judaic.arizona.edu https://judaic.arizona.edu/news/scribe-restore-ua-judaic-studies-center’s-torah-scroll Scribe to restore UA Judaic studies center’s Torah scroll On Feb. 10-11, the University of Arizona Center for Judaic Studies will bring master sofer (scribe) Rabbi Gedaliah Druin to campus to resume work on the restoration of its 200-year-old Torah scroll. The scroll was donated anonymously; the center’s Beth Alpert Nakhai, Ph.D., acquired it in 2009. The scroll is thought to be nearly 200 years old, originally used by a European Sephardic Jewish community, perhaps from northern Italy. It survived World War II, traveled to Israel and eventually to Tucson, and is the only Torah owned by the UA. Druin’s work will build on that of Rabbi Yochanan Salazar, who spent a day last February working on the restoration. Druin will be at the UA Hillel Foundation, 1245 E. 2nd St., working on the Torah from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Feb. 10 and 11. Members of the local and UA communities are invited to observe the process. Druin will speak informally about Torah scrolls and their restoration on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at 12:30 p.m. and on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at noon. For more information, contact John Winchester at 626-5759 or [email protected]. Source: Article from AZ Jewish Post February 5, 2015. Published Date:
Scribe to restore UA Judaic studies center’s Torah scroll
On Feb. 10-11, the University of Arizona Center for Judaic Studies will bring master sofer (scribe) Rabbi GedaliahDruin to campus to resume work on the restoration of its 200-year-old Torah scroll.
The scroll was donated anonymously; the center’s Beth Alpert Nakhai, Ph.D., acquired it in 2009. The scroll is thoughtto be nearly 200 years old, originally used by a European Sephardic Jewish community, perhaps from northern Italy. Itsurvived World War II, traveled to Israel and eventually to Tucson, and is the only Torah owned by the UA.
Druin’s work will build on that of Rabbi Yochanan Salazar, who spent a day last February working on the restoration.Druin will be at the UA Hillel Foundation, 1245 E. 2nd St., working on the Torah from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Feb. 10 and11. Members of the local and UA communities are invited to observe the process.
Druin will speak informally about Torah scrolls and their restoration on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at 12:30 p.m. and onWednesday, Feb. 11 at noon.
For more information, contact John Winchester at 626-5759 or [email protected].
Source: Article from AZ Jewish Post February 5, 2015.
Rabbi Gedaliah Druin talks to University of Arizona students and other members of the community at theUniversity of Arizona Hillel Foundation about the restoration of the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies’
Torah scroll on Feb. 10. (John Winchester/Arizona Center for Judaic Studies)
Rabbi Gedaliah Druin, a master scribe, spent Feb. 10 and 11 working on the restoration of a Torah scroll owned bythe Arizona Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Arizona (left). The scroll, which is thought to be nearly 200years old and originally used by a European Sephardic community, was anonymously donated to the center in 2009.It is the only Torah scroll owned by the UA.
On February 10-11, 2015, the UA's Arizona Center for Judaic Studies is bringing an expert scribe to campus toresume work on the restoration of its 200-year-old Torah scroll. A Torah is a parchment scroll containing the first fivebooks of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (Genesis-Deuteronomy), which is handwritten using a quill and speciallyprepared ink. The Judaic Studies scroll was gifted to Judaic Studies by an anonymous donor and acquired in 2009by Prof. Beth Alpert Nakhai. It is thought to be nearly 200 years old, originally used by a European Sephardic Jewishcommunity, perhaps from northern Italy. It survived World War II, travelled to Israel and eventually to Tucson, and isthe first and only Torah owned by The University of Arizona.
Rabbi Gedaliah Druin is a master sofer (scribe), who travels the world to repair Torah scrolls. His work will build onthat of Rabbi Yochanan Salazar, who spent a day last February working on the Torah and teaching members of theUA and Tucson community about Torah scrolls and their restoration. The process was fascinating to witness – andwe once again invite UA students, faculty, and staff, as well as members of the Tucson community, to come andwatch.
Rabbi Druin will be at the UA Hillel Foundation (corner of Mountain Ave. and Second St.), working on the Torah from10:00 AM-3:00 PM on February 10th-11th. You are invited to stop by and observe the restoration. Rabbi Druin willspeak informally about Torah scrolls and their restoration on Tues., Feb. 10th at 12:30 and on Wed., Feb. 11 th at12:00. All are invited.
The Judaic Studies Torah Restoration Project is made possible thanks to generous donations by Matthew and JulieHarelson, and by the Thomas and Sara Borin Foundation.
For further information, contact John Winchester, Outreach Coordinator, Arizona Center for Judaic Studies, TheUniversity of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (520-626-5759; [email protected]).
Date:
Tue, 02/10/2015 (All day) to Wed, 02/11/2015 (All day)
What: Rabbi Gedaliah Druin repairs the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies’Torah scroll.
When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10 and Wednesday, Feb. 11. Druin willspeak about scroll restoration 12:30 p.m. Tuesday and noon Wednesday.
Where: UA Hillel Foundation, 1245 E. Second St.
Cost: Free.
More info: Visit judaic.arizona.edu or call 626-5758.
By the numbers
The UA’s Torah scroll:
23-inches-tall
76-feet-long
5 books of the Hebrew Bible
158 columns of text
59 lines of writing per column.
79,983 words
304,805 letters
SOURCE: Beth Alpert Nakhai
A 200-year-old torah scroll at the University of Arizona has many secrets hidden within the wear and tear that aJewish scribe will look at this week.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the university’s Arizona Center for Judaic Studies will welcome Rabbi Gedaliah Druin,the president of Sofer On Site, a North Miami Beach, Florida-based organization that specializes in caring for torahscrolls.
This is the UA’s first and only torah scroll, which contains the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, spanning Genesisthrough Deuteronomy. The torah is sung in services at Jewish synagogues.
“You’re singing to something that is unexpected and beyond our imaginations,” said Druin, a master sofer, or scribe.“This is like an instrument calling up God.”
THE HISTORY
Beyond the divine mysteries contained within the torah’s stories, the UA’s scroll has a history of its own.
The intrigue began in 2009 when an anonymous donor gifted the Judaic studies center with its first torah.
“A colleague of mine at USC who works with the Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient scrolls contacted me and askedme if I would accept this on behalf of the department,” said Beth Alpert Nakhai, an associate professor with theJudaic studies center.
A rare-book dealer from Santa Barbara, California, facilitated the anonymous donation, and one day an old cardboardbox stuffed with newspaper showed up.
The center had its torah.
“It wasn’t even a new cardboard box!” Nakhai said, laughing. “For something that is this old and expensive financiallyand precious materially and spiritually and all of that, I expected that it would come packed better, but it was fine.”
The story of this torah’s origin is foggy. From the script, experts have told Nakhai that the scroll was written by aEuropean Sephardic Jewish community about 200 years ago, perhaps in Amsterdam or northern Italy.
There may be no way to know for sure, she said.
“When it comes to a Sephardic community, that means it had originally lived on the Iberian Peninsula and wasexpelled at the time of the Inquisition, and moved someplace and apparently kept their identity distinct,” Nakhai said.
This particular scroll managed to escape the destruction of World War II, somehow ending up in Israel.
“The person who donated it, I was told, had purchased it in Israel,” Nakhai said. “How it survived the Second WorldWar and got to Israel — or maybe it was in Israel before the war — we have absolutely no idea.
“I think these are the kinds of mysteries that we may never have the answers to.”
THE RESTORATION
What the center does know is that reading a torah scroll is hard work.
Written in the original tradition, the text in torah scrolls does not have vowels or punctuation.
“There are just consonant sounds,” said Zach Neal, a UA junior. “If you don’t know the word, you can’t pronounce it.”
The scroll is now housed at the university’s Special Collections library and is used as a teaching tool for studentslearning Hebrew or taking a class about the Bible.
Along with Druin’s restoration efforts, which are a continuation of work done by another of his organization’s scribeslast February, the Judaic studies center plans to purchase ornaments currently missing from the scroll, such as rollersand a mantle, which is a cover.
“If we did nothing to this scroll, we could always use it for teaching, but because there are letters in poor shape, it isnot kosher,” Nakhai said.
In synagogues, scrolls that cannot be restored to a state deemed kosher are no longer used. Although that does notaffect the UA’s use of the scroll for academic purposes, a kosher status also indicates that the scroll is “restored to itshighest quality possible.”
Once that happens, there are plans for the torah scroll to be put on display at the Judaic studies center, she said.
“It’s a hugely important symbol within Judaism, beyond the text itself,” Nakhai said. “There is a reason that Nazisburned torahs and inquisitorial peoples of Spain and Portugal burned torahs.
“It represents a core of divine revelation in terms of religious understanding and teaching.”
Contact reporter Johanna Willett at [email protected] or 573-4357. On Twitter: @JohannaWillett
A 200-year-old Torah scroll that was donated to the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies will continue restoration by ascribe today at the Hillel Center from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The restoration began Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. and continues today. Select UA classes will sit in on the restoration andRabbi Gedaliah Druin will speak to them and any other students, faculty or community members who attend.
Druin, president of Sofer On Site, said anyone can come watch the 3,500-year-old craft of working with holyscriptures. He said the Torah is not a book and is not read like a book — rather, it is sung. According to Druin, if any ofthe words or spaces are missing, the Torah does not work.
Druin also said people can ask him questions about what he is doing as he completes the restoration, as long as hestill has enough time to complete his work.
By Cooper Temple / The Daily Wildcat
Rabbi Gedaliah Druin, a former medical doctor who now works as the president and chief scribe of Sofer On Site,speaks to students about the process of restoring the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies' 200-year-old Torah scroll at
the Hillel Center on Tuesday. Druin travels the country repairing old scrolls, writing new ones and promoting themaintenance of the Torah.
Beth Nakhai, an associate professor of Judaic studies and anthropology, said many people find it interesting to watchsomebody work in such a traditional way. She said the scroll is handwritten on parchment by a scribe using a special,handmade ink.
In order to become a scribe, students must be certified via examination. After receiving their certification, prospectivescribes then practice alongside working scribes, Druin said.
“It’s really a craft,” Druin said. “I can learn everything I can. I think I’m the greatest in the world — but the truth is, Ireally have no idea what I’m doing until I sit with someone else, who will then reveal what’s happening.”
Nakhai acquired the Torah scroll from an anonymous donor and gave it to the ACJS. She said the scroll has neverbeen purposefully damaged, but it has been exposed to wear and tear.
“What we’re doing is having all of that damage repaired,” Nakhai said. “The scribe came last year, worked for a dayand estimated that maybe two more days of work would be required to complete the repairs of the scroll.”
Nakhai said those two additional days were Tuesday and today. She said restoring this Torah is a testimony to theimportance of tradition in Judaism and preserving communities.
“A Torah scroll is at the core of Judaism and at the core of Jewish tradition,” Nakhai said. “From that perspective,people who come will be able to learn something about Judaism.”
Leah Cresswell, a journalism senior, said restoring the Torah is a beautiful project that represents Judaism’s ownrestoration.
“I think that restoring this Torah is very significant because it is symbolic for Judaism as a whole,” Cresswell said. “It isa way of saying that we are still here and we are not going anywhere, no matter what the world throws our way.”
