The Institute of Jewish Studies at Freie Universität Berlin is hosting an international online conference on religious books, scrolls, and other sacred objects
The project "ToRoll: Materialized Holiness" based at the Institute of Jewish Studies at Freie Universität Berlin is hosting an international online conference on the holiness of texts and objects in different religions. The conference "Creating More Holiness: Books, Scrolls, and Icons as Carriers of Sacredness" will take place between September 23 and 25, 2024. Anyone with an interest in the topic is welcome to attend. Please register in advance by sending an email to katharina.wendl@fu-berlin.de.Scholars from all’over the world will convene to discuss questions like: What makes a book, a Torah scroll, or another religious symbol into a sacred object? How are "holiness" and material objects connected in the Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Buddhist traditions? The conference will focus on the significance of sacred texts and their role in their respective community, from the Torah in Judaism to icons in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
The online conference "Creating More Holiness" is the second installment in a series. The first event was held in person at the Mainz Academy of Sciences and Literature in June. The program features talks on texts and symbols from Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism, as well as their role in cultural and religious contexts.
A key theme at the conference will be the importance of manuscripts, which are not only deemed sacred due to their content but also because of the material used, the artistry of scribes, and the production process. These aspects are also the focus of the ToRoll project’s interdisciplinary research, which addresses Torah scrolls as an expression of Jewish scribal culture.
Katharina Hadassah Wendl, Institute of Jewish Studies, Freie Universität Berlin,
The Latin words veritas, justitia, and libertas, which frame the seal of Freie Universität Berlin, stand for the values that have defined the academic ethos of Freie Universität since its founding in December 1948.
