Thursday October 7, 2021
The Brick and the Book: The Barcelona Haggadah
(Iberia, Catalonia, c. 1350. London: British Library MS Additional 14761)
In which the famed but bumbling detective Marc Michael Epstein of Vassar College discovers that you can look at something for thirty years and have no idea what you are seeing.
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Thursday October 14, 2021
A Mysterious Absence: The Rothschild Pentateuch
(Frankfurt am Main, 1296. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum and Research Center, Ms. 116 Acquisition 2018.43)
A never-before-seen manuscript, a mysterious erasure, and the terrible history of an extraordinarily beautiful book.
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Thursday October 21, 2021
Reading the World Bilingually: The Duke of Sussex Ashkenazic Pentateuch
(Ashkenaz, Lake Colmar Region, c. 1350-74. London: British Library, MS Additional 15252)
You thought Jews in the Middle Ages were ghettoized and shielded from the wider world in their hermetically sealed universe of faith and observance? Think again.
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Marc Michael Epstein, Professor on the Mattie M. Paschall (1899) & Norman Davis Chair in Religion and Visual Culture at Vassar College, was Vassar’s first Director of Jewish Studies. He is also the Director of Beit Venezia, the home for International Jewish Studies, in Venice Italy. He is a graduate of Oberlin College, received a Ph.D. at Yale University, and did much of his graduate research at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He has written on various topics in visual and material culture produced by, for, and about Jews. His 2011 book, The Medieval Haggadah: Art, Narrative, and Religious Imagination (Yale University Press) was selected by the London Times Literary Supplement as one of the best books of the year. His 2015 Skies of Parchment, Seas of Ink: Jewish Manuscript Illumination (Princeton University Press)—a magisterial large-format survey of the genre with over 300 illustrations in brilliant digital color—was the winner of the National Jewish Book Award. His most recent book, People of the Image: Jews & Art is due to be published by Penn State University Press in 2022. During the 80s, Epstein was Director of the Hebrew Books and Manuscripts Division of Sotheby’s Judaica department and continues to serve as a consultant to various libraries, auction houses, museums, and private collectors throughout the world.
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There is no fee, but please RSVP for planning purposes. This event is held virtually on Zoom. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the event. For more information, contact Program Director Ilene Tatro at itatro@cbisd.org.
CSP Partners: Beth Israel (San Diego, CA), Brotherhood Synagogue (Gramercy Park, NYC), Congregation Beth Shalom (Seattle, WA), Congregation B’nai Tzedek (Fountain Valley, CA), Congregation B’nai Israel (Tustin, CA), Jewish Collaborative of Orange County, CA, Shomrei Torah Synagogue (San Fernando Valley, CA), Temple Bat Yahm (Newport Beach, CA), Temple Beth El of South Orange County (Aliso Viejo, CA), Temple Beth Emet (Anaheim, CA), Temple Beth Ohr (La Mirada, CA), Temple Beth Tikvah (Fullerton, CA), Temple Beth Shalom (Needham, MA), Temple Beth Sholom (Santa Ana, CA), Temple Emanuel (Newton, MA), Town & Village Synagogue (NYC, NY), University Synagogue (Irvine, CA), Valley Beth Shalom (Encino, CA) & Walnut Street Synagogue (Chelsea, MA)
