sofer
Sacred text transcriber
A sofer is a Jewish scribe who copies sacred texts by hand, particularly Torah scrolls, mezuzahs, and tefillin.
The work requires extensive training in calligraphy and religious law, as even minor errors can render a text unusable for ritual purposes.
The Hebrew word means "one who counts" or "one who writes."
Treated hide for manuscripts
- quillFeather used for writing
- inkwellContainer for dipping pens
- scrollWound document of parchment
- vellumPrepared calfskin for writing
mezuzah · tefillin · manuscript · calligrapher · copyist · transcription · penmanship · ketubah
parchment
Treated hide for manuscripts
vellum · mezuzah · tefillin · manuscript · calligrapher · copyist · transcription · penmanship · ketubah · megillah
- JudaismShabbat, kosher, Passover, Torah, Hanukkah
- Jewish FiguresMoses, Abraham, David, Solomon, Aaron
- scribesscribe, scrivener, copyist, amanuensis, transcriber
- Hebrew manuscriptsDead Sea Scrolls, Torah scroll, vocalization, megillah, colophon
- Jewish divorceget, divorce decree, beit din, ketubah, dayan
- Jewish PeopleAshkenazi, Sephardi, Orthodox Jew, Conservative Jew, Reform Jew
soferprinter
Machine producing paper copies
printing press · photocopier · typesetter · machine · digital printer
soferclerk
Office record-keeper
stenographer · copyist · notary · copywriter · secretary
soferdesecrator
One who violates sanctity
censor · defacer · vandal · iconoclast · eraser