Who We Are
Jewish scribes from around the worldStam Scribes is a collective of progressive Jewish scribes from all over the world. We provide a variety of services for individuals and Jewish communities, including writing new torah scrolls, repairing torah scrolls, writing and illustrating ketubahs, tefillin repair, and education.
Our styles of observance vary, but we are all committed to the Jewish scribal tradition and adhere to strict ethical guidelines.
Jen Taylor
Cambridge, UK
Jen has ten years’ experience in scroll creation and repair. She has worked with communities across North America and teaches all over the world. She is presently working on a Master’s in Jewish Studies at McGill University, just for fun. She is an experienced educator and Torah scribe. She also writes mezuzot, megillot, and tefillin.
Jen is available for the following services:
- New torah commissions
- Mezuzah commissions
- Tefillin commissions
- Ketubah commissions
- Megillah commissions
- Torah repair
- Tefillin repair
- Child education
- Adult education
- Scribal coaching and mentoring
Alexandra Casser
Fairfax, VA, USA
Alexandra has been a soferet since 2010. She holds a BA from Rutgers University in History and Politics Science, with a minor in Jewish Studies, as well as an MA in Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture Studies from the Bard Graduate Center. She has studied at the Drisha Institute and at Yeshivat Hadar, and specializes in the repair and maintenance of antique torah scrolls. She is authorized by the Westminster Memorial Scrolls Trust for work on their sifrei torah.
Alexandra is available for the following services:
- Torah repair on or offsite
- Refurbished torah scroll sales
Rabbi Laura Bellows
Boston, MA
Rabbi Laura Bellows is an artist, educator, climate organizer, and freelance rabbi. Her work and teaching explores the intersections of Torah, creativity, ecology, and collective responsibility and her art is inspired by midrashic and nature motifs. Laura is an experienced teacher of introductory sofrut and loves working with students of all ages and Jewish backgrounds, wedding couples, and communities in need of Torah repair.
Laura is available for the following services:
- Child education
- Adult education
- Ketubah commissions
- Torah repair
Rabbi Steph Breitsman
Philadelphia, PA
Steph Breitsman is a rabbi, soferet, printmaker, and Creative Facilitator of the Jewish Studio Process living in Philadelphia. She received ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in May 2024, and she studied sofrut with Jen Taylor Friedman and Izzy Pludwinski during her rabbinic training. Rabbi Steph is currently the part-time rabbi for Temple Beth Shalom in Brigantine, NJ, and she spends the rest of her time as a working soferet.
Rabbi Steph is available for the following services:
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Ketubah/Brit Ahuvim commissions (both art and calligraphy)
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Torah repair
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Mezuzah commissions
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Adult education
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Youth education
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Custom artwork
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Free-lance rabbinic services (including weddings)
Linda Coppleson
West Orange, NJ, USA
Linda’s studies as a soferet STaM began in 2003, when artist and Sofer, Eric Ray z”l, agreed to teach her. She worked under his guidance for approximately two years, and later studied Halacha of safrut with Jen Taylor.
After several years (and many hours) of practice, she was accepted to participate in the Women’s Torah Project, writing 20 out of 62 pages. Since then she has written three sifrei torah and is working on a fourth to be completed in early 2018.
In addition to writing torah, megillot and mezuzot, Linda repairs and restores sifrei torah. She is retired from a 25 year career teaching Tanach, Rabbinics and Jewish History, but continues to teach in her role as a soferet. She also writes and illuminates ketubot, and create life cycle art pieces.
Linda earned a BA in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University, and an MA in Hebrew Culture and Education from New York University.
Linda is available for the following services:
- New torah commissions
- Torah repair
- Megillah commissions
- Mezuzah commissions
Shoshana Gugenheim Kedem
Portland, OR, USA
Shoshana Gugenheim Kedem began her scribal training in Jerusalem in 2000 and the writing of her first Torah scroll in 2006. Shoshana approaches her scribal work as a social practice artist and curator. To this end her scribing practice has included: curating two collectively written scrolls created exclusively by women scribes; a community-wide Torah sewing event in Jerusalem; the creation of Women of the Book, an international visual midrash collection by Jewish women artists; and most recently, Or Hadash | חדש עור, a project that provides sustainably sourced parchment for Hebrew scribes. After 20 years in Israel, Shoshana now resides with her family in Portland, OR where she is the newly appointed Chief Curator and Artistic Director of The Gugenheim Portland situated in her family residence.
Shoshana is proud to provide sustainably sourced parchment for you or your community’s newly commissioned Torah, mezzuzot, megillah or other sacred Jewish writings, as well as the following services:
- Child education
- Adult education
Ariela Housman
Chicago, IL, USA
Ariela holds a BA in Cultural History from the University of Pennsylvania and is an alumna of the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem. She has been working as a professional calligrapher since 2003 and began studying safrut in 2015. She specializes in the Western Sephardic (Spanish & Portuguese) scribal hand and is writing her first Sefer Torah.
Ariela is available for the following services:
- New torah commissions
- Child Education
- Adult Education
Rachel Jackson
Cambridge, MA
Rachel is a full-time scribe, bookbinder, designer, artist and optimistic feminist. She is fascinated by the way text and visual imagery relate to and complement each other, and much of her work stems from this connection. She holds a BA in Humanities and Visual Art from the University of Chicago and a certificate in bookbinding from the North Bennet Street School. She studied sofrut with Jen Taylor and learns weekly with (but mostly from) Linda Kaye. She is currently living in Cambridge, MA.
Rachel is available for the following services:
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Torah repair
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Book repair
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Handmade books (including rebindings of siddurim, etc)
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Custom Judaica (mezuzah cases, challah boards)
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Wedding invitations, bar/bat mitzvah Invitations, bencher design
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Private lessons
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Custom artwork
Leana Jelen Tapnack
New York, NY, USA
Leana Jelen Tapnack is a graduate of the Pardes Experiential Educators Program (2016) in Jerusalem, where she first studied Safrut STaM. In addition to her work as a scribe, Leana is an American Sign Language interpreter specializing in Judaic educational content. Leana lives with her wife, her son, and her dog in Manhattan where she is an active community member of Darkhei Noam, a lay-led partnership minyan on the Upper West Side.
Leana is available for the following services:
- Sefer Torah repair
- Tefillin inspection and repair
- Mezuzah commissions
- Ketubah/Brit Ahuvim commissions
- Semikha certificates
- Calligraphy commissions in Hebrew (art pieces, invitations, announcements, etc)
- Custom projects (birkot habayit, bar/bat mitzvah word art, Hebrew monogram design, etc.)
- Classroom visits for all ages
Jen Kamenetz
Berkeley, CA, USA
- Ketubah commissions
- Megillah commissions
- Torah commissions
- Child education
- Adult education
Linda Kaye
Christchurch, New Zealand
Linda Kaye is our South Pacific soferet. She lives in the idyllic far north of New Zealand. Linda is a long-time Jewish educator.
Linda is available for the following services:
- Torah inspection repairs
- Mezuzah commissions
- Megillah commissions
- Educational programming
Rabbi Yonah Lavery-Yisraeli
Hamilton, ON, Canada
Yonah is available for the following services:
- New torah commissions
- Mezuzah commissions
- Ketubah commissions
- Megillah commissions
- Child education
- Adult education
- Birkot Habayit, miscellaneous artwork with calligraphic themes
Nava Levine-Coren
Jerusalem, Israel
Nava Levine-Coren is an artist and scribe who writes and illuminates Megillot, Ketubot, and other Judaic texts. She combines her love of printmaking and collage with scribal arts, printing original linocuts directly onto parchment and illuminating custom ketubot with layers of hand cut paper. Her Megillot have been commissioned by individuals and congregations in the US and Israel.
Nava is available for the following services:
- Ketubah commissions
- Megillah commissions
- Semicha certificates
Rabbi Linda Motzkin
Saratoga Springs, NY, USA
Rabbi Linda Motzkin is the founder of the Community Torah Project, a long-term endeavor providing learning opportunities for all ages in scribal arts and hands-on participation in the making of a Torah scroll. She has led programs and workshops throughout the United States and abroad and is available for educational programs in a variety of formats and settings. She has served as co-rabbi of Temple Sinai of Saratoga Springs, New York since her rabbinic ordination in 1986.
Linda is available for the following services:
- Child education
- Adult education
- On site torah repair
Rabbi Bec Richman
Cleveland, OH
Rabbi Bec Richman (she/her) is a mama, soferet (Torah scribe), potter, and Creative Facilitator of the Jewish Studio Process. Bec is currently writing a full sefer Torah (Torah scroll) for Beth El – The Heights Synagogue in Cleveland, OH. Bec facilitates scribal arts workshops, community writing projects, and participatory Torah repairs in communities and schools around the country. Her pottery integrates hand-carved Hebrew calligraphy, expanding the landscape of handmade Judaica. Bec co-founded and co-facilitates a Jewish Mama’s Art Circle that integrates reflection and art-making centered on mothering. Her art and facilitation are rooted in the belief that creativity is inherently accessible, healing, and liberatory. Bec’s safrut and calligraphy training has included learning with Jen Taylor Friedman, Rabbi Linda Coppleson, Rabbi Linda Motzkin, Izzy Pludwinsky, Michel D’anastasio, and Sharon Binder. A graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and an alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, Bec lives in Cleveland Heights, OH with her partner and kiddos. Bec’s artwork can be found at kotevetstudios.com.
Bec is available for the following commissions:
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Torah repairs
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Ketubah and Brit Ahuvim commissions
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Calligraphy commissions in Hebrew (art pieces, invitations, announcements, etc…)
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Pottery commissions combining Hebrew lettering
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Mezuzah commissions
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Adult education
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Youth education
Rabbi Rachel Salston
Fair Lawn, NJ
Rabbi Rachel Salston (she/her) is a soferet and Congregational Rabbi. A soferet for more than 10 years, Rachel has worked in Torah Scroll and tefillin repair remotely and on-site around the world. She currently serves Congregation B’nai Sholom/Fair Lawn Jewish Center. A graduate of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, Rachel has served several synagogues and as a hospital chaplain during the COVID-19 pandemic. In her shul work, Rachel incorporates sofrut into all of her curricula. Rachel trained under Jen Taylor Friedman with the mentoring of Rabbi Dan Wigodsky. Rachel’s greatest sofrut passion is practical tefillin and Torah scroll production education in communities and schools. She also produces modern Jewish amulets as part of her pastoral support. modernjewishamulets.com
She is available for the following services:
- Torah repair
- Tefillin repair
- Amulets
- Child education
- Adult education
Julie Seltzer
Beacon, NY
Julie Seltzer is a scribe and educator with a background in theatre arts. She first learned with Jen Taylor Friedman, and has been writing Torah scrolls since 2009, when she was Scribe-in-Residence at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, CA. A video of that project can be found here. Julie recently completed her fourth Torah scroll, and is now focusing primarily on education and Torah repair. She loves running interactive workshops in person and online, offering a hands-on glimpse into the world of scribal arts. Julie lives in the Hudson Valley, NY with her Israeli mutt Shusha. Her hand is featured on Sefaria’s webpage.
Julie is available for the following services:
- Torah assessment and repair
- Adult and Hebrew School educational workshops (in person or via Zoom)
- Megillah commissions
- Scholar-in-Residence weekends
Rabbi Rachel Schoenfeld
Collingswood, NJ, USA
Rabbi Rachel Dvash Schoenfeld is a soferet in south Jersey. She is the Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Tikvah Beth Israel. More information about Rabbi Rachel is here.
Rabbi Schoenfeld is available locally for the following services:
- Sofrut education
- Torah repair