Bible Lands Museum, Jerusalem

by Briahn Witkoff,      12^th grade,       Denver

I woke up at 7:00 am sharp, and was ready to go by 7:45 with the necessities. Hat, shirt that covers shoulders, Jewish History materials, three liters of water, the works. I hope the fact that I took a short nap on the bus doesn’t mislead you, I was so excited to go to the Israel Museum to see the Dead Sea scrolls! The Dead Sea scrolls are a collection of writings found preserved in jars hidden in caves by the Dead Sea, some of them had pieces of Torah scripture, and others showed how life was run in the community at the time. They are really cool and important; the finding of these scrolls illuminates the historical and cultural context of Judaism at the time.

            I saw the Dead Sea scroll exhibit in Denver, Colorado, and I was excited to revisit them in their homeland. We get off the bus, it’s hot like usual. We wait. Wait some more. Were at the Israel Museum, why can’t we go in? “Jews, Jews, come’re,” Evan shouts at us. He tells us that Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, happens to be visiting the Israel Museum at the moment so it is closed to the public. But we get to go see the Bible Lands Museum instead! I had to admit, I was a little disappointed. However, we did get to see artifacts that were from the time of the Matriarchs and Patriarchs. It was crazy to see something tangible from that era, when all I have heard is essentially fables, and I did get to see a piece of scripture from the Dead Sea scrolls! Looking at the fragment of history I could almost see back into what life might have been like at the time under the Romans.

This is an artifact from Egypt that was supposed to accompany and guide the dead down the river of the Underworld. ~2000 BCE (Time of Matriarchs and

Patriarchs!)

Oldest written recording of Lamentations

During the Roman period, life in Jerusalem wasn’t too bad. The Romans created roads, which lead to more trade and more money, we had the protection of the Roman Empire, and we even had aqueducts so we could expand our cities and have more accessibility to water. It wasn’t too bad at all if you didn’t mind the loss of power, culture, and the omnipresent AVODAH  ZARA!!! (dun Dun DUN!)

Here is a model of what Jerusalem looked like during the 1^st Temple Period

We didn’t know what to do, on one hand we could submit to Roman rule and cultural lifestyle, but on the other hand we wanted to maintain our Judaism. The obvious solution is to argue about it and split into four sects.

The Four Children: 67 BCE Style…

1)     The Saducees (the older brother who sucks up the parents and tries to be cool)

They were responsible for the ritual sacrifices to the Temple, as well as upholding the Temple itself.  They fought with the Rabbis and did not believe in what they taught; they subscribed to TorahM’Sinai.com. Oh, and their number one fan? The Romans.

2)     The Pharisees (the middle child that doesn’t really want to start a fight, is creative, and doesn’t want to stick to the old way of doing things)

They believed their older brother’s obsession with purity clouded their judgement when it came to Jewish ideals. Yeah they liked TorahM’Sinai.com, but they also created their side blogs OralLaw.blogspot.com/Torah_Is_Cool_Too, along with RibazIsTheCoolest.blogspot.com/We_Hate_The_Romans_But_Don’t_Want_To_Revolt-The_Messiah_Will_Come_Save_Us.

3)     The Zealots (the youngest, most rebellious child)

There’s hating the Romans, and then there’s HATING the Romans. When they went to Masada and used King Herod’s paranoia-fueled escape fortress, they wouldn’t use the bath houses or rooms that were already there, they built their own baths and sleeping quarters. They even hated other Jews who weren’t as passionate about their hatred for the Romans, and believed Eretz Yisrael belonged to Am Yisrael at any and all costs, even if that meant fighting other Jews. They wanted to incite a revolt because they didn’t see Eliyahu coming anytime soon with the Messiah; their destiny was in their own hands. They were too busy HATING the Romans to run a blog.

4)     The Essenes (the other middle child that stays out of all the drama, loves brownies for some reason?)

The hippies of the family. Though they believed in ritual purity and the coming of the Messiah, they didn’t like the Romans but didn’t want to fight them either. They chilled in Qumran, and wrote Torah. (Probably the Dead Sea Scrolls too) Instagram handle: @חי_on_life_and_writing_Torah18

Pictured: us having a good time at the Bible Lands Museum and hearing Josh’s words of wisdom

Not all of the sects survived through Roman rule, leaving us with the Pharisees as the only remaining group of Jews. That’s why today Judaism looks more like prayer, Torah study, and tradition, rather than animal sacrifice like in the old days under the cohenim.

Even though we didn’t end up going to the Israel Museum, I loved seeing the ancient artifacts in the Bible Lands Museum and experiencing the culture of the Jewish people throughout different time periods.