Tuesday, March 4, 1:00 pm ET (online)
(online in partnership with the Orange County Jewish Community Scholar Program)

Created about seven centuries ago, the Luzzatto High Holiday Mahzor is a scribal masterpiece comprising the liturgy for the two holiest festivals on the Jewish calendar, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Preserved in exceptionally fine condition, it is one of only a small number of illustrated Ashkenazic mahzorim to have come down to us. This presentation will explore the manuscript’s decorative program, text, and provenance with an eye toward understanding how the book can teach us about medieval and early modern Jewish custom, migration, and spiritual resilience.
Shaul Seidler-Feller joined the Sotheby’s Books and Manuscripts Department as a Judaica specialist in 2017. Since that time, he has researched and catalogued such important sales as SASSOON: A Golden Legacy (December 2020), The Luzzatto High Holiday Mahzor (October 2021), and Codex Sassoon: The Earliest Most Complete Hebrew Bible (May 2023), the latter two of which broke auction records for Judaica. In addition, he serves as a freelance Judaica consultant and has translated or edited four books in Jewish Studies. He holds a master’s degree in medieval Jewish history from the Bernard Revel Graduate School, Yeshiva University, and rabbinic ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.
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Session 1 – Why Does Tanakh Translation Matter and How Did it Arrive in its Current Shape? – Thursday, March 6, 3:30 pm ET (online)
Session 2 – The Septuagint: Is Translation Divinely Aided or a National Curse? – Thursday, March 20, 3:30 pm ET (online)
Session 3 – The Targums: When is a Translation Not a Translation? – Thursday, March 27, 3:30 pm ET (online)
(online in partnership with the Orange County Jewish Community Scholar Program)

Join Rabba Dr. Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz for a fascinating three-part series exploring how Jews have translated and transmitted the Tanakh through the ages. From the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Septuagint (the 2,000-year-old Greek translation by Jews in Egypt) and the Targums (the Aramaic “translations” that influenced Rashi and merge into midrash), we’ll uncover the complex history of how the Hebrew text reached us and examine why translation matters.  Don’t miss this journey through the history, complexity, and significance of Tanakh translation!
Rabba Dr. Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz obtained her PhD from University College London in Jewish Studies and Anthropology, her MA from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Prehistory, and her BA from Cambridge University in Archaeology and Anthropology). In 2021 she received Orthodox rabbinic ordination from Yeshivat Maharat in New York.  She has also participated in the Cambridge Senior Faith Leadership Program and held a Susi Bradfield Women Educators Fellowship. She is a Teaching Associate at Cambridge University, an Honorary Research Fellow at the Centre for Jewish Studies, Manchester University, and a lecturer and Research Fellow at London School of Jewish Studies. She is currently writing her second book, on the history and development of Limmud. Her first, published in 2021 by the Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, was Challenge and Conformity: The Religious Lives of Orthodox Jewish Women. In 2019 she founded the Pop-Up Beit Midrash, and more recently, she was one of the three founders of Azara, a cross-denominational Beit Midrash providing Jewish learning in the United Kingdom.
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Thursday, March 13, 1:00 pm ET (online)
(online in partnership with the Orange County Jewish Community Scholar Program)

The Book of Esther tells us that the Purim scroll was sent to 127 lands, from India to Ethiopia, spreading the story across vast distances. “Esther Without Borders” is an ongoing project created by David Moss, which began in Bali in 1990 and continues today. Through this initiative, David commissions folk artists from diverse cultures to illustrate six key scenes from the Book of Esther, each through the lens of their own unique artistic traditions—imagining the story unfolding in their own communities. The results are often breathtaking, always captivating, and consistently full of charm and joy. Join David on a global journey through the pages of the Megillah as we explore the stunning artistic expressions that bring Esther’s story to life around the world. The Ganze Megillah!
David Moss is an illuminator, animator, and transformer of Jewish texts, objects, spaces, and souls. His journey into Jewish art began with a deep passion for Hebrew calligraphy, which sparked his career. David is renowned for reviving the hand-decorated Jewish Marriage Contract, the Ketubah, and for creating The Moss Haggadah. He is also a partner in the creation of the Tree of Life Shtender. Whether working on books, prints, objects, buildings, or educational programs, each of David’s projects is rooted in Jewish text and tradition, infused with creativity, and executed with meticulous craftsmanship. David lives in Jerusalem and is a co-founder of Kol HaOt, an organization dedicated to harnessing the power of the arts for Jewish inspiration and education. Each year, he sends out three new signed, limited edition works to his loyal “Minyan” subscribers, continuing to share his artistic vision and passion with a devoted audience.
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