Houghton Library, the Standing Committee on Medieval Studies, and the Center for Jewish Studies present "Reading the Tree: A Hands-On Workshop in Ilanot Manuscripts" by Dr. Yossi Chajes. These workshops are also made possible through the generous loan of three ilanot scrolls from the Klau Library at Hebrew Union College.

This hands-on workshop centers on three major ilanot manuscripts on exclusive loan to the seminar from the Klau Library (HUC–JIR, Cincinnati): an early witness of the Magnificent Parchment (a pinnacle of the classical ilanot tradition); an extraordinary rotulus among the earliest extant “Great Trees” of the Lurianic school; and a highly imaginative ilan visualizing Saruqian cosmogonic teachings. Our close examination will be enriched by comparative consultation of kabbalistic works at Houghton, highlighting the visual repertoires these manuscripts adapt to map divine topography and the emanatory chain of being. 

"Reading the Tree: A Hands-On Workshop in Ilanot Manuscripts" will be offered once in the morning and once in the afternoon, and space is limited. Please register for one session only. This is the listing for the afternoon session. Follow this link to register for the morning session: morning session.

Workshop attendees are encouraged to attend Dr. Yossi Chajes’s public lecture, "Philosophy, Pedagogy, Prophecy, and the Enigmatic Origins of Ilanot", February 23, 5:30 PM, at Houghton Library.

Image: Detail of Klau Library Scroll 65.1, Hebrew Union College, Klau Library.