Spit I V . N OVER Writing History from page A36 select Jen because she is a woman, and we wanted to support her," Sleutelberg said. "Also, she is a great match for our congre- gation and we will be proud to have her Torah in use at Shir Tikvah." The Torah was commissioned "because we need a Sefer Torah that is in really good shape for weekly readings," he said. The synagogue now has three other Sefer Torahs, which Sleutelberg said "came to us used and are very old and need to be used less frequently" The project is also "a wonderful way to add a spiritual component to our 25th year:' he said. "(And) it is a great oppor- tunity for in-depth Torah study related to the writing of the scroll." Neil Yerman, a New York scribe, is assisting Shir Tikvah's project. Rabbi Levi Kagan at the completion and dedication of a new Torah at Congregation T'chiyah in Oak Park earlier this year. But Is It Kosher? Some may embrace the idea of a woman Torah scribe, yet there are those who adhere to the interpretation that a Torah should be written by a man. "Ever since Moshe Rabeinu [Moses] wrote the first Torah, they have always been written by men:' said longtime sofer, Rabbi Levi Kagan of Oak Park. "In the Shema, it says those who are obligated to wear tefillin can write them. Women are not obligated to wear them. And whoever cannot write tefillin can't write anything else, like a mezuzah — and not a Torah. It would be disgraceful, appalling for a woman to write a Torah." He maintains, however, that many women are extremely knowledgeable about the process and can well serve as advisers or consultants. Adds Rabbi Elimelech Silberberg of the Sara and Morris Tugman Bais Chabad Torah Center of West Bloomfield, "A wom- an's obligation to study Torah is based on her need to observe the commandments, whereas a man's obligation to study Torah is based on a specific commandment to study Torah that is totally independent of his obligation to perform mitzvot. According to the normative opinion in the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law), a Torah must be written by someone who has an obligation to study purely for the sake of the mitzvah of Torah study." Taylor Friedman fully understands these concerns, and is careful to ensure that those who commission her work are aware as well. On her Web site blog (geniza. net) she writes: "According to normative Orthodox Halachah as it is currently for- mulated, if I write tefillin or mezuzot, they will be pasul (unfit for use)." But because she says she has accepted upon herself the obligation of wearing tefillin, those who hold that that makes her as obligated as a man would be okay with her writing. "If you hold that my writing is consis- tent with your belief system, I will write A36 December 6 2007 to become a soferet "for some grandiose political reason." "The political stuff is basically a side effect:' she wrote on her Web site. "I dis- covered that I had all these skills, which meant that being a scribe is a good job for me, and the politics come out of that. Torah first, politics second." Sleutelberg puts the writing of the new Torah for Shir Tikvah in a category he calls mountain-top experiences in the career of a rabbi:' including rabbinic ordination, building a house of prayer, mentoring a young rabbi and serving a congregation for a generation. "How awed I am to be one of Shir Tikvah's rabbis as we embark on our 25th year as a congregation, my 20th as a rabbi, and the year we together write our own new Torah scroll:' he said. "When each of us gets our turn to take the feather quill in our hand and write a letter on the parchment, a sense of con- nectedness to thousands of years of tradi- tion will be palpable. I am thrilled to walk this path together, as we enable those who follow us for hundreds of years to engage with the Torah we shall write." (( Rabbi Sleutelberg Rabbi Silberberg for you, provided you understand that on certain opinions it will not be kosher, and provided you appreciate that:' she wrote. "For example, giving a mezuzah by me to an Orthodox Jew without telling them I wrote it would be really, really mean." Kagan, who is Orthodox, was certified as a sofer by an Israeli rabbi, but says cer- tification — which is gained through test- ing of laws pertaining to the work — is not necessary. Although Taylor Friedman, who belongs to both Conservative and Orthodox syna- gogues, doesn't hold an official certifica- tion, she says her teacher, a certified sofer in Jerusalem, was satisfied with her skills. She has found acceptance of her work within the Conservative movement. "In egalitarian Conservative Judaism, women can be obligated to the mitz- vot, too',' said Rabbi Eric Yanoff of Congregation Shaarey Zedek of Oakland County. "And according to the Talmud and traditional legal codes, someone who is obligated to use these sacred articles — including tefillin and the Torah scroll — is eligible to partake in the mitzvah of writing them." Says Sleutelberg, "As we understand the world of sofrut, one is a Sefer Torah sofer (or soferet) after having completed a Sefer Torah. Jen is certified on that basis by hav- ing written an entire scroll for a congre- gation in St. Louis. We are an egalitarian Rabbi Yanoff congregation. We selected the best scribe we could find who fit the philosophy of our congregation. We're delighted that she happens to be a woman, the only female Torah scribe in the world ever." Taylor Friedman knows other women scribes, but none have written a Torah. "I know a couple of women who do bits of Torahs, and at least one who started an entire one, but it fizzled out:' she said. "A few work in restoration." There's Even More To Jen In addition to the Torah, Taylor Friedman, who works out of her apartment, writes tefillin, megillot, mezuzot and ketubot. She also teaches scribing classes and created a Jewish loan society for tefillin that, unlike most others, lends to women. Her work doesn't always go smoothly, as she refers to her "bad quill days" and occa- sional stiff hand. She also is the designer of "Tefillin Barbie," a transformed Mattel doll that wears a tallit, tefillin and holds a siddur and a volume of Talmud. She says the doll garnered reactions ranging from "seri- ously disturbing" to "a witty comment on contemporary American Jewish life." Last month, the New York-based Forward included Taylor Friedman in their annual Forward 50 list of people making a difference in American Jewish life. She maintains that she didn't decide To make a reservation to hear Jen Taylor Friedman speak on "One Woman's Torah: The Journey of a Female Torah Scribe" at 10 a.m., Sunday, Dec. 9, call Rabbi Aaron Starr at (248) 649-4418 or e-mail rabbiaaron@shirtikvah.org . The program, co-sponsored by the synagogue's Sisterhood and Lifelong Learning Committee, and underwrit- ten by Torah Alive! sponsors, will take place at Congregation Shir Tikvah, 3900 Northfield Parkway, Troy. No charge. The community also is welcome at the 10 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 8, Shabbat service at Shir Tikvah, where Taylor Friedman will give a d'var Torah.