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The Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies & the Herbert D. Katz Center Distinguished Fellow's Lecture in Jewish Manuscript Studies

Dating Saints: A Remarkable Late Medieval Hebrew Compendium of Astronomy and Calendars

Presented by Sacha Stern, University College London, & the 2024-2025 Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies & the Herbert D. Katz Center Distinguished Fellow in Jewish Manuscript Studies

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Tuesday, February 18, 2025, 5:15 - 7:00 pm EST
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Class of 1978 Pavilion, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, 6th floor, & Virtual
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Hosted by: Kislak Center

diagram of illustrated constellations in the southern hemisphere.

Penn Libraries' LJS 57, a manuscript written ca. 1361 in Sephardic script, is a remarkable compendium of Hebrew astronomical and related scientific works. It includes four astrological works by Abraham ibn Ezra and the astronomical tables of Jacob ben David ben Yom Tov. The longest section of the codex is an impressive, richly illustrated catalog of stars and constellations, demonstrating how medieval sciences could open the door for creative, artistic expression. In the middle of the codex, the scribe presents a Christian liturgical calendar in Hebrew translation, complete with saint days and other liturgical events. This raises the question: why were Jews interested in Christian dates?

Sacha Stern

Sacha Stern is a Fellow of the British Academy and Professor of Rabbinic Judaism at the University College London’s Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies. He is an expert in Jewish history in late Antiquity, early rabbinic literature, and the history of calendars and time reckoning. Among his many publications, he is the author of Calendar and Community: A History of the Jewish Calendar, 2nd Century BCE to 10th Century CE (2001), Time and Process in Ancient Judaism (2003), and Calendars in Antiquity: Empires, States, and Societies (2012) and the editor of the Journal of Jewish Studies.

Headshot of Professor Sacha Stern.

The lecture is sponsored by the Jewish Studies Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Attendees are invited to a reception following the lecture.

The Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies & the Herbert D. Katz Center Distinguished Fellowship in Jewish Manuscript Studies is funded in part by the David B. Ruderman Distinguished Visiting Scholar Fellowship.

Image: Illustrated diagram of constellations in the southern hemisphere, from a compendium of astronomical and astrological texts produced in Catalonia, ca. 1361 (Penn Libraries, LJS 57, p. 113)

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