Scholars-in-Residence: Join in the Making of a Torah Scroll
In person only
Members only
Join our Scholars-in-Residence Rabbis Linda Motzkin and Jonathan Rubenstein of Bread and Torah for this very special program.
Participants in this workshop will not only learn about the materials and processes that go into making a Torah scroll, but also have the rare opportunity to take part in this mitzvah by checking the letters on completed panels that have yet to be stitched together.
Knowledge of Hebrew is not required for participation. Please note, space for this event is limited.
About Bread and Torah
Rabbi Linda Motzkin, soferet, parchment maker, and scribal artist, and Rabbi Jonathan Rubenstein, bread maker and baking teacher, served for over 36 years as co-rabbis of Temple Sinai, a Reform congregation in Saratoga Springs, New York. They retired on January 1, 2023 and are now Co-Rabbis Emeriti of Temple Sinai. In 2004 Rabbis Linda and Jonathan founded Bread and Torah, through which they offer interactive educational programs based on their scribal arts and baking activities.
Rabbi Linda is one of the first generation of sofrot (female scribes) and the founder of the “Community Torah Project”, a long-term educational endeavor which involves participants in the making of a Torah scroll through parchment-making, proofreading, and panel-sewing sessions. She also offers Hebrew calligraphy, shiviti, and amulet-making workshops, and her distinctive midrashic artwork on hand-made parchment provides profound insights into Jewish texts and teaching through a unique aesthetic lens. Rabbi Linda is also the author of the 4-volume Hebrew language curriculum for adult learners: Aleph Isn't Tough, Aleph Isn't Enough, Bet is for B'reishit, and Tav is for Torah.
Rabbi Jonathan is a bread maker and baking teacher who started a not-for-profit, volunteer community bakery at their synagogue, Temple Sinai in Saratoga Springs, New York. His baking workshops empower people to make challah, bagels, sweet doughs, and other traditional Jewish baked goods and present profound spiritual teachings on our relationship to the earth through Jewish texts and practices regarding preparing and eating food.
Since founding Bread and Torah in 2004, Rabbis Linda and Jonathan have brought Bread and Torah to communities in New Zealand, South Africa, Hungary, Poland, Israel, Argentina, Chile, and Mexico, as well as throughout the US.
