Adventures of a Jewish scribe
The married couple saving ancient manuscripts.
In the first of two special programmes we meet Marc Michaels who has a rare skill. He鈥檚 keeping Jewish tradition alive. He is a Sofer, a scribe. It鈥檚 a dexterous skill that has been passed down for thousands of years. Scrolls are always hand written, otherwise they are not Kosher.
Scrolls hold the sacred words of the Torah, God鈥檚 instructions to Moses and they form the basic tenets of the Jewish faith as well as playing a vital, symbolic role in the synagogue.
But throughout their turbulent history, Jews have been forced to move on, sometimes at speed, communities have disappeared, or were banned from practicing their faith, and forced to abandon their scrolls. Heart and Soul hears why it so important to find, rescue, repair and return scrolls to Jewish communities throughout the world.
It鈥檚 slow, painstaking work, writing over one letter at a time, repairing tears and removing stains on ancient manuscripts.
Marc introduces us to his wife Avielah, who is also a scribe, or 'Soferet'. She calls herself a 鈥楽cribal Evangelist鈥, the first modern female scribe
Describing himself as a 鈥淛edi with a quill鈥 Dina looks on as Marc and Avielah bring these ancient, damaged scrolls back to life.
Presenter: Marc Michaels
Producer: Dina Newman
Last on
Clip
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Saving the scrolls that survived the Holocaust
Duration: 03:21
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Broadcasts
- Fri 24 Jan 2020 13:32GMT成人快手 World Service except News Internet
- Sun 26 Jan 2020 08:32GMT成人快手 World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Sun 26 Jan 2020 09:32GMT成人快手 World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Sun 26 Jan 2020 17:32GMT成人快手 World Service News Internet
- Sun 26 Jan 2020 23:32GMT成人快手 World Service
Podcast
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Heart and Soul
Personal approaches to religious belief from around the world.