29 February at 11 a.m. in the McGregor Matthews room at New College, Oxford

Book Presentation: THE LAILASHI CODEX: The Crown of Georgian Jewry – Survival in Soviet Times

Abstract: The Lailashi Codex is the greatest nearly complete Medieval Masoretic Pentateuch adorned with exquisite micrographic designs and calligrams. It belongs to the exclusive group of the Hebrew biblical manuscripts known as Vavei Ha’Amudim (every leaf of the codex starts with the letter vav except for the six cases defined by the scribal tradition). The provenance of the Lailashi Codex and its journey throughout centuries is as mysterious as its authorship and ownership. Dr Gomelauri’s book presents the fascinating history and content of the Lailashi Codex to the English-speaking world, for the first time, tracing its turbulent journey replete with mysteries, imprisonments, executions, inaccurate references, conflicting records, unsubstantiated claims, possessions and re-possessions, controversies, and miracles, and ending with a most surprising discovery and the hope of addressing issues related to the cultural memory of this exquisite artefact.

Reviews are available at this link.

Speaker: Dr Thea Gomelauri, Director of the Oxford Interfaith Forum, and Associated Member of the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oxford.