Milestones

A few notable Jen-events.

2000: I start to learn Hebrew, from A Practical Grammar for Classical Hebrew.

2004: I write my first Megillat Esther. A real proper qualified sofer and a real live rosh yeshiva approve it for public reading. It is read from.

2005: I am awarded a research award from the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute to explore the relationship between writing sacred scrolls and menstruation. I also score my first Torah commission.

2006: I start writing my first Torah. Tefillin Barbie makes her appearance.

2007: I finish writing my first Torah. For this, I am named as one of the year’s 50 most remarkable Jews by the Forward. I merit a Wikipedia entry. I start writing my second Torah. The peer-reviewed journal Meorot publishes an article by me on women and writing Torahs, along with a rebuttal.

2008: I feature in two calendars – My Very Own Jewish Calendar 5769 and the Women of Reform Judaism calendar 5769. Barbie is used to initiate discussions about gender and ritual garb.

2012: I am too busy to update this page for four years. By now, I have started my fourth Torah. One of my students has completed two Torahs of her own, and another student is close to completing her first. I have two apprentices, learning repair and writing. Other students are producing megillot and mezuzot. My women’s tefillin loan system is flourishing under the care of yet another student.

Jen Taylor Friedman's Torah site