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A Sofer, Sopher, Sofer SeTaM, or Sofer ST"M (Heb: "scribe", ) is a Jewish scribe who can transcribe Torah scrolls, tefillin and mezuzot, and other religious writings. (ST"M, , is an abbreviation for Sefer Torahs, Tefillin, and Mezuzot. The plural of sofer is "soferim", .) By simple definition, a sofer is a copyist, but in their religious role in Judaism they are much more. Besides Torah scrolls, ''Tefillin'', and ''Mezuzot'', scribes are also necessary for the writing of ''megillot'' (scrolls of the Song of Songs, Book of Ruth, Book of Esther, Ecclesiastes, and Book of Lamentations), Nevi'im (the books of the prophets, used for reading the haftarah), and for ''gittin''—divorce documents. Also many scribes function as calligraphers—writing functional documents such as marriage contracts, or ornamental and artistic renditions of religious texts—which do not require any scribal qualifications, and to which the rules on lettering and parchment specifications do not apply. The major Jewish law (Halakha) pertaining to "Sofrut," the practice of scribal arts, is in the Talmud in the tractate Maseket Sofrim. In the Torah's 613 Mitzvot (commandments) the 613th〔82nd of the 613 mitzvot as enumerated by Rashi, and the final as it occurs in the text of the Torah, in Deuteronomy 31:19〕 is that every Jew should write a Sefer Torah in their lifetime.() (The ⟨⟩ in ST"M is a transliteration of the Hebrew punctuation character ⟨⟩ gershayim (see that article).) ==Qualifications and education== A sofer should be religiously observant, of good character, and knowledgeable about the laws concerning sofrut. It is a common misconception that one has to be a rabbi in order to become a sofer, which is not required by Jewish law. People who want to become ritual scribes usually learn from another expert scribe by undergoing Shimush (Apprenticeship), since it would be impossible for someone to be a scribe without any actual practice. The hardest part about learning to be a sofer is not the calligraphy, but rather remembering the thousands of laws that apply to Sifrei Torah (Torah scrolls), tefillin (phylacteries) and mezuzot and all the other texts that are written on parchment. Some people who want to become ritual scribes learn at the ''Vaad Mishmereth STaM'' with the option of receiving a certificate. (This is an international organization whose goal is to protect the halachic and artistic integrity of the scribal arts. It is located in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak in Israel as well as in Brooklyn, New York, United States.) Certification of this sort is not a halachic requirement, nor does it necessarily guarantee the quality of a particular sofer's work. This process does however ensure that a certified sofer has received the proper education and is a recognized expert in the field of sofrut. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「sofer」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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