Location: Auditorium. Free. Registration required for in-person(spaces limited). Livestreamed on TBS & Zoom (no registration required). Registration begins on November 1st.

In Celebration of Jewish Book Month

Part of the Dr. Michael D. Paul Rare Book Initiative at the JPL

To reach the TBS line: dial 438-809-7799,then press 500 514 054 ##      

 In 2013, the Jewish Public Library Archives received an unusual artefact: a kabbalistic parchment owned by Rabbi Yehudah Yudel Rosenberg. a Hasidic rabbi, scholar, scribe, kabbalist, holistic physician, and translator who lived in Montreal from 1919-1935, A fascinating figure, his diverse interests in contrast with orthodox Judaism. Known for his involvement in the beginnings of the Montreal Va’ad Ha’ir, he was also the quiet inspiration for some of the early works of his grandson, Mordecai Richler.

The parchment scroll was used by kabbalists in both meditative and mystical practices. Its history dates from the early medieval period and was used widely both as an ornamental and practical object, especially in miniaturized versions such as amulets. These kinds of parchments are generally known as ilanot (pl. for ilan): an ‘ilan’ is the Hebrew word for ‘tree’. These arboreal diagrams depict the schema of the kabbalistic sefirot, the ten emanations or skeleton keys that unlock all of reality according to kabbalistic thought. Eddie Paul, the Associate Director of Special Collections at the JPL, will discuss the origins of the genre, the artefact, and how the scroll and the codex both evolved varying roles and functions in Jewish reading practices.

**  In collaboration with the Jewish Public Library

zoom link: https://csllibrary.org/iguana/www.main.cls?surl=liveonzoom%C2%A0