It is because I like letter forms and am fascinated with their power to function as transmitters of meaning that I became a sofer stam. Sofer is Hebrew for scribe and Stam is an acronym standing for sefer torah, tefilin, and mezuzot,

A torah scroll is the Five Books of Moses, the first five books of the Hebrew scriptures, handwritten on kosher [religiously fit] parchment. Tefilin are little boxes made of leather, painted black, containing excerpts from the scroll worn tied with black leather straps on the forehead and arm during morning prayers, usually by more traditional Jewish men. A mezuzah is a container also containing excerpts from torah attached to doorposts of Jewish homes. So a sofer stam writes Jewish sacred scrolls of these three types and also might write other biblical books in a similar style. I have also written a scroll of Jonah and a scroll of Esther.

It was because I thought it would be an interesting experience for the children in our Congregation’s Religion School that I decided to write this mezuzah. I prepared by having a special ritual wash called tevilah, which is symbolic of spiritual purification. Not only must the sacred scroll be written in a certain way prescribed by Jewish religious law, halakhah, but even the person who writes it must also be spiritually pure as well as know what they are doing. There is also a special b’rakhah [blessing or benediction] to recite before I began, a declaration that it is only for the holiness of the mezuzah that I am dedicating myself to do the work. It is a sacred act.

Then I looked for a special piece of klaf, kosher parchment from my store of kosher materials. I also found three turkey feathers from my store, which I cut to make quills to write the letters with. There are two quills with their tips the same width across, one with the vanes left on for the ordinary words and one with its vanes stripped off, leaving a bare shaft, which is used only for the Divine Name, the holy tetragrammaton. The other quill I cut with its tip twice as broad for the two majuscules. Majuscules are larger letters and there are two on the mezuzah text, the letters ‘ayin and dalet in the first verse of the shma’, Deuteronomy 6, 4 – 9, which is the first paragraph of the mezuzah text.

 

There is a ritual before the sofer writes any sacred letter at all. Before the scribe starts work it is necessary to write the name ‘amalek and then blot it out, in accordance with Deuteronomy 25, 17 – 19, whilst saying in Hebrew the words from that verse; ‘You shall blot out the name of ‘amalek from under the heavens, do not forget! This means that I have actually poured out a little ink. The kosher ink is specially prepared from vegetable matter only. I use fourteen drops mixed with one drop of water in my inkwell. I mix the ink, perform the ‘amalek ritual and then recite the initial declaration, in Hebrew; ‘Behold, I am writing this mezuzah for the sake of the sanctity of the mezuzah!’

I immediately write the Hebrew letters shin and mem then wipe the tip of the quill clean with a piece of kitchen towel, pick up the quill already prepared with the larger tip and write the large ‘ayin. Then I wipe clean the tip of the large quill, pick up the ordinary size quill and write the letters of the next word, yisrael. Then I change quills to use the one with the bare shaft, specially prepared for the writing of God’s name. I recite another special b’rakhah declaring that I am writing it solely for the sanctity of the Divine Name. Then I write the three names of God found in that verse with it and also the two names of God found at the beginning of the next line. Then I wipe the tip of that quill clean, pick up the quill for ordinary words and write the aleph and het. Then I clean the tip and put it down, pick up the large quill and write a large dalet to complete the word ehad, Hebrew for ‘one’. Then I change quills again to the normal size and continue with the ordinary words, changing over when I come to the Divine name. When I have come to the end I leave it for the ink to dry. The next day I turn it over and write the Divine names on the other side in their special places in their special ways. The Name most people know is shaddai, often translated as Almighty, though some say it stands for shomer delatot yisrael Hebrew for Guardian of the doorways of Israel.

 

As I finish I experience a sense of the presence of the shekhinah the indwelling presence of God, pervading the entire building, being with us as if inspecting the sacred scroll which has just come into being. Again, I leave the ink to dry, preferably for a few days, before rolling the mezuzah up and sliding it into its tube or case, saying the b’rakhah and fixing it to the doorpost. Twenty two lines, three or four hours of scribing, a lifetime reminding all who pass through that doorway of the mitzvot; God’s commandments.

To read the blessing for affixing a mezzuzah and to see the text in hebrew and english please click on this link.