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Message: <br /><br /> If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/18130/full/18130/rabbi-imports-scribe-to-protect-against-world-disaster/ <br /><br /> <b>Rabbi imports scribe to protect against world ‘disaster’</b> <br /> Friday, July 19, 2002 | by <p>ALEXANDRA J. WALL </p> <br /><br /><p>The good rabbi says: Once a year, you should have your mezuzah checked. But when extra protection is needed, it should be checked even more often.<br /><br /> "The world is trembling," said Rabbi Yosef Langer at his Chinatown office. "Israel and other nations of the world are facing disaster. One needs to have protection as a safeguard for one's existence."<br /><br /> Luckily, the director of Chabad of S.F. is even offering house calls to perform this vital service. For information call (415) 433-4350.<br /><br /> As is dictated in the Shulchan Aruch, the mezuzah scroll should be examined before Rosh Hashanah, during the month of Elul.<br /><br /> But in times of crisis, it's better to check it even more often.<br /><br /> Langer had not yet finished his morning prayers—his tallit was draped around his shoulders and tefillin affixed to his forehead and wrapped around his forearm—when a visitor dropped by to have her mezuzah checked last week.<br /><br /> According to Langer, the Lubavitcher Rebbe launched his first tefillin campaign before the Six-Day War. He did so because "tefillin and mezuzot are known by the sages to have an effect on the general being of the Jew. Every mitzvah has a connection to a different aspect of the body."<br /><br /> Meaning, donning the phylacteries on your forehead as commanded and "inscribing them on the doorposts of your house" can be a protective measure. So Chabad is offering this service for free—up through Rosh Hashanah, with the help of a scribe brought in from Israel. Langer brought him early, because of the current state of affairs in the world.<br /><br /> It took Yeshayahu Zilbershtrom only six months to train to be a sofer, or scribe. The son of a scribe, he learned the skill in Yeshiva.<br /><br /> Lately, in Israel, people have been having their scrolls checked more often, and the father-son team has been busy.<br /><br /> Usually, father checks them and son fixes them, if a fix is in order.<br /><br /> According to Eli Edelkopf, an Israeli-Chabadnik who now lives in San Francisco, much can happen to the scroll to deem it unkosher.<br /><br /> While the delicate piece of parchment is usually enclosed, it can sometimes be exposed to the elements.<br /><br /> "Over the years, the sun can fade the letters," said Edelkopf. "Or the letters will move, or fall off."<br /><br /> "You also have to be sure the ink hasn't fallen off any of the letters," interjected Zilbershtrom, in Hebrew, for Edelkopf to translate.<br /><br /> Did Zilbershtrom become a scribe because of his father? "Partly," he said. The work is not only interesting, but "it's like an art," he said. "It's spiritual and coming from the heart."<br /><br /> The work of a sofer is considered so holy that the scribe must immerse himself in the mikvah (ritual bath) each morning before he begins his work.<br /><br /> Zilbershtrom, a serious young man, has been a scribe for three years. He is 19.<br /><br /> "It's not uncommon in Israel for them to be trained as sofers, mohels (those who perform ritual circumcisions) or shochets (kosher butchers) at such a young age," said Edelkopf. "All those who learn at Kfar Chabad learn to do something to serve the Jewish people and then they go out into the world."<br /><br /> Zilbershtrom examined closely a small scroll brought in by a visitor. He deemed it kosher, but advised her that it wasn't of the best quality. Better get a new one, he told her, though he himself doesn't write so small.<br /><br /> Zilbershtrom and Edelkopf showed off a magillah he was working on, which would be read on Purim.<br /><br /> "If he works every day on that, for a few hours, it will take three weeks to finish," said Edelkopf.<br /><br /> Zilbershtrom can only work about one hour at a time, because he has to keep his head so close to the scroll. If he does this too long, he will get a headache.<br /><br /> "It's very hard work," he said.</p> <p> </p>

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