Objects of Awe: The Meaning of the High Holidays Through Treasures from the JTS Library
Date: Aug 17, 2026
Time: 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Sponsor: Online Learning
Location: Online
Category: Online Learning Past and Presence: Encountering the High Holidays
Objects of Awe: The Meaning of the High Holidays Through Treasures from the JTS Library
Part of Our 2026 High Holiday Webinar Series, Past and Presence: Encountering the High Holidays
Monday, August 17, 2026
Online
1:00–2:00 p.m. ET
With Rabbi Marcus Mordecai Schwartz, Ripps Schnitzer Librarian for Special Collections; Assistant Professor, JTS
What can a medieval prayer book, one of the earliest printed Hebrew mahzorim, and a set of century-old baseball-card-sized boxing cards teach us about the High Holidays? These three remarkable objects from The JTS Library demonstrate how Jewish communities across the centuries have expressed themes of kingship, tradition, strength, repentance, and renewal. Through illuminated manuscripts, early Hebrew printing, and unexpected artifacts of American Jewish life, we’ll discover how material objects preserve memory, shape religious imagination, and offer fresh perspectives on the spiritual work of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Led by Rabbi Marcus Mordecai Schwartz, PhD, the Henry R. and Miriam Ripps Schnitzer Librarian for Special Collections of the JTS Library, this presentation will also highlight the new JTS Library website, “Jewish Books, Jewish Worlds: An Interactive Exploration of Jewish Culture, Imagination, and Resilience.”
If you have previously registered for another session in this series, your registration admits you to all sessions in the series, and you may attend as many as you’d like.
About the Series
What does it mean to prepare and show up for the High Holidays in our own time? This three-part series explores how Jewish tradition has preserved, interpreted, and renewed the themes of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur through sacred objects, timeless texts, and personal prayer. Together, we’ll explore the objects that have carried Jewish tradition across centuries, engage with ancient texts with compassion and honesty, and reflect on how our own voices become part of the ongoing story of Jewish prayer and renewal.
