Soferet (film)

Soferet: A Special Scribe
Soferet: A Special Scribe
	Aviel Barclay writing a Torah scroll
Directed by	Donna and Daniel Zuckerbrot
Produced by	Donna and Daniel Zuckerbrot
Cinematography	Andrew Binnington
Edited by	Michèle Hozer
Music by	Aaron Davis; John Lang
Release date	May 2006;
Running time	48 min.
Countries	Canada; Israel; United States
Language	English

Soferet: A Special Scribe is a 2006 television 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 became the world's first known traditionally trained female scribe in October 2003.^[1]^[2] The film explores the importance of the Torah in Jewish life, the perfection required to execute a kosher Torah scroll, and a feminist perspective on the battle waged by some Jewish women to assume responsibilities traditionally reserved for men.

Summary

Barclay was born into a Christian family in Prince George, Canada.^[3] As a girl, she enjoyed calligraphy and taught herself the letters of the Hebrew alphabet by the age of 10.^[3] She converted to Judaism as an adult and joined the Orthodox Jewish community.^[3] The film chronicles Aviel Barclay studying to become a sofer (Jewish scribe) in Orthodox Judaism.