Sofer Stam

Here is your vocabulary word for the day. Sofer Stam - a sofer (scribe) who writes STaM - an acronym for Sefer Torah, Tefillin and Mezuzahs. A Sofer Stam also writes Megillahs for Purim and may write other items like a Get (divorce document) or a Ketuba (marriage document). 
The funny thing is that the word Stam in Hebrew also means plain or not special. So whenever I introduce myself to a Hebrew speaker as a Sofer Stam, I get the same joke. It goes like this: 
Them: What do you do for a living? 
Me: I am a Sofer Stam. 
Them: Are you a Sofer Stam or a Stam Sofer (plain old scribe). 
Its funny the first few times you hear it.   
Tags: Sofer Stam, Los Angeles.

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1 comment

  • Fantastic! Thanks for the heads up. I love to hear about Israel from your perspective. Especially as a sofer stam. Say, next time you’re in the Jewish quraetr, maybe you’ll take me on a walkthrough of the safrus features of the giant iggeres haRamban in the Ramban shul.Cheers,

    Joelton on
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