By GIL STERN STERN SHEFLERHorton 311(photo credit: Mike Horton)
A professional scribe will present Prince William and Kate Middleton with a specially-made scroll in Hebrew and English for their upcoming royal wedding on Thursday.Mike Horton will hand over the scroll he made himself to British Ambassador Matthew Gould at the British Embassy in Tel Aviv.“A friend came up with the idea of writing a scroll for the wedding of Prince William and Catherine,” he said on Sunday. “We went to a rabbi in Hod Hasharon to phrase the scroll and one refused, but another agreed. He took out the Jewish stuff, as I asked, and I’m going to present it on Thursday, after which it will be put in the diplomatic pouch and delivered to Common House next to Buckingham Palace.”The text written in Hebrew and English by a rabbi is based on egalitarian principles, Horton said.“As beloveds and friends, we promise to love, honor, cherish and support each other,” it reads. “May we be ever open and honest.”While Horton is not a sofer stam, an ordained Jewish scribe, he has produced scrolls in the Jewish tradition for special occasions beginning with his own wedding in 1973.“When I got married in 1973, I wrote one for my ex-wife,” he said.“I was in an arts college in London and I did calligraphy but I’m not a sofer stam. I freelance and that’s part of my profession. I’m also a photographer and graphic designer.To the best of our knowledge, neither the bride nor the groom have any links to Judaism, which is why the 63-year-old British-born Jerusalem resident was careful to omit the religious language found in ketubot, the traditional Jewish marriage contracts.“I don’t think I would get an invitation to the wedding and if I did, I’m not sure I would go,” Horton said. “They’re not my crowd of people, plus it’s on a Friday morning and I have to get ready for Shabbat.Perhaps I could receive a note and I could use that for advertising.“
