wrote a Sefer Torah generations ago, so she, or perhaps one of her predecessors whose name we will never know, deserves the credit for being the first woman to write a Torah scroll.
The translation of this excerpt into English by my husband, Mordechai Pinchas Sofer StaM, reads as follows:
Some of his further notes include:
Everyone please remember: Yisra'el ve-Oraita ve-Qudesha Ha-Berikh Hu Chad Hu; Torah Orah, HalleluYah! - "Israel and the Torah and the Holy One are all ONE; Torah is Light, Praise G@D!". We're all on the same team, so we must never attempt to cover the accomplishments of others who came before us with our own claims veneered over theirs. If I had tried to obscure them, our Scribal Foremothers, I would've obscured my Self and a part of the Jewish People for the benefit of my own fragile ego.
Each one of us is on Planet Earth for a particular purpose: our Mitzvah Meyuchedet, the reason for our being that only we can complete. If we all shine with our own unique light, we'll light up Creation, and G@d willing open the way for Moshiach, bimheyra beyamenu. So don't forget Holy Rabbi Zushya, who worried that when he died and G@d would call on him, The Holy One would ask: "Why weren't you more like Avraham? Or Moshe?" when really what the Divine question was: "Why weren't you more like Zushya?"
Copyright © A. Barclay
Cross-posted on Facebook
When I was certified to write Sifrei Torah back in 2003 after many years of work and study, the client for whom I was to write my first Torah scroll wanted to generate media attention to raise money for their project. Fair enough. This, however, introduced me to The Media Idol, to which so many fame junkies will worship and sacrifice. Very sad.
The Media wanted to bill me as the first soferet in history, the only female Torah scribe of all time. But I couldn't let them. That's a big claim to make, if you can't prove it. Especially when other people's money is involved. So I had to deflate their balloon a little. I had to say, well, I was the first soferet in history as far as I knew. That I might be the only female Torah scribe of all time. It wasn't as tasty a story, but at least it was true.
Sometimes The Media would still make these claims on my behalf, so I began correcting them on my blog, so the public knew I wasn't trying to deceive anyone. After all, a first is something to celebrate because it opens the door for others - it's a position of service. But how could I let the media run with a story which would get so many people excited, only to then have to retract it five, or ten, or forty years later? How embarrassing and irresponsible.
At the end of the day, I had to live with myself, so I kept emphasising the fact that perhaps women came before me whose names and work had been lost or hidden, and that I wasn't willing to take the credit they deserved. Besides, wouldn't it be better if there was some kind of precedent? Wouldn't it be good for all Jewish women - and not just me - if we had the firm foundation of a women's scribal tradition on which to stand?
Well, duh.
Besides, there's nothing wrong with being "the first in a very long time".
It has a ring of renewal to it.
This inspired me to do research on the topic, which eventually lead to the discovery of a few handfuls of women who had indeed written or repaired Torah scrolls through the generations. Yay us. You can read about it more at my old blog. I had great fun discussing these women with other male and female scribes too, as they began cropping up.
The text in Devarim Shebichtav refers to a woman who wrote a Sefer Torah generations ago, so she, or perhaps one of her predecessors whose name we will never know, deserves the credit for being the first woman to write a Torah scroll.
The translation of this excerpt into English by my husband, Mordechai Pinchas Sofer StaM, reads as follows:
[Regarding] a woman WHO WROTE a Sefer Torah, if there is a male or female orphan to marry, it is better that she give it to them than give it to a Synagogue, but this is [only] in the case where the Synagogue [already] has another Sefer Torah to read from. But if it has no other Sefer Torah, then study comes before action [i.e the Synagogue gets the Torah].’
Some of his further notes include:
This single paragraph:
a) accepts that women can write a Sefer Torah
b) that it can be sold to (one assumes other Jews) to provide funds for an orphan to marry, as opposed to being buried or stored away – which would be the case if it was declared pasul and
c) implies that such a Torah would be acceptable for use by a Synagogue
Everyone please remember: Yisra'el ve-Oraita ve-Qudesha Ha-Berikh Hu Chad Hu; Torah Orah, HalleluYah! - "Israel and the Torah and the Holy One are all ONE; Torah is Light, Praise G@D!". We're all on the same team, so we must never attempt to cover the accomplishments of others who came before us with our own claims veneered over theirs. If I had tried to obscure them, our Scribal Foremothers, I would've obscured my Self and a part of the Jewish People for the benefit of my own fragile ego.
Each one of us is on Planet Earth for a particular purpose: our Mitzvah Meyuchedet, the reason for our being that only we can complete. If we all shine with our own unique light, we'll light up Creation, and G@d willing open the way for Moshiach, bimheyra beyamenu. So don't forget Holy Rabbi Zushya, who worried that when he died and G@d would call on him, The Holy One would ask: "Why weren't you more like Avraham? Or Moshe?" when really what the Divine question was: "Why weren't you more like Zushya?"
Copyright © A. Barclay
Cross-posted on Facebook
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
This Month, Six Years Ago
בס''ד
This month, six years ago, my Globe And Mail interview with Cori Howard:
(pls note - I'm not the first woman to be a soferet like the article states, as women have been occasionally doing this work for generations)
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2003
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
BS"D
Fighting for the right to write
Vancouver's Aviel Barclay is the first woman ever to become a Torah scribe. But some authorities say she is violating Jewish law by doing it.
By Cori Howard
There are 4,000 rules to writing a Torah, the holiest book of the Jews. There are rules about spacing and size and at least a dozen on how to write the name of God. And 35-year-old Aviel Barclay is becoming intimately familiar with every single one.
. . .
"I'm carrying the torch because someone stuffed it in my backback," she says, unpacking in her modest Vancouver apartment after a recent trip to Israel. "If I was male, I would have gotten loans and there would have been no question about it. I could've done it 10 years ago. But for me, all I can hope is doing this will educate people about an obscure area of Jewish law and open the way for other women who want to do this."
. . .
"It was all very Zen," she says. "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear." The rest of her journey was not so peaceful. In Israel, she was also studying at a yeshiva, a Jewish school. After they found out what she was doing, they harassed her, demanded the sofer's name and threatened to kick her out. She left.
At a second yeshiva, she heard people talking about the woman who wanted to write a Torah. They said they were lucky not to have such a heretic. She left before they found out she was there. A third yeshiva told her to deal with her feminist issues or leave. She left.
. . .
"I have not found within our traditional legal sources sufficient grounds to validate women writing Torah," says Rabbi Ross Singer of Vancouver's Shaarey Tefilah synagogue. He has spent more than a year studying this matter and consulting renowned Torah scholars. But he does support women writing a Torah for educational purposes, learning or as a reference.
While that may sound like conditional support, to Ms. Barclay, it's amazing that in the last major area where Jewish women haven't gained equality, she's getting any support at all from an Orthodox rabbi. "I respect difference of opinion," she says.
. . .
For now, Ms. Barclay is preparing herself for that state of higher consciousness. She prays every day. She meditates. She writes in her journal. She gets really excited thinking about going into the world of the letter nun and tackling the challenge of the letter aleph.
"I guess I'm a bit of a nerd that way. But really, I've wanted this honour my whole life, as grave as it is. And it's happening now and I'm ready to do it."
Originally posted at Netivat Sofrut: the Diary of a Soferet
http://soferet.blogspot.com/2003_12_01_archive.html
This month, six years ago, my Globe And Mail interview with Cori Howard:
(pls note - I'm not the first woman to be a soferet like the article states, as women have been occasionally doing this work for generations)
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2003
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
BS"D
Fighting for the right to write
Vancouver's Aviel Barclay is the first woman ever to become a Torah scribe. But some authorities say she is violating Jewish law by doing it.
By Cori Howard
There are 4,000 rules to writing a Torah, the holiest book of the Jews. There are rules about spacing and size and at least a dozen on how to write the name of God. And 35-year-old Aviel Barclay is becoming intimately familiar with every single one.
. . .
"I'm carrying the torch because someone stuffed it in my backback," she says, unpacking in her modest Vancouver apartment after a recent trip to Israel. "If I was male, I would have gotten loans and there would have been no question about it. I could've done it 10 years ago. But for me, all I can hope is doing this will educate people about an obscure area of Jewish law and open the way for other women who want to do this."
. . .
"It was all very Zen," she says. "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear." The rest of her journey was not so peaceful. In Israel, she was also studying at a yeshiva, a Jewish school. After they found out what she was doing, they harassed her, demanded the sofer's name and threatened to kick her out. She left.
At a second yeshiva, she heard people talking about the woman who wanted to write a Torah. They said they were lucky not to have such a heretic. She left before they found out she was there. A third yeshiva told her to deal with her feminist issues or leave. She left.
. . .
"I have not found within our traditional legal sources sufficient grounds to validate women writing Torah," says Rabbi Ross Singer of Vancouver's Shaarey Tefilah synagogue. He has spent more than a year studying this matter and consulting renowned Torah scholars. But he does support women writing a Torah for educational purposes, learning or as a reference.
While that may sound like conditional support, to Ms. Barclay, it's amazing that in the last major area where Jewish women haven't gained equality, she's getting any support at all from an Orthodox rabbi. "I respect difference of opinion," she says.
. . .
For now, Ms. Barclay is preparing herself for that state of higher consciousness. She prays every day. She meditates. She writes in her journal. She gets really excited thinking about going into the world of the letter nun and tackling the challenge of the letter aleph.
"I guess I'm a bit of a nerd that way. But really, I've wanted this honour my whole life, as grave as it is. And it's happening now and I'm ready to do it."
Originally posted at Netivat Sofrut: the Diary of a Soferet
http://soferet.blogspot.com/2003_12_01_archive.html
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Full Moon of Elul - יָרֵחַ מָלֵא אלול
בס''ד
BS"D
Today is the 13th day of the Jewish month of Elul (אלול). The yare'ach maley, full moon, is just around the corner. This month of introspection, of turning and returning to The Holy One, is almost half over, when the waxing moon will swell to her fullest, then wane through the days leading us to Rosh Ha-Shanah, the Jewish New Year, the anniversary of the Creation of people.
To remind us that another New Year is coming and to awaken our yearning for teshuvah, repentance, each Elul morning except Shabbat my husband and I have prayed in our lush garden facing east, to Jerusalem, then blown the shofar on our back patio. We recite Tehilim/Psalm 27. We are truly blessed.
קידוש לבנה Qidush Levanah is the monthly sanctification of the moon, called levanah or yare'ach in Hebrew. According to various traditional sources, one must perform this ritual either the first moment one sees the moon in its new phase, or before the tenth day of the lunar month, or by the full moon at the latest. And always at night.
Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin 42a gifts us with the words to bless this Heavenly body, although Ashkenazi and Sefardi customs differ. In essence we are praising The Holy One for for such marvelous creations, including the miracle of the moon's monthly rebirth. We see this as a symbol of G@d's promise to redeem all the Jewish People and to make us complete once more in the Land of Israel.
The gematria, numerological value, of Elul is 67. When one add this number to the gematrial of yare'ach, which is 218, we get 285. And what is 285 the number of?
רוח נדיבה - ru'ach nadivah - a charitable, generous open-hearted willing or ready spirit or essence. A giving, open-handed attitude. And guess what? It's feminine.
So when you bless the moon of Elul tonight or tomorrow, remember that The Holy One is waiting with open arms to warmly welcome you back for a New Year.
And say a shehechiyanu.
Copyright © A. Barclay
BS"D
Today is the 13th day of the Jewish month of Elul (אלול). The yare'ach maley, full moon, is just around the corner. This month of introspection, of turning and returning to The Holy One, is almost half over, when the waxing moon will swell to her fullest, then wane through the days leading us to Rosh Ha-Shanah, the Jewish New Year, the anniversary of the Creation of people.
To remind us that another New Year is coming and to awaken our yearning for teshuvah, repentance, each Elul morning except Shabbat my husband and I have prayed in our lush garden facing east, to Jerusalem, then blown the shofar on our back patio. We recite Tehilim/Psalm 27. We are truly blessed.
קידוש לבנה Qidush Levanah is the monthly sanctification of the moon, called levanah or yare'ach in Hebrew. According to various traditional sources, one must perform this ritual either the first moment one sees the moon in its new phase, or before the tenth day of the lunar month, or by the full moon at the latest. And always at night.
Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin 42a gifts us with the words to bless this Heavenly body, although Ashkenazi and Sefardi customs differ. In essence we are praising The Holy One for for such marvelous creations, including the miracle of the moon's monthly rebirth. We see this as a symbol of G@d's promise to redeem all the Jewish People and to make us complete once more in the Land of Israel.
The gematria, numerological value, of Elul is 67. When one add this number to the gematrial of yare'ach, which is 218, we get 285. And what is 285 the number of?
רוח נדיבה - ru'ach nadivah - a charitable, generous open-hearted willing or ready spirit or essence. A giving, open-handed attitude. And guess what? It's feminine.
So when you bless the moon of Elul tonight or tomorrow, remember that The Holy One is waiting with open arms to warmly welcome you back for a New Year.
And say a shehechiyanu.
Copyright © A. Barclay
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Celebrate the Long Chain of Tradition for Women Torah Scribes, Don't Hide It!
בס''ד
Someone is out there consistently claiming in article after article to be the first female Torah scribe in history, when she knows she isn't.
She knows me, Shoshana Gugenheim, R' Linda Motzkin, Nava Levine-Coren - all women who learned sofrut before her. And yet she makes this claim.
And it's not only that I'm annoyed with my life's work being obscured by an untruth, it's also that I wasn't the first soferet either - it's those women from hundreds of years ago who deserve the credit! Not me and not her. Jewish women should be grateful that there is a long chain of tradition for our acting as klei qodesh - holy vessels - serving as scribes for our communities.
"Service" being the operative word here.
So I wrote a letter to the Editor of The Jewish Week about today's article, the original Jewish Week article can be read here:
Copyright © A. Barclay
Cross-posted on Facebook
Someone is out there consistently claiming in article after article to be the first female Torah scribe in history, when she knows she isn't.
She knows me, Shoshana Gugenheim, R' Linda Motzkin, Nava Levine-Coren - all women who learned sofrut before her. And yet she makes this claim.
And it's not only that I'm annoyed with my life's work being obscured by an untruth, it's also that I wasn't the first soferet either - it's those women from hundreds of years ago who deserve the credit! Not me and not her. Jewish women should be grateful that there is a long chain of tradition for our acting as klei qodesh - holy vessels - serving as scribes for our communities.
"Service" being the operative word here.
So I wrote a letter to the Editor of The Jewish Week about today's article, the original Jewish Week article can be read here:
Shalom to you, Mr Rosenblatt -
I'd like to comment on April 30th's "36 under 36" article.
Jen Taylor Friedman is not "the first woman in history to adopt the title of soferet, female Torah scribe", as Randi Sherman writes. Aside from myself earning Orthodox certification as a female Torah scribe in 2003
click here,
something Friedman cannot claim, there have been many women who preceeded me in sofrut history as well
click here
R' Ya'aqov Ha-Levi Sapir, in his 1864 book "Even Sapir", mentions a Torah scroll written by a Yemenite soferet named Miriam Benayahu, from the famous Benayah family of scribes. A fragment of this scroll now rests in Jerusalem.
Rabbi Yehudah Asher Rotah's writing, Devarim She-bichtav, speaks of a specific case of a woman who wrote a Sefer Torah generations ago.
There is even a woman called Ha-soferet who appears in the books of Ezra and Nechemiyah - that woman, or one of my predecessors, deserves the credit which Friedman is claiming.
I understand that not being "first" doesn't make much news, as I had little success in correcting the media when they also named me the first soferet in history. However, the truth must stand.
As Kohelet/Ecclesiastes 1:9 states: "...there is nothing new under the sun." So it is also for female Torah scribes. We should be happy that a long tradition exists for us.
Kol tuv,
Soferet Avielah Barclay
Copyright © A. Barclay
Cross-posted on Facebook
Friday, April 24, 2009
Parshat Tazri'a-Metzora: the Enlarged Letter Gimel
BS"D
In this week's Torah portion, Tazri'a, Va-yiqra/Leviticus 12:1-15:33, we find an enlarged letter. The word "ve-hitgalach" (וְהִתְגַּלָּח), "and he'll shave himself", sports a letter Gimel double the size of its neighbours:
So why is this Gimel enlarged? And why in the word "shave"? Various scribal opinions claim it reminds us that this shaving ritual is different in three - Gimel has the numeric value of 3 - ways from other kinds of shavings.
1) This ritual shaving can be done by anyone, not just a kohen, even though a kohen must examine the patient and decide the judgement of the affliction and how to proceed.
2) The shaving can be done not just with a razor, but other devices as is usual.
3) In this case, even a Nazir (who is forbidden to shave) must do so.
A little Midrash: the letter Gimel spans the gap between two individual entities or forces and blends them into one. The word "gamla", found in Talmud tractate Mo'ed Qatan 6b, means a "bridge which unites two areas" and has the same root as Gimel.
According to Kabbalistic writings, Gimal comes to us in the shape of a letter Vav connected to a letter Yud. The Vav, whose name means "hook", makes a bridge or "gamla", between the Divine and the humble Yud, whose name means "hand". So the flow of blessing and wisdom in this ritual comes through the chute into the waiting hand of the receiver.
Kabbalah also teaches us that the number three/letter Gimel symbolizes the world of tiqun (perfection, repair, correction, improvement, rehabilitation, refinement). A base of two legs is not stable, but a third leg provides a firmer foundation.
"Gamal" (גָּמַל), means to detoxify or to ripen. It also means "to wean", and "gamol", from the same root, means "to nourish until completely ripe/mature". It is from here we get the Upshernish, a Yiddish name for the first hair cut a Jewish boy receives, after he turns three years old. The age of three is a time of transition in spiritual consciousness, hence we begin educating our children at this tie, leave the boys' hair uncut until then, we encourage girls to light Shabbat and Yom Tov candles from this age, and we do not harvest the produce of young trees until that time, and only then to bring the produce to G@d at the Holy Temple in Jerusalem (and may it be so again bimheyra beyameinu - speedily in our days!).
Shabbat sh'leymut.
---
Cross-posted on Facebook
Copyright A. Barclay
Many thanks to my dear husband, Marc, who contributed informally to this article :)
In this week's Torah portion, Tazri'a, Va-yiqra/Leviticus 12:1-15:33, we find an enlarged letter. The word "ve-hitgalach" (וְהִתְגַּלָּח), "and he'll shave himself", sports a letter Gimel double the size of its neighbours:
Va-yiqra/Leviticus 13:33
וְהִתְגַּלָּח--וְאֶת-הַנֶּתֶק, לֹא יְגַלֵּחַ; וְהִסְגִּיר הַכֹּהֵן אֶת-הַנֶּתֶק שִׁבְעַת יָמִים, שֵׁנִית.
Ve-hitgalach ve-et ha-neteq, lo yegaley'ach; ve-his'gir ha-koheyn et ha-neteq shiv'at yamim, sheynit.
"Then he shall be shaved, but he won't shave the scall; and the priest shall seclude the scall-bearer seven days more."
So why is this Gimel enlarged? And why in the word "shave"? Various scribal opinions claim it reminds us that this shaving ritual is different in three - Gimel has the numeric value of 3 - ways from other kinds of shavings.
1) This ritual shaving can be done by anyone, not just a kohen, even though a kohen must examine the patient and decide the judgement of the affliction and how to proceed.
2) The shaving can be done not just with a razor, but other devices as is usual.
3) In this case, even a Nazir (who is forbidden to shave) must do so.
A little Midrash: the letter Gimel spans the gap between two individual entities or forces and blends them into one. The word "gamla", found in Talmud tractate Mo'ed Qatan 6b, means a "bridge which unites two areas" and has the same root as Gimel.
According to Kabbalistic writings, Gimal comes to us in the shape of a letter Vav connected to a letter Yud. The Vav, whose name means "hook", makes a bridge or "gamla", between the Divine and the humble Yud, whose name means "hand". So the flow of blessing and wisdom in this ritual comes through the chute into the waiting hand of the receiver.
Kabbalah also teaches us that the number three/letter Gimel symbolizes the world of tiqun (perfection, repair, correction, improvement, rehabilitation, refinement). A base of two legs is not stable, but a third leg provides a firmer foundation.
"Gamal" (גָּמַל), means to detoxify or to ripen. It also means "to wean", and "gamol", from the same root, means "to nourish until completely ripe/mature". It is from here we get the Upshernish, a Yiddish name for the first hair cut a Jewish boy receives, after he turns three years old. The age of three is a time of transition in spiritual consciousness, hence we begin educating our children at this tie, leave the boys' hair uncut until then, we encourage girls to light Shabbat and Yom Tov candles from this age, and we do not harvest the produce of young trees until that time, and only then to bring the produce to G@d at the Holy Temple in Jerusalem (and may it be so again bimheyra beyameinu - speedily in our days!).
Shabbat sh'leymut.
---
Cross-posted on Facebook
Copyright A. Barclay
Many thanks to my dear husband, Marc, who contributed informally to this article :)
Monday, March 09, 2009
DELIGHT - Megillah - JOFA - 2006 - ענג
בס"ד
12 Sh'vat
I was very glad to get my copy of the JOFA Journal today in the mail & so happy to see that my former rabbi & constant friend, R' Ross Singer, had his article on women being permitted to write Megilot (Scrolls of) Esther published in the Winter 2006 issue. If you go here & click on the top link, Leadership, you can download your very own pdf! BTW, I always wanted to be that lady on page 5 when I grew up...
& yea, I am the female congregant mentioned in the piece.
So kol ha-kavod to the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance, who has done much work in the service of Jewish women everywhere, helping us to not so much "think outside the box", as it were, but turn that box into more of a bag, as I like to say :)
The other TOTALLY cool thing is that they really did their own research on this & in the little box on the bottom left of page 4 names some of the women we know practiced sofrut - were copyists Jewish holy books & possibly wrote Sifrei Torah - & who appear throughout this blog. 3 cheers for an establishment of the existence of a historic soferet tradition!
(doing the wave...)
The original article (researched in 2002), much longer & full of Halakhic consideration, appears below:
This appeared in issue 42 of the Edah Journal in 2004 as well, followed by no less than 52 sources in his list of notes. He is truly the world authority on this subject. It's so great that his work is getting more attention & that both Jewish women & men are being duly educated about ways in which we can safely expand our practice while keeping our traditions intact.
Way to go, R' Ross!
Originally published at Netivat Sofrut February 2006.
Copyright A. Barclay
12 Sh'vat
I was very glad to get my copy of the JOFA Journal today in the mail & so happy to see that my former rabbi & constant friend, R' Ross Singer, had his article on women being permitted to write Megilot (Scrolls of) Esther published in the Winter 2006 issue. If you go here & click on the top link, Leadership, you can download your very own pdf! BTW, I always wanted to be that lady on page 5 when I grew up...
& yea, I am the female congregant mentioned in the piece.
So kol ha-kavod to the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance, who has done much work in the service of Jewish women everywhere, helping us to not so much "think outside the box", as it were, but turn that box into more of a bag, as I like to say :)
The other TOTALLY cool thing is that they really did their own research on this & in the little box on the bottom left of page 4 names some of the women we know practiced sofrut - were copyists Jewish holy books & possibly wrote Sifrei Torah - & who appear throughout this blog. 3 cheers for an establishment of the existence of a historic soferet tradition!
(doing the wave...)
The original article (researched in 2002), much longer & full of Halakhic consideration, appears below:
"In the preface to his book, Women Jewish Lay and Modernity, Rabbi Joel Wolowelsky charts a new course for exploring the inclusion of women in religious ritual and practice. He states, “given the overall friction between ideology and halakhah, Orthodox leaders have been suspicious of arguable constructive suggestions for increased women’s participation in religious activities on the grounds that accepting them could legitimize feminism in the eyes of the halakhic community. It is now time to move past this fear of feminism. We are fast approaching a post-feminist age in which accepting specific proposals originally promoted by feminists no longer carries the implication that we accept feminist ideology as a whole... It is time for a lekhatehilah encouragement of increased women’s involvement in a wide spectrum of religious activities.” (pg. x-xii) Rabbi Wolowelsky welcomes his readers to “suggest additional areas to explore,’ with the proviso that these “should be explored in classical term, with reference to classic texts and recognized authorities.” (pg. xii) In the spirit of this approach, the following essay will explore the issue of women writing Megillot Esther for ritual use on Purim.
I. Talmud regards Women as Pesulot for the writing of Tefilin.
The key text from which to begin this discussion is a beraita that appears in Mesekhet Gittin (45b). We read, “Rav Hamnuna son of Rava from Pashronia taught a Sefer Torah, Tefilin, and Mezuzot written by an informer, an idolater, a slave, a woman, a minor, a Samaritan or an apostate are invalid, as it says ‘you shall bind them (tefilin) you shall write them (mezuzot)’ -- those who fall under the Mitzvah of binding them are those who fall under the category of writing them.” This passage serves as the source for the unequivocal halakhah that women are pesulot to write tefilin. This position is unchallenged in the classical rabbinic literature.
II. The position of the Rishonim and Ahronim on women writing Sifrei Torah and Mezuzot.
While the pesul to write tefilin is not contested, there is a debate regarding the kashrut of women to write Sifrei Torah and mezuzot. A close examination of Rav Hamnuna’s beraita shows some ambiguity. The beraita does not make any distinction between tefilin and Sifrei Torah and Mezuzah. Yet, the reasoning of “those who are in the category of binding are in the category of writing” seems to apply only to Tefilin. Strikingly, in the Tur’s list of those who are pasul to write Tefilin, he includes women. Yet, when he lists those who are pesulot to write Sifre Torah , he omits women. One could infer from this that the Tur reads the beraitta’s exclusion of women as limited to Tefilin. Indeed, the Drisha suggests that not only the Tur, but the Rif and the Rosh all hold that this is the Halakah On the other hand, the Rambam does not omit women from his listing of those who are pasul to write Sifrei Torah and Mezuzot. The Shulhan Arukh explicitly states that women are invalid to write Sifre Torah.
This mahloket between the Shulchan Arukh and the Drishah has implications for the question of women writing Megilat Esther. According to the Derisha’s understanding, women’s exclusion is limited to Tefilin, therefore they would be considered valid for Sifre Torah and Mezuzot, and all the more so for Megilat Esther which is of a lesser status and in which they have an obligation to hear the ritual reading. For the Shulhan Arukh who states that women are pesulot to write Sifre Torah it is more complicated. It must be determined whether the strictures of writing a Sefer Torah apply to Megilat Esther. If they do, then according to the Shulhan Arukh women will be pesulot. If not, it will be possible to consider women kesherot to write the Megillah.
III. The Mahloket Rabeinu Tam and the Maggid Mishneh on the pesulim for Megilat Esther
The question as to whether the pasul stated in Rav Hamnuna’s beraita applies to Megilat Esther is not explicitly addressed in the Classical Rabbinic literature or in the Rishonim. However a related issue brought up by the Rishonim is exceedingly relevant to this matter. One of the requirements of a Sefer Torah is that its parchment must be dressed or worked lishmah. The Rishonim differ as to whether this requirement extends also to Megilat Esther. Rabbeinu Tam holds that the skin of the parchment must be dressed lishmah. He reasons that since the Megilah is called a Sefer, all the laws of a Sefer Torah apply to it except those that the tradition explicitly informs us are different. Given that the Classical Rabbinic literature never explicitly states that women may write a valid Megilat Esther, it is logical to presume that Rabbeinu Tam’s position would be that women are pesulot for writing the Megilah. However, the Rambam (Hilkhot Megilah 2:9) writes that one need not dress the leather of parchment lishmah. The Magid Mishneh commenting on this passage writes that “this is obvious for dressing was not mentioned with regard to it, and it (Megilah) is only like a sefer Torah with regard to those things in which(it megillah) was compared to it (Sefer Torah).” Here we find the Maggid Mishneh taking a position diametrically opposed to the view of Rabbeinu Tam. While Rabbeinu Tam suggests that Megillah is treated like a Sefer Torah unless Hazal instruct us otherwise, the Maggid Mishneh suggests that the Megillah is treated like a Sefer Torah only when Hazal explicitly tell us so. The Maggid Mishneh’s logic would lead one to conclude that women are valid to write Megilat Esther because Hazal never mentioned explicitly that they are Pasul. The Sdei Hemed cites the Radvaz as having the same understanding of the Rambam.
The Birkei Yosef uses this Maggid Mishneh to demonstrate that women are indeed valid to write the Megillah. He begins his line of reasoning by noting the Tosafot‘s discussion of the validity of women to prepare tzitzit and lulav. Tosafot conclude that the applicability of the derashah in Rav Hamnunah’s beraita is limited to Sefer Torah, Tefilin and Mezuzot only. This suggests that women may be kesharot to write other holy texts. Nevertheless, the Birkei Yosef suggests that this is an insufficient proof, since many regulations of the writing of the Megillah are identical to the requirements of writing of a Sefer Torah. He then notes the Maggid Mishneh’s position as one that would indeed allow women to write the Megillah. He observes that the Shulchan Arukh quotes both Rabbeinu Tam’s position on ibbud lishmah and the Rambam’s. The Rambam’s is brought first, stam while Rabbeinu Tam’s is brought as a yesh omrim. This the Birkei Yosef states is indicative that the Shulhan Arukh is deciding in favour of the Rambam. Therefore based on the Maggid Mishneh’s understanding of the Rambam, the Birkei Yosef concludes that the Shulchan Arukh is Paskening that women are kesherot to write Megilat Esther. He bolsters this by noting that the Pri Chadash validates bedeiavad a Megillah written with the left hand even though a Sefer Torah written that way is invalid.
In his shiurei Berakhah, the Hida brings another proof to bolster his claim that women are valid to write the Megillah. The gemara states that it is forbidden to read the megillah from a scroll that contains other sacred writings in public. From this it is deduced that in private one may read the Megillah from such a scroll. Since women are valid to write sacred writings other than Sifrei Torah as deduced in Tosafot, one must conclude that women are valid to write megilat Eshter. If not the gemara could not have allowed one to read privately from such a scroll, for it may have been written by a woman.
IV. Women’s obligation to read/hear the Megillah validates them to write it.
The Pri Megadim also holds that Rav Hamnunah’s beraita cannot be used as a source to invalidate women from writing the Megilah. This beraita excludes women from writing because they are not obligated in the Mitzvah of Tefilin. The Pri Megadim reasons that since women are obligated (minimally to hear ) in the Mitzvah of keriat Hamegillah they are valid to write it. This approach is echoed by the Sdei Hemed who quotes from Masekhet Sofrim. Masekhet Sofrim states the following rule: all who are eligible to fulfill the community’s obligation to read a sacred text are valid to write that text. Given that women are obligated in the Mitzvah of Megillah, one can draw the conclusion that women are valid to write the Megilah. However it is not so simple. The Ba’al Halakhot Gedolot (Behag) holds that women are obligated only to hear the Megillah read to them, but are invalid to read the Megillah for men. According to the Behag, the rule enunciated in Masekhet Sofrim would not validate women to write Megilat Esther. Indeed, the Ma’aseh Rokeach invalidates women using this very reasoning. Nevertheless, the Sdei Hemed finds reason to validate women to write the Megillah from another source. The Mishnah in Gittin (22b) states that women are valid to write gittin. The Sdei Hemed (eliyahu tzvi) reasons that their validity flows from the fact that the laws of gittin are applicable to women. Based on this reasoning, it is sufficient for women merely to be obligated in hearing the Megillah to render them valid to write it.
The Avnei Nezer raises a serious objection to this approach articulated by the Pri Megadim. According to the Pri Megadim women are valid to write sacred texts for which they have halakhic obligations. Yet, while women are obligated in the mitzvah of Mezuzah the beraita invalidates them from writing mezzuzot. The Arukh Hashulhan answers this difficulty. He explains that the pasul extends to Mezzuzot since they appear in the same paragraph with Tefilin, whereas Megillah is obviously not mentioned in that paragraph of the Torah.
V. The Megillah itself suggests that women are valid to write it.
Megillat Esther (Ch.9:29) states, “Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Avihail, and Mordekhay the Jew, wrote with all emphasis, to confirm this second letter of Purim.” The Targum renders this verse as saying “Esther the daughter of Avihail and Mordekhai the Jew wrote all this Megillah.” Rabbi David Oppenheim deduces from the Targum’s suggestion that Esther herself wrote the Megillah that women must be valid for writing the Megilah. A woman wrote the very first one! R. Oppenheim notes that this verse is used in the gemara (Megilah 19a) to derive halakhot. There the gemara asks “from where do we know that the Megilah requires parchment and ink? For it says (in one context) ‘and Esther the queen wrote,’ (and in another context) it is written ‘and I write on the scroll (parchment) and with ink.’” Using the rabbinic hermeneutical device of gezerah shavah the gemara deduces that the scroll of Esther must be on parchment and ink. R. Oppenheim reasons that if the gemara learns the halakhic details of parchment and ink from this verse, certainly we can learn that women are valid from the fact that it says Esther wrote.”
While R. Oppenheim uses Esther 9:29 as a proof that women are kesherot to write the Megillah, R. Meir Pearles reads that verse as a support for his position that women are pesulot. In his Megilat Sefer, R. Pearles argues that the Megillah has all the strictures of a Sefer Torah. In taking this position, he alludes to a Talmudic passage from Masekhet Megilah (16b). There Rabbi Tanhum and some say Rabbi Asi states that passage “words of peace and truth” in the Megillah teach us that the Megillah requires marking lines (shirtut) like “the truth of Torah.” R. Pearles argues that just as the Megillah requires shirtut so to all laws of Sifrei Torah apply to Megillat Esther. To strengthen his position he takes note that Esther 9:29 explicitly mentions that Mordecai also wrote the Megilah. R. Pearles suggests that had Mordekhai not assisted Esther, then the Megillah that they wrote would not have been valid. Based upon this reading he suggests that women are valid if the write with the assistance of a man. He finds support for this approach in the halakhot pertaining to sewing the parchments of the Megillat together. While the Sefer Torah needs to be sewn together only with animal tendons, the Megilah is kosher if it has three sections sewn together with tendons and the rest sewn together with linen. R. Pearles understands this halakhah to teach us that the writing of the Megilah is to be done basically as the writing of a Sefer Torah is done. However for the writing of the Megillah, the regulations need not be adhered to as strictly as for the Torah. The Megillah needs to be sewn with tendons, but not in its entirety, so too the Megillah needs to be written by a man, but not in its entirety. Esther’s contribution mentioned in Esther 9:29 does not invalidate the Megillah.
Rabbi Eliezer Waldenberg finds R. Pearles’ arguments unconvincing. He notes that the Megilat Sefer starts by suggesting that Megilat Esther has the same halakhot as a Sefer Torah. He then backtracks and suggests that megilat Esther does not quite have the same halakhic requirements as a Sefer Torah and may be written by a woman as long as she has help from a man. R. Waldenberg argues that wither the Megillah has the same requirements as a Sefer Torah or it does not. If it does not, then we must allow for the possibility that women are valid. R. Waldenberg finds R. Pearles’ reading of Esther 9:29 excessively casuistic.
V. An explicit mention of women being pesulot is absent in the codes.
Above we mentioned the Avnei Nezer’s objection to the Pri Megadim’s claim that women are valid to write Megillat Esther. Later the Avnei Nezer had second thoughts about his position. This change of mind was based on the fact that the Rambam omitted any mention of women being pesulot in his list of those who are pasul to write the Megilah. This Shulhan Arukh similarly omits women from his list of those who are pasul to write the megillah. Based on this other Ahronim also conclude that there is not pesul for women to write the megillah.
VI. Conclusion
A number of Ahronim write that women are invalid to write the Megillah. These include: the Maaseh Rokeah, R. Meir Pearles, R. Akiva Eiger, R Yosef Messas, Lishkat Hasofer , and the Shaarey Teshuvah. Nevertheless there is a strong trend in Halakhah to validate women to write Megillot. The Drishah would validate women to write all sacred texts save Tefilin. While the Shulhan Arukh disagrees with the Drishah, he omits women from his list of those who are pesulim to write the Megillah. A large number of major ahronim indeed rule either l’halakhah or l’ma’aseh that women are keshairot. These Ahronim include R. David Oppenheim, the Chida, the Pri Megadim, the Teshuvah Me’ahavah, the Sdei Hemed, the Arukh Hashulhan, the Avnei Nezer, the Beit Oved, and the Tzitz Eliezer. Given the number, stature, and compelling reasoning of these Ahronim, it seems that the weight of the halakhic discussion inclines toward permitting women to write megillot Esther for communal ritual use provided that they are competent in the requisite Halakhot."
This appeared in issue 42 of the Edah Journal in 2004 as well, followed by no less than 52 sources in his list of notes. He is truly the world authority on this subject. It's so great that his work is getting more attention & that both Jewish women & men are being duly educated about ways in which we can safely expand our practice while keeping our traditions intact.
Way to go, R' Ross!
Originally published at Netivat Sofrut February 2006.
Copyright A. Barclay
Sunday, March 08, 2009
MEGILAT ESTHER (2004) - מגילת אסתר
BS"D
Studying Mishneh Brurah Tav-Reysh-Tzadi-Alef with R' Ross Singer, my rabbi at Sha'arey Tefilah.
We've been studying the laws of writing and reading a Megilat Esther, partially for his own learning - he knows all about the reading part, just not the sofrut part - and partially for mine - as I know the sofrut part and not the laws pertaining to public kria.
We're going to have a public leyning of the brand new Megilat Esther I've written, by the men for the community the evening Purim comes in, then the next morning another public reading by the men for everybody, followed by the women reading for everybody! It's all very exciting for us to be practising our chanting for the first time! I've been honoured with reading Chapter 10, plus the after-blessing, B"H.
It's been both fun and fascinating. The speed and vocabulary of my Hebrew and Aramaic are both improving. One of the things we learned this week was that the Rama states, "It is our minhag (custom) to crown the letters (put tagin on them)". So there's a reliable Ashkenazi source supporting my crowning of letters, even though I'd already learned to do that from my Sofer and that if all the crowns in a Megilat Esther are omitted, it's still kosher. Also, the cheleq or piece of qlaf at the beginning & end of the Megilah, there's a maklokhet (difference of opinions) on that - "...but not to leave the cheleq basofah" - we're (Ashkenazim) careful to leave only the cheleq at the beginning, not at the end. Then in goes on to say that, "...the GRA (Vilna Ga'on) kvetches about this..." in other words, he disagrees and rules that a cheleq, or extra parchment not to be written on, must be left at both the beginning and the end of the Megilah. The Megilah qlaf I (ok - my Sofer) purchased has both, so that's good.
We also learned about the large Vav in "Va-yezata", the last of Haman's (BOO!) executed sons to be named in the amud (column). The Vav must be written "longer" says Mishneh Brurah, not "larger" as I have stated. Also, when the Megilah is leyned (chanted) on Purim, Mishneh Brurah states that one must lengthen the *sound* of that Vav as well - pronouncing it like "VVVVVVVVVVVayezata".
But it doesn't tell us why...
I *love* learning Torah!!!
---
Based on article originally published January 2004 at Netivat Sofrut
Copyright A. Barclay
Studying Mishneh Brurah Tav-Reysh-Tzadi-Alef with R' Ross Singer, my rabbi at Sha'arey Tefilah.
We've been studying the laws of writing and reading a Megilat Esther, partially for his own learning - he knows all about the reading part, just not the sofrut part - and partially for mine - as I know the sofrut part and not the laws pertaining to public kria.
We're going to have a public leyning of the brand new Megilat Esther I've written, by the men for the community the evening Purim comes in, then the next morning another public reading by the men for everybody, followed by the women reading for everybody! It's all very exciting for us to be practising our chanting for the first time! I've been honoured with reading Chapter 10, plus the after-blessing, B"H.
It's been both fun and fascinating. The speed and vocabulary of my Hebrew and Aramaic are both improving. One of the things we learned this week was that the Rama states, "It is our minhag (custom) to crown the letters (put tagin on them)". So there's a reliable Ashkenazi source supporting my crowning of letters, even though I'd already learned to do that from my Sofer and that if all the crowns in a Megilat Esther are omitted, it's still kosher. Also, the cheleq or piece of qlaf at the beginning & end of the Megilah, there's a maklokhet (difference of opinions) on that - "...but not to leave the cheleq basofah" - we're (Ashkenazim) careful to leave only the cheleq at the beginning, not at the end. Then in goes on to say that, "...the GRA (Vilna Ga'on) kvetches about this..." in other words, he disagrees and rules that a cheleq, or extra parchment not to be written on, must be left at both the beginning and the end of the Megilah. The Megilah qlaf I (ok - my Sofer) purchased has both, so that's good.
We also learned about the large Vav in "Va-yezata", the last of Haman's (BOO!) executed sons to be named in the amud (column). The Vav must be written "longer" says Mishneh Brurah, not "larger" as I have stated. Also, when the Megilah is leyned (chanted) on Purim, Mishneh Brurah states that one must lengthen the *sound* of that Vav as well - pronouncing it like "VVVVVVVVVVVayezata".
But it doesn't tell us why...
I *love* learning Torah!!!
---
Based on article originally published January 2004 at Netivat Sofrut
Copyright A. Barclay
Thursday, February 12, 2009
WOMEN TO EMULATE
The Alef-Bet as the Twenty-two Saintly Women in our history, each with a quality represented by a Hebrew letter inspired by Talmud Bavli Yoma 29a - Table of Correspondences:
1. Alef/א - Sarah - שרה - Genesis 11:29-23:19 – בראשית יא:כט–כד:יט
2. Bet/ב - Riv’qah – רבקה - Genesis 24:15-25:25 – בראשית כד:טו–כה:כה
3. Gimel/ג - Rachel – רחל - Genesis 29:6-35:16 – בראשית כט:ו–לה:יו
4. Dalet/ד - Le’ah – לאה - Genesis 29:16-49:31 – בראשית כט:יו–מט:לא
5. Hey/ה - Yokheved – יוכבד - Exodus 2:1, 6:20 - שמות ב:א, ו:כ; Numbers 26:59 – במדבר כו:נט
6. Vav/ו - Miriyam – מרים - Exodus 2:4-Numbers 20:1 – שמות ב:ד–במדבר כ:א
7. Zayin/ז - Machlah - מחלה - Numbers 27:1-7 – במדבר כז:א–ז
8. Chet/ח - No’ah - נעה - ibid.
9. Tet/ט - Chaglah – חגלה - ibid.
10. Yud/י - Milkah – מלכה - ibid.
11. Khaf/כ - Tirtzah – תרצה - ibid.
12. Lamed/ל - Devorah – דבורה - Judges 4:4-5:1 – שופטים ד:ד–ה:א
13. Mem/מ - Mano’ach’s wife/Shimshon’s mother –אשת מנוח/אם של שמשון - Judges 13:2 - שופטים יג:ב
14. Nun/נ - Chanah – חנה - I Samuel 1:2-2:21 – א שמואל א:ב–ב:כי
15. Samekh/ס -Avigayil – אביגיל - I Samuel 25:3-42 – א שמואל כה:ג–מ:ב
16. Ayin/ע - Woman of Tekoa - אשה מתקוע - II Samuel 14:2-20 – ב שמואל ד:ב–כ
17. Peh/פ - Widow of Tzar’fat - אלמנת צרפת - I Kings 17:9-24 – א מלכים יז:ט–כד
18. Tzadi/צ - the Shunamitess – השונמית - II Kings 4:8-8:6 – ב מלכים ד:ח–ח:ו
19. Quf/ק - Chuldah – חלדה - II Kings 22:14 - ב מלכים כב:יד; II Chronicles 34:24 - ב דברי הימים לד:כד
20. Reysh/ר - Naomi – נעמי - The Book of Ruth – מגילת רות
21. Shin/ש - Yehosheva - יהושבע - II Kings 1:2 - ב מלכים א:ב; II Chronicles 22:11 - ב דברי הימים כב:יא
22. Tav/ת - Queen Esther – אסתר המלכה - The Book of Esther – מגילת אסתר
---
Based on article originally published November 2004 at:
http://soferet.blogspot.com/2004/11/bsd-women-to-emulate-alef-bet-as.html
Copyright A. Barclay
1. Alef/א - Sarah - שרה - Genesis 11:29-23:19 – בראשית יא:כט–כד:יט
2. Bet/ב - Riv’qah – רבקה - Genesis 24:15-25:25 – בראשית כד:טו–כה:כה
3. Gimel/ג - Rachel – רחל - Genesis 29:6-35:16 – בראשית כט:ו–לה:יו
4. Dalet/ד - Le’ah – לאה - Genesis 29:16-49:31 – בראשית כט:יו–מט:לא
5. Hey/ה - Yokheved – יוכבד - Exodus 2:1, 6:20 - שמות ב:א, ו:כ; Numbers 26:59 – במדבר כו:נט
6. Vav/ו - Miriyam – מרים - Exodus 2:4-Numbers 20:1 – שמות ב:ד–במדבר כ:א
7. Zayin/ז - Machlah - מחלה - Numbers 27:1-7 – במדבר כז:א–ז
8. Chet/ח - No’ah - נעה - ibid.
9. Tet/ט - Chaglah – חגלה - ibid.
10. Yud/י - Milkah – מלכה - ibid.
11. Khaf/כ - Tirtzah – תרצה - ibid.
12. Lamed/ל - Devorah – דבורה - Judges 4:4-5:1 – שופטים ד:ד–ה:א
13. Mem/מ - Mano’ach’s wife/Shimshon’s mother –אשת מנוח/אם של שמשון - Judges 13:2 - שופטים יג:ב
14. Nun/נ - Chanah – חנה - I Samuel 1:2-2:21 – א שמואל א:ב–ב:כי
15. Samekh/ס -Avigayil – אביגיל - I Samuel 25:3-42 – א שמואל כה:ג–מ:ב
16. Ayin/ע - Woman of Tekoa - אשה מתקוע - II Samuel 14:2-20 – ב שמואל ד:ב–כ
17. Peh/פ - Widow of Tzar’fat - אלמנת צרפת - I Kings 17:9-24 – א מלכים יז:ט–כד
18. Tzadi/צ - the Shunamitess – השונמית - II Kings 4:8-8:6 – ב מלכים ד:ח–ח:ו
19. Quf/ק - Chuldah – חלדה - II Kings 22:14 - ב מלכים כב:יד; II Chronicles 34:24 - ב דברי הימים לד:כד
20. Reysh/ר - Naomi – נעמי - The Book of Ruth – מגילת רות
21. Shin/ש - Yehosheva - יהושבע - II Kings 1:2 - ב מלכים א:ב; II Chronicles 22:11 - ב דברי הימים כב:יא
22. Tav/ת - Queen Esther – אסתר המלכה - The Book of Esther – מגילת אסתר
---
Based on article originally published November 2004 at:
http://soferet.blogspot.com/2004/11/bsd-women-to-emulate-alef-bet-as.html
Copyright A. Barclay
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Jewish Orthodox Feminism - יְהוּדִית אוֹרְתּוֹדוֹקְסִי פֶמִינִיזְם
BS"D
Goal: to be a radical figure in an orthodox tradition while exemplifying the orthodox tradition, thereby dismantling both the liberal feminist model of "working within the system" meaning "adopting a male gender role" and the radical feminist model of "curse it all, I'm going to worship a tree" (G@d forbid!).
A difficult balance to achieve, but well worth it.
May Ha-Shem guide me.
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Cross-posted on Facebook
Goal: to be a radical figure in an orthodox tradition while exemplifying the orthodox tradition, thereby dismantling both the liberal feminist model of "working within the system" meaning "adopting a male gender role" and the radical feminist model of "curse it all, I'm going to worship a tree" (G@d forbid!).
A difficult balance to achieve, but well worth it.
May Ha-Shem guide me.
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Cross-posted on Facebook
Monday, December 15, 2008
Enlarged and Diminished Letters in Torah: Series Introduction
BS"D
Rabbi Hayim David HaLevi, z"l (1924/5-1998), the former Chief Sefardi Rabbi of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, was a Kabbalist who wrote many volumes of wise commentary, including "Mekor Hayim HaShalem" (The Complete Source of Life), a comprehensive code of Jewish Law. He was born in Jerusalem and studied under Rabbi Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel at Porat Yosef Yeshivah.
In R’ HaLevi’s 9-Volume series of She’elot and Teshuvot (Jewish legal responsa) entitled "Aseh L’khah Rav" (In the Manner of the Rav), in Vol. 5 he begins the book with a section entitled “Quntres Torah Min Hashamaim" (Booklet of Heavenly Torah). In that section beginning on page 58 you will find the piece on the big and small letters.
R’ HaLevi tells us that whenever we encounter a small letter in our writings, that this indicates a person in the narrative has missed the mark. That s/he made a less than ideal choice. Had the right intention, but sinned, perhaps. The diminutive letter is there to draw our attention to it and to ask questions. Ultimately, to learn from the mistakes of our ancestors.
And where a letter appears enlarged in our Holy texts, R' HaLevi teaches us that this is where G@d has gifted us with a deed of extra loving kindness. This is to teach us gratitude, awe, and knowledge of our dependence on the One G@d from Whom everything comes.
Ameyn selah.
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Originally begun 2006, from Netivat Sofrut
Cross-posted on Facebook
Copyright A. Barclay, all rights reserved.
Rabbi Hayim David HaLevi, z"l (1924/5-1998), the former Chief Sefardi Rabbi of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, was a Kabbalist who wrote many volumes of wise commentary, including "Mekor Hayim HaShalem" (The Complete Source of Life), a comprehensive code of Jewish Law. He was born in Jerusalem and studied under Rabbi Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel at Porat Yosef Yeshivah.
In R’ HaLevi’s 9-Volume series of She’elot and Teshuvot (Jewish legal responsa) entitled "Aseh L’khah Rav" (In the Manner of the Rav), in Vol. 5 he begins the book with a section entitled “Quntres Torah Min Hashamaim" (Booklet of Heavenly Torah). In that section beginning on page 58 you will find the piece on the big and small letters.
R’ HaLevi tells us that whenever we encounter a small letter in our writings, that this indicates a person in the narrative has missed the mark. That s/he made a less than ideal choice. Had the right intention, but sinned, perhaps. The diminutive letter is there to draw our attention to it and to ask questions. Ultimately, to learn from the mistakes of our ancestors.
And where a letter appears enlarged in our Holy texts, R' HaLevi teaches us that this is where G@d has gifted us with a deed of extra loving kindness. This is to teach us gratitude, awe, and knowledge of our dependence on the One G@d from Whom everything comes.
Ameyn selah.
---
Originally begun 2006, from Netivat Sofrut
Cross-posted on Facebook
Copyright A. Barclay, all rights reserved.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
SOFERET S"M - סופרת ס''ם
BS"D
To read my blog about life, Torah, safrut & feminism, check Netivat Sofrut.
To learn more about Jewish scribal arts for women, please go to Sofrut Nation.
Blessings!
To read my blog about life, Torah, safrut & feminism, check Netivat Sofrut.
To learn more about Jewish scribal arts for women, please go to Sofrut Nation.
Blessings!
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