Spiritual faith has long been shaped by the lettering on a religion’s sacred texts. This is particularly the case with Judaism, so we visited three Hebrew scribes—in Jerusalem, New York City, and the liberal enclave of Berkeley, California—to understand why such laborious traditions continue.

The Power of the Scribe, written by BRYCE T. BAUER with contributions by LYNN HOLSTEIN and TODD OPPENHEIMER, originally appeared in Craftsmanship Quarterly, a multimedia online magazine about artisans, innovators, and the architecture of excellence. You'll find many more stories, videos, audio recordings, and other resources on our site — all free of charge and free of advertising.

Introduction by: Anh Oppenheimer

Narrated by: Mitchell Greenberg

Produced by: Larry Rosen

Music by: Mike Snowden of The Cigar Box Guitar Maker.