Printing, Praying, and Performing Jewish Identity in Early Modern Italy: Maḥzor kimḥa d’avishuna with Rabbi Joseph A. Skloot, Ph.D.
In 1540, a group of silk weavers from the city of Bologna, who called themselves “the partners” (ha-shutafim), printed a two-volume compendium of the Jewish liturgy for the yearly worship cycle. This maḥzor (prayer book) included both a commentary on the liturgy by R. Yohanan b. Joseph Treves, entitled Kimha d’avishuna (Flour Milled from Roasted Grain), and a commentary on Tractate Avot of the Mishnah (an oft-quoted anthology of rabbinic wisdom) by R. Obadiah b. Jacob Sforno.
A light catered Kosher lunch will be provided.