Jamie Shear, (Zalman Leib) was born in Montreal, Canada.   At the age of fourteen, he went to Israel for the first time on a Bronfman sponsored summer camp. He instantly fell in love with the land, people, language and culture.   He returned to Israel to resume various programs of study within the framework of high school, Talmud seminary, and later to complete a B.Sc. in Biology at Bar-Ilan University. 

 

In 1991, during his studies at David Shapell College of Jewish Studies, Jamie’s commitment to Torah study and passion for Hebrew lettering grew.   Jamie aspired to write a Torah scroll and was determined to find a scribe willing to teach him the scribal arts.   Jamie met Chaim David Sarakic who agreed to formulate an apprentice.   For the years to follow, Jamie would spend much of his free time practicing the letterforms and reviewing the laws in preparation for the certification examination from the organization, Va’ad Mishmeret STaM.