CCAR RESPONSA
New American Reform Responsa
135. Prerequisite for a Sofer
QUESTION: What training or characteristics must a sofer (scribe) possess in order to fulfill the traditional requirements? (Rabbi James S. Glazier, South Burlington VT)ANSWER: In the past, two categories of sofrim existed. Some acted as notaries and also kept the records for the rabbinic court while others dealt with the text of the Torah, the tefillin, megilot, and mezuzot. We, of course, are dealing with the latter kind of sofer. Although every Jew is obligated to write a Torah scroll for himself (Ex 15.2; Shab 133b; Shulhan Arukh Yoreh Deah 270.1), most have found the personal and technical requirements too difficult. Sofrim were therefore engaged for the task and the individual who involved them often wrote a symbolic word or phrase of the last column. In ancient times the community, of course, depended entirely upon the sofer for its written material and so a scholar was not to live in a community which did not have a sofer (San 17b). The qualifications of a sofer fall into two categories, skill and piety. A sofer must reproduce the script of the Torah accurately and may never do so from memory but must always follow a written copy which is before him and follow the very precise specifications which govern the shape of the letters, the paragraph divisions, the column length and width, etc. (Er 13a; Meg 18b; Shulhan Arukh Yoreh Deah 274: 1 ff). In addition he must concentrate on his work and think about the divine name appropriately whenever he writes it, so that the act of writing does not occur mechanically (Shab 104a). This demands an unusual degree of piety. If a sofer is a non-believer then the Torah which he writes should be destroyed (Yad Yesodei Hatorah 6.8). The individual who writes a Torah or prepares the other documents must be an adult male (Git 45b; Shulhan Arukh Yoreh Deah 281.3) and Jewish (M Git 4.6; 45b; J A Z 2.2 Shulhan Arukh Yoreh Deah 281.2). Women are excluded from the act of writing many of their ritual objects (Git 45b) by tradition, although the scroll of Esther is not included in that prohibition (Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayim 691.2; Meyer Perls Teshuvah Meahavah #2). The sofer possessed an honored status within the Jewish community, the Biblical Ezra was known as a sofer as were some great Talmudic authorities as Meir. In later times that was rarely accompanied by adequate compensation and most sofrim were poor. In addition, the sofer, of course, must be technically qualified (Ezrat Sofer 1769; Tikun Sofrim 1874; Sefer Midinei Ketib Tefilin (ed) Dubno; L. Low Graphische Requisiten und Erzeugnisse bei den Juden). The ink, the writing tools and the parchment are all carefully prescribed. Although the sofer is not responsible for the preparation of the parchment, he must be able to test its appropriateness. In addition he is responsible for all other ingredients for the ink, utensils, etc. It would be perfectly possible to train modern sofrim both male and female. Many would probably wish to engage in the preparation of more decorative items like ketubot as so many couples seek them. We should be certain that this work does not influence their efforts as Torah scribes.June 1988
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