Ariela’s Background in Calligraphy

Ariela (she/her/hers) was introduced to the art of Hebrew and English calligraphy at age 10 in a grade school art class. She practiced on her own until age 17, when she apprenticed to Mickie Caspi of Caspi Cards and Art as a ketubah calligrapher.

After 12 years as a freelance ketubah artist and calligrapher, Ariela began her safrut studies in 2015 with Jen Taylor Friedman teaching her the halaḥah of writing mezuzah scrolls. After completing numerous mezuzot, Ariela finished her first M’gillat Esther in February 2021.

Ariela’s Jewish Background and Observance

Ariela grew up in an observant Conservative family and attended Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston K-8. She marked her bat mitzvah at age 12 in the in the independent ḥavurah Minyan Shalem in Brookline, MA. She attended the pluralistic New Jewish High School (now Gann Academy), graduating in 2003. A year after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, she spent a year studying at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem from 2008 to 2009.

Ariela identifies her observance level as “halaḥic egalitarian,” emphasizing her adherence to Jewish law in her practice and commitment to egalitarian values over membership in one of the major Jewish Movements in America today. She prays all three daily services and wears a tallet and lays t’fillin. She observes Shabbat strictly and keeps kosher according to Sephardic practice (yay kitniyot!).

Spanish Portuguese / Western Sephardic Rite

After growing up in an Ashkenazi family of origin, Ariela adopted the Spanish Portuguese rite as her personal minhag as an adult. In addition to praying the S&P liturgy, this means that when she started writing sifrei kodesh (sacred texts), she chose to learn the Spanish Portuguese traditional script before any of the Ashkenazi scripts.

Location

Ariela lives just outside the city of Chicago, IL.