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Becoming a Scribe

The Ghriba synagogue

It was when sojourning on the Island of Jerba that I was initiated into the work of the sofer. Djerba is a tiny island on the African shore of the Mediterranean Sea. According to local tradition, a group of Israelites and Cohanim were deported to Djerba at the end of the First Commonwealth. In the middle of the island, a fabulous synagogue from time immemorial stands known as the Gribah1. The Griba is adorned with blue and green mosaique tile "reminiscent of the sea, the sea reminding us of the sky, and the sky summoning up the command of G-d." Before treading on the mat of gilded straw which covers the floor of the sanctuary, shoes are removed. One sits crosslegged, appeased by the flickering oil lamps, and rocked in serenity by the rhythmic cantillation of the psalms. This place unifies the mind and body as it unifies with the same veneration and endearment Jews and Muslims. 

At reverent distance from the Griba, two Jewish villages have kept the Shechina2 in this African land, now deserted of her Jewish children. The Hara Kebira3 is inhabited by Israelites while the Hara Zerira4 is inhabited by Cohanim5. It was in Hara Kebira that I had the good fortune to accept the hospitality of Ribbi6 Haim Madar, a sofer7 who manufactures tefilin8, and writes mezuzoth9 and Sifrey Torah.

When a Sefer Torah is ordered, Ribbi Haim prepares the parchment by himself. He first soaks the hides of a hundred sheep in a large pond of water for three consecutive days. The water is drawn from the well to the pond through a noria10 run by a camel. For another ten days the skins are soaked in the pond, but this time with lime mixed in the water which allows the wool and the meat left on the skin to be removed. Then they are taken from the water and sprinkled with salt and barley flour. After a few weeks the leather is softened by soaking in gallnut11 water. This last action is called tanning because it gives the skin its beautiful yellow-brown color.

While Ribbi Haim works he reminds himself of the purpose of his work by repeating "Le-shem Sefer Torah," "destined for the Sefer Torah," so joining the speech to the thought and the thought to the movement of the hand.

He squares off the skin by cutting uneven edges off. Then he scores the skin by tracing with a ruler and a stylus the line which will guide the hand of the sofer. To enhance the beauty of the Sefer Torah, the halacha requires margins at the top, bottom and between columns. Every yeriah12 may have three or four columns.

Well before sunrise, Ribbi Haim goes to immerse himself in a pool of spring water: the Mikveh. After the morning prayers at the synagogue, he studies for an hour with some young disciples. Then Ribbi Haim is ready for his labor. My host dips his reed, taken from a bamboo tree, in a black ink that he prepares with the ashes of gallnut tree wood, gum arabic and copper sulphate. Everyday, seated crosslegged, the skin stretched on his thigh, Ribbi Haim copies the word of G-d saying, "Le-shem Ketivath Sefer Torah," "For the purpose of writing a Sefer Torah."

When the Torah is finished being written, the task of authenticating the scroll is just beginning. One of his sons reads aloud and spells the text of the Torah while Ribbi Haim verifies word by word in the scroll, correcting when needed. The sheets of parchment are then sewn together with a thread made of sheep ligament. The scroll is now ready to be brought like a bride under the Hupah13 to the synagogue to which it is destined. The first year, the new scroll will be read every Shabbath. After that it will be a matter of chance, since "everything depends on chance, even the Sefer Torah in the tabernacle."

Years have passed. Ribbi Haim has aged and is today the Chief Rabbi in the capital in Tunis. But every Friday he flies back to Djerba, the modernity helping him to continue the tradition. In the village of Hara Kebira, one of his sons has assumed his calling and writes new Sifrey Torah. And, inspired by his example, I have become a sofer here in Los Angeles.

Carrying on an ancient craft

1 Literally "the stranger."

2 The presence of G-d. From the Hebrew "Sh-ch-n:" dwelling.

3 "The big village."

4 "The small village."

5 Priests

6 The Oriental Jews have retained the original pronunciation of "Ribbi:" `the one who makes grow,` rather than the pronunciation "Rabbi" meaning `master`

7 A scribe who writes torah scrolls, mezuzoth and tefillin.

8 Small leather boxes containing five sections of the Torah on parchments.

9 A parchment fixed to the doorposts with the Shma Yisrael inscribed on it

10 A noria is a device made of a series of buckets on a wheel used to raise water.

11 Oak apple

12 Parchment page

13 Bridal canopy