Soferet is a 2005 documentary about Aviel Barclay, who studied to become a sofer, which is a traditionally male position transcribing Jewish Hebrew texts. The documentary explains how she overcame discrimination to become "the world’s only known, traditionally trained female scribe." The film explores the importance of the Torah in Jewish life, the perfection required to execute a kosher Torah scroll and the uphill battle Jewish women face in gai...
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Soferet is a 2005 documentary about Aviel Barclay, who studied to become a sofer, which is a traditionally male position transcribing Jewish Hebrew texts. The documentary explains how she overcame discrimination to become "the world’s only known, traditionally trained female scribe." The film explores the importance of the Torah in Jewish life, the perfection required to execute a kosher Torah scroll and the uphill battle Jewish women face in gaining equality.
Aviel Barclay was born a church-going Christian in Prince George, Canada. But she never felt entirely comfortable in Church and, as a young adult, began to study different religions. Judaism appealed to her, so she converted and decided to live as a traditionally-observant Orthodox Jew.
In her new life, Aviel recalls that even as a child she became fascinated with the Hebrew alphabet after seeing Fiddler on the Roof on film. A child inspired, she taught herself to write Hebrew letters using a calligraphy set her mother had...
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