Dr Marc Michaels gained his PhD at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Cambridge University (Fitzwilliam College) related to his scribal studies, Hebrew manuscripts, and in particular the Aramaic scribal manual Sefer Tagin. His up to date academic CV can be found at https://www.sofer.co.uk/cv. This shows both published and forthcoming work, which includes a number of Genizah Fragment of the Month (FOTM) – and other Genizah related – articles. Also, his book, covering his early research, Sefer Tagin Fragments from the Cairo Genizah (Brill, 2021). The book of the PhD, which will include a critical edition of Sefer Tagin, is in preparation.
Fascinated by Hebrew letter forms, and the visual, he is both a practitioner and palaeographer. Operating under his Hebrew name, Mordechai Pinchas, he has been a Sofer STa”M (Jewish Scribe) for over 30 years, working for communities in the UK and internationally.
As a volunteer for the Genizah, he has carried on, and expanded on, his research, specifically around under-researched STa”M articles, but admits to being easily distracted by other fragments, when they are of interest, and worthy of further investigation. Even some not in the Genizah (heaven forbid).
Projects of interest have included an eclectic mix: exploring the origins of the humped letter het; identifying likely the oldest Megillat Esther on the planet; the oldest Mezuzah in the Genizah, together with cursive mezuzot; examining educational materials in the Genizah; identifying several scrolls and manuscripts in various collections that have been miscatalogued and/or misdated; fragments of scrolls as amulets, paintings, used as wrapping paper, or shoe soles; and a ‘Torah’ written by a robot. He is also expanding on his research by developing Sefer Tagin as a means of dating Torah scrolls through its specific geographical and temporal deployment.
Marc was awarded senior scholar status in 2022 for academic performance in his PhD. He was also awarded a fellowship from the Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe in 2021. He completed his MA in Jewish Studies at the Leo Baeck College, and also apprenticed to a sofer for five years, studying the halacha surrounding sofrut.
Outside of his scribal and academic life, Marc was a Marketing and Creative Director in both the public and private sectors, holding a first class honours BA in Business Studies and Marketing, and Postgraduate Diplomas in Graphic Design and Communications, and in Direct and Digital Marketing.