Lavy Conference 2026: Scribes and Scribal Communities
at The Smokler Center for Jewish Life
3109 N Charles St, Baltimore, MD 21218
February 15th, 8 AM – 4:30 PM
February 16th, 8 AM – 4 PM
Abstract: Ancient Jewish communities did not exist apart from their wider world; they existed at the crossroads (or in the midst!) of some of the most powerful empires in the ancient world. Scribes and scribal communities were on the front lines of communication between these different cultures. The 2026 Lavy Symposium in Jewish Studies will address more classic veins of scholarship on Jewish scribal communities but also offer insights into new avenues of inquiry, with special attention to the materiality of scribal practice and the growing evidence for the complexity and diversity of ancient scribal communities.
Featured speakers:
- Alice Mandell
- Andrew Gross
- Aren WIlson-Wright
- David Vanderhooft
- Drew Longacre
- James Nati
- Jeff Cooley
- Jeff Stackert
- Jeremy Smoak
- Julia Rhyder
- Liane Feldman
- Lisa Cleath
- Madadh Richey
- Mahri Leonard-Fleckman
- Molly Zahn
- Roger Nam
- Rotem Avneri Meir
- Timothy Hogue
- William Schniedewind
Programming made possible by
Princeton University Judaic Studies Program
Stulman Program in Jewish Studies
Alexander Grass Humanities Institute
Virginia Fox Stern Center
The Singleton Center
Department of Near East Studies