ABOUT THE EVENT

For the Sanctity of the Torah Scroll: Imbuing Holiness through Intentional Action

A Torah Scroll is the most sacred ritual object in Judaism. The halaḥah, Jewish law, regarding the creation of a Torah scroll and the reverence accorded to it thereafter, is extensive. Starting with the selection of raw materials, continuing through the processing of hides, the brewing of ink, and the actual writing of the scroll, the entire process of making a Torah is one of consciously and deliberately vesting the object with holiness. Join Torah Scribe Ariela Housman to learn about the Jewish law, the religious ethos, and the art of making a Torah scroll.

Ariela Housman (she/her/hers) has been a calligraphy enthusiast since 1995 and and a professional since 2003. In 2015 she began studying hilḥot safrut (Jewish scribal laws) with Jen Taylor Friedman, the first woman documented to have scribed a Torah scroll. In 2021 Ariela accepted a commission from Temple Beth Shalom in Needham, MA, a Reform congregation, to write a Torah for them. She completed the scroll in 2024, the eighth woman documented to have done so. Since then she has been repairing scrolls written by other scribes.

Ariela writes in the Spanish Portuguese scribal hand, one of only three scribes in the world currently doing so, and the only one to have written a Torah in it, at least so far. She looks forward to the swelling of those ranks.

In her other professional hat, Ariela does art and calligraphy relating to works of speculative fiction and fandom. Her art has garnered three nominations for the Hugo Award.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Ariela Housman