SCRIBE'S SKILL BLENDS RELIGION, ART KIDS LEARN HOW TORAH IS MADE.Byline: Amy Raisin Staff Writer AGOURA HILLS - Aaron Shaffier's right hand reveals an ancient specialty, with dark ink staining the edges of his fingernails and small cuts peppering his fingers. At the age of 19, Shaffier became a certified scribe of the Torah - Judaism's sacred scroll - by demonstrating two skills: dexterity in the art of calligraphy calligraphy (kəlĭg`rəfē) [Gr.,=beautiful writing], skilled penmanship practiced as a fine art. See also inscription; paleography. European Calligraphy In Europe two sorts of handwriting came into being very early. lettering and an understanding of the intricate laws of writing a Torah. ``Anyone who has patience and practices could acquire the skill,'' Shaffier said, ``but it's a question of how beautiful it will be.'' Apparently, Shaffier's skill does not lack beauty - he was recently commissioned and is now working on a Torah for a man who wants to donate it to a synagogue in South America South America, fourth largest continent (1991 est. pop. 299,150,000), c.6,880,000 sq mi (17,819,000 sq km), the southern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. . The Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. native, now 21, recently returned from his rabbinical rab·bin·i·cal also rab·bin·ic adj. Of, relating to, or characteristic of rabbis. [From obsolete rabbin, rabbi, from French, from Old French rabain, probably from Aramaic studies in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of to participate in ``Scribes and Scrolls,'' a 10-day tour that taught thousands of local children how a Torah is made. Presented by Chabad of the Conejo and partly funded by the Jewish Community Foundation, ``Scribes and Scrolls'' visited most of the Jewish day schools
A Jewish day school is a modern Jewish educational institution that is designed to provide Jewish children with both a Jewish and a secular education in one , preschools and Hebrew schools in the Conejo and San Fernando valleys. ``It's appropriate for them to see how it's made How It's Made (also broadcast in French under the title Comment c'est fait, in Polish under the title Jak to jest zrobione, in Italian under the title Come è fatto, and in Russian under the title ,'' Shaffier said. ``The goal of the project is the next time a child sees the Torah . . . he'll understand that the reason we take such efforts to make it is because it's the word of God.'' Rabbi Seth Rosen of Temple Beth Torah in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. explained the importance of the Torah - the first five books of the Old Testament of the Bible - to the Jewish people. ``The antiquity of the medium - it's an ancient scroll - gives us a sense of connectedness with our ancestry,'' he said. ``These teachings of the Torah are what have kept us together for 2,500 years.'' Rosen called the work of the scribe ``a very holy calling. From a religious point of view, this is the religious text of our people.'' But the work of a scribe also involves artistic skill. The actual lettering - using a quill quill: see pen. from a kosher bird and ink that must be very black and fade-proof - can take a year. That doesn't factor in the time it takes to age the animal's hide on which the letters are written. This part of the ``Scribes and Scrolls'' workshop either fascinates the children or makes them squirm, Shaffier said, depending on their gender. ``This shows the kids the different stages of parchment. Boys think it's cool, girls think it's gross,'' he said, laughing. Gross, perhaps, because the first of three hides stretched over wooden frames, used as demonstration props, still boasts hair. The second reveals only patches of hair after chemical treatment, followed by the paperlike hide on the third frame. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Rabbi Yisroel Levine of Chabad of the Conejo, a Torah requires 65 skins to complete. Then begins the labor. ``I work four to five hours a day, usually between 11 and 3 (p.m.),'' Shaffier said, explaining that he aims to finish one column per day. Within the Torah are 250 columns, each column consisting of 42 lines. The letters in these lines must not touch, run or crack, he said, or the entire document is considered invalid. The cuts on Shaffier's fingers come from sharpening his quill with a small knife, while his ink-stained fingers are reminiscent of the fingers of the scribes of past centuries who are canonized can·on·ize tr.v. can·on·ized, can·on·iz·ing, can·on·iz·es 1. To declare (a deceased person) to be a saint and entitled to be fully honored as such. 2. To include in the biblical canon. 3. in history books. Shaffier and Rosen said a scribe is paid between $25,000 and $30,000 to letter a Torah, an incentive that has helped Shaffier in other areas. ``It's just something that kind of happened,'' Shaffier said of his art. ``I had the skill to write the letters and I had a chance to make a little extra money to put myself through school.'' In addition to his rabbinical studies, Shaffier has worked with children as a counselor and continues to educate them about his craft. It appears to suit the children just fine. Alex Feuer, 11, of Westlake Village said he loved learning about the parchment paper and enjoys Shaffier's manner of instruction. ``Aaron was my counselor. He's funny,'' Feuer said. ``He never gets boring and he's always excited about what he's doing. He always makes it fun.'' Asked whether actually sitting and doing the work of a scribe is fun, Shaffier thought carefully about his answer. ``There's a certain satisfaction you get from it. When I'm doing it, I don't realize I'm enjoying it. ``But when I don't do "I Don't Do" was the debut single by glamour model Michelle Marsh, released on 6 November 2006. The single reached 27 in the UK in its first week, selling only 9,000 copies and over 16,000 copies as of January 2007. The single spend a total of four weeks in the Top 75. it . . . I start to miss it.'' CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- color in Verb 1. color in - add color to; "The child colored the drawings"; "Fall colored the trees"; "colorize black and white film" color, colorise, colorize, colour in, colourise, colourize, colour Simi and Conejo edition) Torah scribe Aaron Shaffier spells out the Hebrew names of children at Chabad of the Conejo before turning them loose to fill in the letters with a quill and ink so they can get a feel for calligraphy. Lilly Barrett/Special to the Daily News (2 -- color in Simi and Conejo edition) Atan Rohm, 7, left, and Elan Adivi, 7, keep a safe distance while admiring the work of Torah scribe Aaron Shaffier during a ``Scribes and Scrolls'' presentation at Chabad of the Conejo. (3 -- color -- ran in Simi and Conejo edition only) A student fills in letters with quill and ink to get a taste of what it feels like to work as a scribe. Lilly Barrett/Special to the Daily News |
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