Congregation Agudas Achim, a Jewish community that has roots in Austin going back more than 100 years, recently dedicated a special handwritten Torah in a day of celebration. The congregation commissioned Jen Taylor Friedman, a female soferet, or scribe, to write this Torah, the first full Torah written in Texas by a woman.
In creating the sacred text, Friedman joined hands with a member of the community to create some of the Hebrew letters. The celebration included a free, public dedication, a ticketed panel event titled “Jewish Wit, Jewish Wisdom, Jewish Women,” and a performance by the Jewish a cappella group The Maccabeats.
