Today the Bnei Mitzvah group had the pleasure of visiting Bernard Benarroch Sofer STaM at his practice in Golders Green. As mentioned in this last weeks newsletter a Sofer is a scribe, STaM meaning the following - S is for Sefrei Torah, while the T stands for Tefillin and the M stands for Mezzuza. A Sofer Stam is is someone who specialises in making, writing and repairing all of these holy items.
We were all fascinated on how the Sifrei Torah are written on parchment and how the parchment is prepared all the way to how the goose and turkey quills are used to write the words that have been passed down for centuries in the same manner that they have always been.
Benji Lurie “I found it fascinating because we learnt how it was made and how the Mezzuzah and Torah are written”
Jasmine Chadwick “It was very interesting, especially the part on how they removed the hair from the animal with acid from limes and how they write on the other side of the skin, not the hair side”
Annabella Rosen “I was amazed to find out how long it actually took to write a Torah - on average 9 Months, wow!... I also enjoyed feeling the parchment before it is written on”
We would like to thank Bernard for his time and patience on explaining the tradition that has been around for thousands of years. Our Bnei Mitzvah group were extremely grateful for having the opportunity to learn about our tradition.
After hearing, seeing and feeling many of the items and learning how they are made we ended off the day at the Headroom Cafe in Golders Green where we enjoyed Milkshakes and pancakes. The Cafe is run by JAMI the Mental Health Awareness charity which EBMC is working closely with. Thank you to Warren Traeger for your kind Hospitality.
If you would like to become part of our growing synagogue with a dynamic Bnei Mitzvah programme run by Jay Dor and NOAM then please don’t hesitate to get in touch. ebmc.chairs@gmail.com