Rabbis Linda Motzkin, right, and Jonathan Rubenstein before the blessing over the challah with Temple Sinai President Beth Sabo Novik, left, at the congregational farewell for the co-rabbis emeriti at Temple Sinai in Saratoga Springs July 20, 2025. The two retired after 36 years of service as co-rabbis of the congregation in 2022. Photo courtesy of Richard Goldenberg.

BY RICHARD GOLDENBERG,

Temple Sinai Trustee

SARATOGA SPRINGS–Dozens of members of the Saratoga Springs Jewish community joined on July 20 with Temple Sinai members to hear what inspires the artwork of Rabbi Linda Motzkin, and joined the farewell program that followed for Linda and her husband Rabbi Jonathan Rubenstein as the two are relocating to the West Coast to be closer to family.

The two served for 36 years as co-rabbis at Temple Sinai in Saratoga.

The program entitled, Tradition In Ink, part of the Saratoga Jewish Cultural Festival, allowed Motzkin to discuss her concepts and creations. The Torah scribe rabbi creates calligraphic artwork from pieces of her handmade deerskin parchment not suitable for a Torah scroll.

An artwork on parchment by Rabbi Linda Motzkin

Motzkin is one of 16 women in the world trained as a Hebrew scribe, a role traditionally reserved for men. What makes Motzkin’s work unique is that she is the only female scribe who makes her own parchment. Motzkin related that as one of the early female scribes, gathering supplies like parchment was very difficult, so she welcomed the contributions of hunters and of Temple Sinai community members to help her prepare her own parchment, quills and ink supplies.

Through her Community Torah Project, Motzkin opened the process of creating a Torah scroll to thousands of people nationally and internationally. Her hands-on educational workshops enable participants to engage in various steps in the making of a Torah scroll; from processing deerskins into parchment panels to stitching completed panels together.

She discussed eight various art pieces on display for the community that were on silent auction. Sixteen pieces of her artwork were available for sale, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting Temple Sinai.

According to Motzkin, for her artwork, she draws on several inspirations: her love of Hebrew calligraphy and the shapes and forms of Hebrew letters; her knowledge of 3,000 years of Jewish literature; the unique characteristics of the Hebrew language; and her work as a Hebrew scholar and parchment maker.

The congregation celebrated the duo and their time at Temple Sinai, with challah prepared by the staff of the on-site non-profit charitable bakery, Slice of Heaven, founded by Rabbi Rubenstein more than two decades ago.

“We know that this is not a complete farewell, since we know so many who will come out to see us and that we’ll be back here in Saratoga as well,” Rubenstein said. The two rabbis also said that they were happy to see the congregation continuing in new and exciting ways with the leadership of Rabbi Ilana Symons, who marked her first year with Temple Sinai earlier in July.