Scholars from all over the world will convene to discuss questions like: What makes a book, a Torah scroll, or another religious symbol into a sacred object? How are “holiness” and material objects connected in the Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Buddhist traditions? The conference will focus on the significance of sacred texts and their role in their respective community, from the Torah in Judaism to icons in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

The online conference “Creating More Holiness” is the second installment in a series. The first event was held in person at the Mainz Academy of Sciences and Literature in June. The program features talks on texts and symbols from Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism, as well as their role in cultural and religious contexts.

A key theme at the conference will be the importance of manuscripts, which are not only deemed sacred due to their content but also because of the material used, the artistry of scribes, and the production process. These aspects are also the focus of the ToRoll project’s interdisciplinary research, which addresses Torah scrolls as an expression of Jewish scribal culture.

The project is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research through the funding line “Small Disciplines – Strong Together.” Scholars from different disciplines including Jewish studies, material research, social sciences, and art history cooperate in researching “materialized holiness” and its digital documentation. Partners include the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin and Mainz Academy of Sciences and Literature.