Mordechai Pinchas / Marc Michaels

Currently studying for a PhD at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Cambridge University (Fitzwilliam College) related to my scribal studies and Hebrew manuscripts. Published Sefer Tagin Fragments from the Cairo Genizah (Brill, 2021). Awarded senior scholar status in 2022 for academic performance in my PhD. Awarded a fellowship grant from the Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe in 2021.

Having been a madrich, lay leader and a ba-al koreh, in 1995, I completed an MA in Jewish Studies at the Leo Baeck College. I also apprenticed to a sofer for five years and studied the halacha surrounding sofrut.

I have served communities across the UK and internationally for some twenty five years now, using my Hebrew name Mordechai Pinchas. My website www.sofer.co.uk gives a flavour.  Over the years I have presented at various Jewish and interfaith institutions on the subject, to both adults and children, featured in three BBC programmes (including Blue Peter). I am also the designer of the Reform Movement's Siddur (prayer book) and their Passover Haggadah. I also created the first new tiqqun in several thousand years for the Megillat Hashoah (Holocaust Scroll) converting the text into a manuscript using techniques from Sefer Tagin and other sources. I undertake a fair private amount of study and I have also written a number of books on sofrut and biblical related themes (www.kulmus.co.uk) and written and illustrated some children’s books.

Outside of my Jewish life, in my main career, I have worked in the creative field in Marketing communications for over 33 years, 26 of those for the Central Office of Information, initially as a designer but then moving to head up their Direct Marketing and Evaluation offering and being part of the Senior Civil Service. This involved trying to educate people not to smoke, not to drink too much, give blood, get a pension, be a teacher, join the army etc. All things about helping the social good, hence I recently authored a book on Jewish Business ethics based around Psalm 15. For the last six years, I have been working for Paragon Customer Communications in the private sector, currently as their Strategy and Insight Director undertaking similar marketing activity across the Government, retail utility, financial,  and charity sectors.

If you would like a  Sofer S"TaM to come and speak to your community then it’s a case of ‘have quill will travel’ (well within reason and we have zoom now too). I’ve given many talks, lectures and educational/hands on sessions for both adults and children, Jews and non-Jews who I find are fascinated by the art of sofrut. From sessions at cheder to addressing creatives at an advertising agency, hopefully there is something to learn in sofrut that will appeal to everyone.

Available sessions through zoom and 'in real':

The Work of the Sofer - the materials, rules and methods involved in creating and fixing Sifrey Torah, t'fillin, m'zuzot and m'gillot. A demonstration of the basics which can also include a hands on practical on forming the letters (worksheet master supplied for copying).

Care of your Torah - a more in depth powerpoint presentation showing the sorts of issues one has to look for when looking after your Torah complete with many examples of pasul (non-kosher) Sifrey Torah. based in part on my book of the same title.

Visual Midrash - sessions around the meaning and significance in the scribal oddities in the Torah, large letters, small letters, bent letters, strange tagin, dots, and other special forms.

Specific sessions just about Sefer Tagin and the transmission of that work.

Sofrut Halachah - sessions around the laws of sofrut - chok tochot, mukaf g’vil, k’sidran etc (advanced).

The Sixth M'gillah - the creation of the sixth m'gillah - M'gillat Hashoah, the first new scroll in over 1,500 years. Examine in detail the visual midrashim that add meaning to the text and that there is no such thing as a co-incidence.

Restoring the Tyburn M'gillah - a powepoint examining the repair work to this special m'gillah owned by the Tyburn nuns and looking at the parallels between Tyburn and the Purim story. Based on my book of the same name.

Recreating M'gillat B'ney Chashmonay - an examination of the new tikkun I created for this scroll that was once read in many communities on Shabbat Chanukah best known as M'gillat Antiochus. Discussed in detail on in my book.
 
Siyyumim - completion ceremony for new or extensively repaired Sifrey Torah. Obviously I tend to do these for Sifrey Torah I have worked with, but can also run these for scrolls where another sofer is not able to attend for whatever reason.

Not entirely sofrut related (but illustrated with many manuscript examples), I also give talks on Jewish Business Ethics around subjects raised by Psalm 15 as discussed in my book Tam.

Tailored sessions considered on request.
Supervisors: Professor Geoffrey Khan and Dr. Ben Outhwaite