Netivat Sofrut: diary of a Soferet

Adventures of a female sofer learning to heal the world by doing Holy Work...writing a Sefer Torah

נחזיר את השכינה למקומה בצייון ובתבל כלה

"Let us restore the Divine In-Dwelling to Her Place in Zion & infuse Her spirit throughout the whole inhabited world."

So wherever we are, let us bring the Peace of G@d's Presence.

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Location: Vancouver/London, British Columbia/UK, Canada

SCRIBAL EVANGELIST As the only living certified Soferet (סופרת - female Jewish ritual scribe) & the first woman to practice sofrut (creation of sacred Hebrew texts) in over 200 years, I feel an obligation to blog about my experiences of The Work. I am also currently researching the foundation of a lost tradtion of women practicing this holy craft. For more on the services I provide, please see Soferet.com; Sofrut Nation. I am now available to engage with students, male or female, wishing to enter into the preliminary stage of learning sofrut. You are welcome to join me on this path. "Tzedeq, tzedeq tir'dof - Justice, justice you shall pursue." Devarim/Deuteronomy 16:20.

Thursday, September 15, 2005

KOL HAKAVOD LE-ZAKA!

בס"ד


11 Elul

I saw an orca today rolling over & over in the ocean, just having fun. It was so beautiful. Then I got an e-mail from my rabbi telling of the heroic rescue of Sifrei Torah from a flooded synagogue in New Orleans.
Check out their web site! There are incredible pictures!

ZAKA RESCUES DAMAGED TORAH SCROLLS FROM NEW ORLEANS

In a dramatic rescue operation, Mr. Isaac Leider, of the New York ZAKA
Rescue & Recovery Organization, waded through waist-deep toxic floodwaters
yesterday with six Torah scrolls from Congregation Beth Israel, an Orthodox
synagogue in New Orleans. A few of the Torah scrolls are believed to be more
than 250 years old.

"Out of six, only two are possibly restorable," Leider said, as he sat in an
inflatable rescue boat with the Torah scrolls he recovered. "I'm glad that
we did this, but I'm terribly saddened. It's hard to see them in this
condition." The scrolls are blackened from the toxic water and severely
damaged. (A Torah scroll, which is entirely handwritten, can cost over $35,000.)

Mr. Leider, who spent five years with ZAKA's search-and-rescue squad in
Israel, arrived in New Orleans last week to ensure that the bodies of Jews
killed by Hurricane Katrina are treated in accordance with Jewish religious law.

In the operation to rescue the Torah scrolls, Mr. Leider was joined by
members of the National Guard and other volunteers who were brought by ZAKA
in a private helicopter from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. The helicopter
landed a few blocks away from the synagogue, and an inflatable boat was used
to transport ZAKA volunteers to Congregation Beth Israel.

Since the Israel-based charity organization, ZAKA, is strapped for cash,
Agudath Israel of America partially funded the operation.

Upon opening the ark, Mr. Leider burst into tears as he removed the Torah
scrolls, all of them drenched. The scrolls were subsequently handed over to
representatives of the synagogue in Baton Rouge.
 
 
ZAKA Rescue & Recovery
1-877-ZAKA-911
www.zakausa.org

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