Meet the Sofer —

Neil Yerman is a sofer — a person who writes and restores Torah scrolls.  In English, the Hebrew word sofer is translated as “scribe.”  To become a sofer, a Jewish person must master the art of Hebrew calligraphy, document restoration, and the many rules and traditions governing the writing and restoring of a Torah.  In addition, a sofer must lead a religious life.

Meet the Artist —

Sofer Yerman is also an artist who specializes in creating one-of-a-kind illustrated documents for life cycle events, creating ketubot for weddings, scrolls for bar and bat mitzvah, and illustrated family trees.

• Restoring Our Torah — Congregation Or HaTzafon (Jewish Congregation of Fairbanks, Alaska)
  
  
• Jewish Center Of The Hamptons Celebrates 50th Anniversary With New Torah — video feature on Hamptons.com
  
  
• Congregation Writes Torah, With Help From a Scribe — featured story in the New York Times
  
  
• Simchat Torah: Lessons in the Circle — Jewish News of Greater Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ
  
  
• The 613th Commandment: Write a Torah — St. Thomas Synagogue, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
  
  
• Scroll doctor: Restorer Neil Yerman gives Roanoke congregation’s Torahs a detailed checkup — news article from The Roanoke Times, February 26, 2005.
  
  

Neil Yerman on Film

• Write For Yourselves (www.writeforyourselves.com) — a documentary about the Torah: “Write For Yourselves” focuses on the process of creating a Torah scroll so that its words are accurately preserved from generation to generation.

Neil Yerman on Radio

• From the Osgood File, September 12, 2002: Torah Scribe: Modern day Torah scribe painstakingly creates the centerpiece of Jewish faith.
  
  
• Beth Friend of NPR reports from St. Paul, Minnesota, where an entire congregation is participating in the usually solitary act of restoring a Torah.  (Click arrow below to begin.)
  
  

Members of the Congregation Help Restore Torah Left: Sofer Neil H. Yerman and Jacob add a letter to a Torah that was being restored after it was damaged in the Holocaust. Video by Andy Noah Ratto (Click arrow to begin.)

Links to Related Sites

Wedding Rabbi (WeddingRabbi.org):
Jewish wedding officiant, Rabbi Jo David, creates meaningful weddings and commitment ceremonies for Jewish and interfaith couples.

Rabbi Jo David (RabbiJoDavid.org):
Working with interfaith and multi-cultural couples and families, and meeting the needs of those who do not fit the “traditional” Jewish mold.

The Reform Jewish Community of Hamelin, Germany (JGHReform.org):
Jüdische Gemeinde Hameln, founded in 1997, is the first organized Jewish community to be established in Hamlin since the Holocaust.

Jewish Center of the Hamptons (jcoh.net):