The Women's Torah Project (WTP) was an initiative to have the first

Torah scroll A Sephardic Torah scroll rolled to the first paragraph of the Shema An Ashkenazi Torah scroll rolled to the Decalogue file:Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue, Interior, Tora Cases.jpg">Torah cases at Knesset Eliyahoo Synagogue, Mumbai, India ...

scribed entirely by women. The project began in 2003 and was completed in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

in 2010. Wendy Graff was the leader of WTP. The WTP was commissioned by the Seattle-based Kadima Reconstructionist Community.

History

The Women's Torah Project (WTP) produced the first Torah scroll scribed and embellished entirely by women. Commissioned by Seattle-based Kadima, a Jewish Reconstructionist community, the Women's Torah was produced by six female scribes on three continents. Begun in 2003, the project was completed in Seattle in 2010 under the leadership of Wendy Graff. Kadima had been raising funds to purchase a Sefer Torah for several years when, in the early 2000s, the community's first rabbi, Drorah Setel, suggested instead that Kadima commission a Torah scribed by a woman. Traditional

Jewish law ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mit ...

had excluded women from scribing a Torah, much as women had been excluded from the

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

nate and

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

ial positions. (That legitimacy is still debated within the

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

community.) Determined to redress that exclusion, Kadima underwrote the training of two women to become Torah scribes (; ; fem. sing: ), one of whom, Shoshana Gugenheim of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, was hired to be the lead scribe for the Women's Torah Project. Rachel Reichhardt, based in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, Brazil, certified as a soferet by the

Seminario Rabínico Latinoamericano Seminario Rabínico Latinoamericano (Latin American Rabbinical Seminary, also known as the Marshall T. Meyer Latin American Rabbinical Seminary) is a Jewish religious, cultural, and academic center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, whose primary purpose i ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

in 2004, was the second scribe to join the project. Eventually Linda Coppleson of

West Orange, New Jersey West Orange is a suburban Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 48,843, an increase of 2,636 (+5.7%) from t ...

; Rabbi Hannah Klebansky of Jerusalem, Irma Penn of

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, Alberta, Canada; and Julie Seltzer, of

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

, all contributed to completing panels for the Torah. Scribe Jen Taylor Friedman of New York checked and made minor corrections to the completed panels. The panels were also checked by experts in Jerusalem.

Implements and embellishments

Seven women artists from around the world created embellishments for Kadima's Women's Torah. Laurel Robinson of

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was the first artist involved, contributing a carved wooden yad (pointer) and storage box that is inscribed with a poem by poet and liturgist

Marcia Falk Marcia Falk is a poet, liturgist, painter, and translator who has written several books of poetry and prayer. Early years She was born in New York City and grew up in a Conservative Jewish home in New Hyde Park, Long Island. Her mother Frieda G ...

. Artist sooze bloom deLeon grossman of

Vashon Island, Washington Vashon () is a census-designated place (CDP) in King County, Washington, United States. It covers an island alternately called Vashon Island or Vashon–Maury Island, the largest island in Puget Sound south of Admiralty Inlet. Before the construc ...

, designed and created the pomegranate-motif Torah mantle. The seeds of the pomegranate were crafted from fabric donated to the Women's Torah Project to honor individual women and girls. Grossman also created an extra-large

tallit A tallit, taleth, or tallis is a fringed garment worn as a prayer shawl by religious Jews. The tallit has special twined and knotted fringe (trim), fringes known as ''tzitzit'' attached to its four corners. The cloth part is known as the ''beged ...

to be shared by groups called to the

bima Bima city ( Bima: ''Mbojo'') is a coastal city on the east of the island of Sumbawa in Indonesia's province of West Nusa Tenggara. It is the largest city on the island of Sumbawa, with a population of 142,443 at the 2010 censusBiro Pusat Stati ...

for aliyot during

Torah service Torah reading (; ') is a Jewish religious tradition that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the scroll (or scrolls) from the Torah ark, chanting the ap ...

s. The Torah's copper with brown diamond ''rimonim'' ( Torah finials), were designed and created by metalworker Aimee Golant of

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Jeweler Andrea Sher-Leff of

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, created a silver and

garnet Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. Garnet minerals, while sharing similar physical and crystallographic properties, exhibit a wide range of chemical compositions, de ...

buckle, echoing the pomegranate motif, for the belt that holds the Torah scrolls together.Anderson, Phil (12 November 2005) Torah Sees a New Day. CJOnline.com/ Topeka Capital-Journal Lois Gaylord of Seattle made the silk belt itself and wove the large, feather-motif bima cloth which incorporates a specially designed

Star of David The Star of David (, , ) is a symbol generally recognized as representing both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the Seal of Solomon was used for decora ...

weave pattern. Elka Freller of São Paulo made the

kiddush cup Kiddush (; ), , is a blessing recited over wine or grape juice to sanctify the Shabbat and Jewish holidays. Additionally, the word refers to a small repast held on Shabbat or festival mornings after the prayer services and before the meal. Sig ...

from

blown glass Glassblowing is a glassforming technique that involves inflating molten glass into a bubble (or parison) with the aid of a blowpipe (or blow tube). A person who blows glass is called a ''glassblower'', ''glassmith'', or ''gaffer''. A '' lampworke ...

, Brazilian agate and silver. Amy Gilron of

Beer Sheva Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most po ...

, Israel, made the wood mosaic

etz chaim Etz Hayim, also transliterated as Eitz Chaim ( , meaning "Tree of Life"), is a common term used in Judaism. The expression can be found in , referring to the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden. It is also found in the Book of Proverbs, where it i ...

, the pair of spindles to which the parchment panels of the Torah are attached.

Consecration

The Women's Torah was consecrated on Saturday, October 16, 2010, and read from for the first time during a Shabbat service and

siyyum A ''siyum'' () is the completion of any established unit of Torah study in Judaism. The most common units are a single volume of the Talmud, or of Mishnah, but other units of learning may lead to a siyyum. The typical structure of a siyyum includ ...

(completion celebration) led by Kadima Liturgy Co-chair Sandra Silberstein; the Torah Service was conducted by Rabbi Jane Littman. The first readers (in order) were: Sima Kahn, Neal Sofian, Lois Gaylord, Sandra Silberstein, Leah Knopf, Douglas Brown, Rachel Reichhardt, Wendy Graff and Mollie Price. It resides with the Kadima Reconstructionist Community of Seattle. The current Women's Torah Project coordinator is Christie Markowitz Santos.

References

External links

Official site

Women's Torah
(video)

(Seattle Times video) {{authority control Jewish ritual objects Reconstructionist Judaism in the United States Judaism and women Torah Jews and Judaism in Seattle Reconstructionist Jewish feminism