ISRAEL MUSEUM:  Jerusalem Model and Dead Sea Scrolls

by Eva Zaientz,        10^th grade,           Ann Arbor MI

On Wednesday February 20th, 2019, we the students of Heller High embarked on a journey to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.  The major exhibits at this museum tell the story and history of the Jewish people through the display of artifacts. Its main purpose is to educate people about the Second Temple period in the city of Jerusalem. The first thing we did after arriving at the museum was explore the Second Temple model of the ancient city of Jerusalem which was built in 1966 but was only moved to the museum in 2006. This model was very overwhelming at first, it was very big and detailed. This model showed us a lot about the culture and style of living during this period. There were two main groups of Jews living in the city at this time. These groups are called the Pharisees (Rabbis) and the Saducees (Priests). Each group had very different lifestyles which is shown by the model of Jerusalem. The priests of the Second Temple period were the most respected and lavish people of this time. They lived in the biggest and most extravagant homes (Herodian mansions) at the top of Jerusalem (upper city), these can be recognized by the red roofs in the model. The priests also liked and respected the Romans who lead Jerusalem at this time, like King Herod, and had a more Hellenistic way of life.

On the other end of the spectrum the Rabbis were very poor and were one of the lower classes during this time. The sewage from the Priest slid down into their small and modest homes, that’s why that specific gate of the old city today is called the Dung Gate. The Rabbis did not like the Romans at all but they felt that it was not worth the bloodshed to go to war. Another group of Jews at this time wear the Jewish zealots who were located at Masada and they were a very messianic people. We also learned about this group even though there were no exhibits at the Israel museum.

The next thing we did was go into the Dead sSea scroll exhibit at the museum. Before we made it into the actual showing of the scrolls we passed through corridors filled with artifacts. As modern Jews, it helped us learn about the daily life and culture of our ancestors. When we made it into the vase shaped room where the scrolls are actually stored it was very overwhelming how long it actually was. Right when you walk in you can feel the importance of this scripture. This writing was one of the most important Jewish archaeological findings to date. It is the oldest written Tanakh ever found, it is close to 2,000 years old. This was so important because it is a huge example of historicity to prove the fourth group of Jews existed, the Essenes. Historicity is when real archaeology backs up what we read about in holy scriptures like the Tanach.

The Essenes lived by the Dead Sea and were very different from the other groups at this time. They were only males and had a very strict way of letting people in. They also were the most messianic group in the Second Temple period and expected the messiah to come within their lifetime. All of these sects developed at this time because they all had different ways of coming back to Jewish life after the Babylonian exile ended and the Second Temple was built. They also had different ways to adapting to the rule of the Romans and ideas about the messiah. I think that I identify mostly with the Pharisees because of their motivation to sticking with Jewish tradition and their modest way of life. However, like the Saducees I have been in many ways acculturated to American culture and can relate to that part of their life.

At the end of this exhibit we went to decompress what we had just learned about at the ahavah (love) statue at the museum. This art piece is one of the most iconic in Israel and people had a lot of fun taking pictures with it!