Rabbi and Robot write Torah Scrolls
Press Invitation
Press Release, Thu 3 Jul 2014
Starting on 10 July 2014, for the very first time an industrial robot specially programmed for Hebrew script will write a Torah. The installation "bios [torah]" (10 July 2014 to 11 January 2015) at the Jewish Museum Berlin forms a counterpoint to the Torah scribe at work in the exhibition "The Creation of the World. Illustrated Manuscripts from the Braginsky Collection," which presents the world’s largest private collection of Hebrew manuscripts.
The installation by the artist group robotlab simulates a Jewish tradition going back thousands of years - writing the Torah, Judaism’s holiest book. In the installation, the writing arm with its nib and ink will work for ten hours every day at a human speed. By the end, it will have written 304,805 Hebrew letters, right to left. The robot will need only three months to fill the eighty-meter roll of paper, whereas it generally takes a specially trained scribe a year or more to carry out this sacred act.
- Kontakt
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Press office
T +49 (0)30 259 93 419
presse@jmberlin.de - Address
Jewish Museum Berlin Foundation
Lindenstraße 9–14
10969 Berlin
We herewith invite you to a press event with advance viewing of the installation in the context of the Braginsky Collection exhibition:
| When | 10 July 2014 |
|---|---|
| Accreditation | from 10.30 am |
| Start | 11 am |
| Where | Libeskind Building, ground level, Eric F. Ross Gallery |
Please plan enough time for the security checks at the museum entrance.
Participants:
Cilly Kugelmann - Program Director of the Jewish Museum Berlin
robotlab - Matthias Gommel, Martina Haitz, Jan Zappe
Reuven Yaacobov - rabbi and Torah scribe
Emile Schrijver - guest curator, "The Creation of the World. Illustrated Manuscripts from the Braginsky Collection"
After the presentation, Emile Schrijver will guide you to the highlights of the exhibition "The Creation of the World. Illustrated Manuscripts from the Braginsky Collection."
The special website with further information on the exhibition can be found at: www.jmberlin.de/braginsky/en
Please respond by Wednesday, 9 July to presse@jmberlin.de.
