Education
If you would like a real live Sofer S"TaM
to come and speak to your community then it’s a case of ‘have quill will travel’ (well within reason). I’ve given many talks, lectures and educational/hands on sessions for both adults and children, Jews and non-Jews who I find are fascinated by the art of sofrut. From sessions at cheder
to addressing creatives at an advertising agency, hopefully there is something to learn in sofrut
that will appeal to everyone.
I have also done remote sessions over zoom
(since Covid-19) if you would like to do something internationally or can't get everyone together physically, for example above for Malborough College.
Available sessions:
The Work of the Sofer - the materials, rules and methods involved in creating and fixing Sifrey Torah, t'fillin, m'zuzot and m'gillot. A demonstration of the basics which can also include a hands on practical on forming the letters (worksheet master supplied for copying).
Care of your Torah - a more in depth powerpoint presentation showing the sorts of issues one has to look for when looking after your Torah complete with many examples of pasul (non-kosher) Sifrey Torah. based in part on my book of the same title.
Visual Midrash - sessions around the meaning and significance in the scribal oddities in the Torah, large letters, small letters, bent letters, strange tagin, dots, and other special forms.
Sofrut Halachah - sessions around the laws of sofrut - chok tochot, mukaf g’vil, k’sidran etc (advanced).
The Sixth M'gillah - the creation of the sixth m'gillah - M'gillat Hashoah, the first new scroll in over 1,500 years. Examine in detail the visual midrashim that add meaning to the text and that there is no such thing as a co-incidence.
Restoring the Tyburn M'gillah - a powepoint examining the repair work to this special m'gillah owned by the Tyburn nuns and looking at the parallels between Tyburn and the Purim story. Based on my book of the same name.
Recreating M'gillat B'ney Chashmonay - an examination of the new tikkun I created for this scroll that was once read in many communities on Shabbat Chanukah best known as M'gillat Antiochus. Discussed in detail on in my book.
Siyyumim - completion ceremony for new or extensively repaired Sifrey Torah. Obviously I tend to do these for Sifrey Torah I have worked with, but can also run these for scrolls where another sofer is not able to attend for whatever reason.
Not entirely sofrut related (but illustrated with many manuscript examples), I also give talks on Jewish Business Ethics around subjects raised by Psalm 15 as discussed in my book Tam.
Tailored sessions considered on request.
Contact me by clicking here or the button below.
