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Women Are Rewriting the Role of Torah Scribe

JL;DR SUMMARY Women scribes are revolutionizing Jewish tradition as they take on the historically male domain of Torah writing. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish TraditionJewish CommunityFeminismLiberal JudaismWomenGender EqualityTorah ScribeJen Taylor FriedmanSofrotWriting Torah

Places mentioned

Penn Valley, Pennsylvania, United States
"as fellow congregants looked on and sunlight shone through the soaring sanctuary windows at Beth Am Israel in Penn Valley, Pa., a Philadelphia suburb."
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom
"is writing this Torah over the course of a year, mostly from her home in Cambridge, England."
New Jersey, United States
"a New Jersey Jewish educator, calligrapher and sometime Taylor Friedman collaborator"
Brazil
"There is also Rachel Reichhardt of Brazil, the first woman in Latin America to receive a scribal diploma,"
Buenos Aires, Argentina
"the first woman in Latin America to receive a scribal diploma, from the Latin American Rabbinic Seminary in Buenos Aires"
Eugene, Oregon, United States
"a retired rabbi living in Eugene, Ore., who has led myriad congregations in scroll production through her Community Torah Project"
Portland, Oregon, United States
"and Shoshana Gugenheim Kedem, a Portland, Oregon-based American Israeli scribe and artist"
Seattle, Washington, United States
"created for the Kadima Reconstructionist Community of Seattle."
Southampton, United Kingdom
"Taylor Friedman grew up in Southampton, England"
New York City, New York, United States
"After studying at a yeshiva in Israel, Taylor Friedman moved to New York City with her first husband, where she became known for her scribing of megillot."
St. Louis, Missouri, United States
"a commission for United Hebrew Congregation, a St. Louis Reform synagogue."
Cleveland, Ohio, United States
"and Bec Richman, a Cleveland-based rabbi and artist mentored by Taylor Friedman who is now scribing her first scroll."

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Cairo Item ID 67545
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Retrieved 2025-11-21 05:31:23 UTC
Curated 2025-11-21 08:30:50 UTC