Monday, April 10 at 11:00 am ET / 8:00 am PT / 6:00 pm Israel
Ashleigh N. Ferguson Schieszer, UC Conservationist

To celebrate the upcoming festival of Passover, we invite you to join with Ashleigh N. Ferguson Schieszer, as she describes the intricate process required to restore one of the earliest printed illustrated Haggadot in the rare book collection of the Klau Library. In this session, Ashleigh will discuss how she met the challenges facing her with this amazing historical work to reverse earlier poorly-done repairs. These treatments were conducted over several years, and included preservation of handwritten songs later added to the Klau’s copy. This project was funded by the generous donations of Dr. Valerie Hotchkiss and Dr. David Price.

Tuesday, March 14 at 12:00 pm ET / 9:00 am PT / 7:00 pm Israel
Feld lunch and learn with Steven Fine, Ph.D., Churgin Professor of Jewish History, Yeshiva University

Samaritans believe that Joshua constructed the biblical Tabernacle on Mt. Gerizim, and that it will be discovered buried there at the end of days. Dr. Fine will present little-known Samaritan literary and visual sources on the Tabernacle (including a drawing from the Klau Library collection). He will contrast these Samaritan sources with Jewish, Christian, and Muslim conceptions of this most important biblical icon.

A partnership of the Klau Library and Mayerson JCC, in association with the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies.

Monday, March 13 at 7:00 pm ET / 4:00 pm PT / 2:00 am Israel
Feld Lecture and Reception with Steven Fine, Ph.D., Churgin Professor of Jewish History, Yeshiva University

Jews and Samaritans, the two Israelite peoples, were at times in conflict and at times allies in the Roman world. Dr. Fine will explore this complex and fascinating relationship, focusing on literature and archaeological discoveries from this formative period.

A partnership of the Klau Library and Mayerson JCC, in association with the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies.

Monday, March 13 at 5:00 pm ET (in-person only)
Film screening in the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati International Learning Center at the American Jewish Archives

On Mt. Gerizim, near Nablus, a community of 850 Samaritans and their 3,500-year-old biblical tradition struggle to survive. Endangered by the modern life surrounding them and strict customs on marriage within their religion, they try to prevent extinction and preserve the community, the Torah, and their Holy Mountain.

A partnership of the Klau Library, American Jewish Archives, and Mayerson JCC, in association with the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies.

Wednesday, February 15 at 5:00 pm ET / 2:00 pm PT / 12:00 am Israel
Rabbi David Aaron, Ph.D.

Subversive Principles: Understanding the Purpose of Mishnah Avot 1 and 2. In this lecture, Dr. Aaron will discuss the relationship between the aphorisms in Avot, Greco-Roman philosophical schools, and the ideology of early Rabbinism. Dr. Aaron is the Professor of Hebrew Bible and History of Interpretation at HUC-JIR/Cincinnati.

The Tsevat Memorial Lecture is presented in memory of Dr. Matitiahu Tsevat, who taught at HUC for more than 20 years A partnership of the Klau Library and the HUC-JIR Dean’s Office with support from the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati.

image of king david

Jews and Christians who lived in the ancient world did more than read and interpret they Bible. They lived it.  In this lecture, we will explore the various ways in which Jews and Christians encountered the book of Psalms outside of the often-polemical context of biblical interpretation. We will “go on the ground” and explore various forms of pious practice into which both Jewish and Christian enmeshed the Psalms.  We will also discuss how and why these patterns of religious expression often converge and then diverge, which will showcase the shared—but disputed—religious worlds that ancient Jews and early Christians inhabited.

image of king david

Jews and Christians who lived in the ancient world did more than read and interpret they Bible. They lived it.  In this lecture, we will explore the various ways in which Jews and Christians encountered the book of Psalms outside of the often-polemical context of biblical interpretation. We will “go on the ground” and explore various forms of pious practice into which both Jewish and Christian enmeshed the Psalms.  We will also discuss how and why these patterns of religious expression often converge and then diverge, which will showcase the shared—but disputed—religious worlds that ancient Jews and early Christians inhabited.

Artist Susan Ribnick brought together 36 mosaic artists from around the world to create works that react and respond to the Tree of Life Congregation shooting in Pittsburgh, PA on October 27, 2018. Eleven people were killed and six were wounded in the white supremacist terrorist mass shooting, the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the history of the United States. The 36 mosaics in the exhibition evoke themes ranging from antisemitism and injustice to hope, resilience, and peace.

Artist Susan Ribnick brought together 36 mosaic artists from around the world to create works that react and respond to the Tree of Life Congregation shooting in Pittsburgh, PA on October 27, 2018. Eleven people were killed and six were wounded in the white supremacist terrorist mass shooting, the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the history of the United States. The 36 mosaics in the exhibition evoke themes ranging from antisemitism and injustice to hope, resilience, and peace.

Artist Mark Podwal creates imaginative and inventive interpretations of woodcuts from a 16th-century Sefer Minhagim (Book of Customs). Complementing Podwal’s 26 archival prints are a selection of Sefrei Minhagim from the Klau Library of HUC-JIR, as well as ritual objects from the Skirball’s collection that relate to images in the exhibition.

*A Collage of Customs: Iconic Jewish Woodcuts Revised from the Twenty-First Century includes images of the prints and their sources as well as insightful accompanying text by the artist. The book, published by HUC Press, is available with a donation of $18 to the Skirball Museum.