OxTalks will soon move to the new Halo platform and will become 'Oxford Events.' There will be a need for an OxTalks freeze. This was previously planned for Friday 14th November – a new date will be shared as soon as it is available (full details will be available on the Staff Gateway).
In the meantime, the OxTalks site will remain active and events will continue to be published.
If staff have any questions about the Oxford Events launch, please contact halo@digital.ox.ac.uk
The Lailashi Codex is the greatest nearly complete Masoretic Pentateuch. This ancient witness to a scribal tradition known as ‘vavei ha’aamudim’ (each leaf of the manuscript begins with the letter vav except for the six cases defined by a scribal school) is lavishly adorned with exquisite micrographic designs and calligrams.
The manuscript emerged into the Western world awareness from Dr Thea Gomelauri’s book ‘The Lailashi Codex: The Crown of Georgian Jewry’ published in October 2023. The provenance of the Lailashi Codex and its trajectory is as mysterious as its authorship and ownership. According to the legend, it was brought to Lailashi (Georgia), a remote village at the footstool of the Caucasian mountains, on an angel’s wings. The villagers saw a floating book in a river and rescued it from the stream. This unique artefact was said to have miracle-working powers. It became the best-kept secret of Georgian Jewry.
Dr Thea Gomelauri, together with three renowned scholars of Semitic Languages, Illuminated Jewish Art, and Hebrew Manuscripts, will discuss the fascinating history and content of the Lailashi Codex, and its significance to Biblical scholarship and Jewish Studies.
