The Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum - Coursework Example

The Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum The Dead Sea Scrolls are on exhibit atthe Royal Ontario Museum and it is both wonderful and controversial. The title of the exhibit is "Dead Sea Scrolls: Words that Changed the World." Many of the scrolls are very small and some are broken but they bring a special history to Toronto. The scrolls can only be viewed for a short time because they cannot be exposed to light or to humidity. THE QUMRAN CAVES The Qumran caves are some of the most interesting caves in Israel. According to Jochen Duckeck, they became famous because this is where the Dead Sea Scrolls (also called The Qumran Scrolls) represent the oldest manuscript available of the Hebrew Bible. The scrolls were preserved in cylindrical pottery jars and they were sealed with a lid of material that was not known. The jars stood approximately 50cm high and they were 25cm around. The Essenes who lived in the area were a "separatist" Jewish sect and they created an "ascetic monastic community" (Duckeck). They saved the scrolls and put them into the caves to hide them and to protect them from harm. Unfortunately an earthquake made the Essenes leave their homes and they never came back to the area so people forgot about the caves. The parchment that the scrolls were written on was very fragile and this is why many of them became fragments instead of the entire scroll (Duckeck). An interesting note is that scholars have had many things to say about the caves and there were many rumors. Some suggest that there may have been something very important in the scrolls because they were hidden and this usually means that something contains information that some would not want known to everyone. As Duckeck, states, "The rumors were things like God was an extraterrestrial making genetic experiments with mankind 3000 years ago" (Duckeck). Whether this information is true or not it brings another fascinating opinion to the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit. HISTORY OF THE SCROLLS The scrolls span a very long time in history. Marilena Berardinelli reported that the scrolls were possibly written between 250 B.C.E. and 68 C.E. by the Essenes were a Jewish sect that lived near Qumran where the scrolls were found. The scrolls only talk about the Old Testament. Most of the ones they found were written in Hebrew but there are several that were written in Aramaic or Greek (Berardinelli). The scrolls were first discovered by Bedouin tribesmen and sold to a cobbler for about $100 at that time. The cobbler took four of the scrolls to the Syriac Orthodox Church in Jerusalem and sold them to Archbishop Athanasius Yeshue Samuel. Today, the archbishop credited with discovering the scrolls. In 1947 Eleazer Sukenik a professor at Hebrew University, took the scrolls home to get a better look at them and to make sure they were authentic. Historically, in 1947, the United Nations agreed to separate Palestine into two states; one side went to the Arabs and the other went to the Jews (Martin 1). This is significant because the scrolls were discovered (technically) in the Palestine state. Professor Sukenik realized that the scrolls verified that Jews had been in Jerusalem for at least 2,000 years which meant they were written by Jews. Hebrew University has housed the scrolls since 1947 (Martin 1-2). There seems to be a very strong connection from the scrolls to the Jews and it is sad that the scrolls have come under such controversy. THE CONTENTS OF THE EXHIBIT When visitors first enter the exhibit they are escorted down to the basement. There are several areas that create the feel of ancient Jerusalem. The ROM Is hosting a total of 200 artifacts in the entire exhibit and it is on loan to the ROM from the Israel Antiquities Authority; a representative of the ROM went to Israel to work to bring the scrolls to Toronto. The first half of the floor space is composed of several artifacts that archeologists found in and around Qumran. These finds include silver coins, daily pottery, stoneware vessels used for cooking and ossuaries that held the bones of the dead (Taylor 1). As visitors continue to walk to the next area they are immersed in Sepphoris, a Galilean town that shows scenes from ancient Jewish life. The next area shows Jerusalem during the assaults on Jerusalem from outside forces and it includes the two revolts against the Romans and the sectarian conflicts. There are also original rocks that fell from the stone temple when the Romans destroyed it in 70 A.D. On display are also the silver shekels that Jews used for currency when they dealt with the Romans. The Romans valued silver and I thought these may have been the same types of coins that Judas was given when he "betrayed" Jesus later. Finally, visitors are able to read about the scrolls and the history of why they were stored in jars and then moved to the caves in Qumran (Taylor 2). All of the artifacts are stored within a special case that has a special type of lighting and that is environmentally protected (Robertson 1). The exhibit is being shown in two parts. The first part shows a section of the "Book of Daniel that has not been seen prior to the exhibit, a section of "Genesis" that tells a story about Joseph, an "apocalyptic" text called "the Book of War" and a blessing that was to be recited for any Jew that survived the end of time. The exhibit also has commentaries about the bible and a "rule book" that was written and used in the community (Berardinelli). The second part of the exhibit will not be shown after the first three months of the show. This second part will show a second set of scrolls that include parts of "Deuteronomy," a small segment of the "Ten Commandments" and a fragment of the "Book of Psalms" (Taylor 2). Throughout the exhibit visitors can read the translations of each piece and there is a large amount of information. As an example, when visitors arrive at the "Book of Psalms" they hear a woman singing the Psalms in Hebrew; these songs are still sung in synagogues today (Taylor 2). The exhibit is a collaborative effort between the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Royal Ontario Museum. It is the first exhibit that was done after the renovation of the ROM. The ROM hopes to create a space for scholars and historians to come and study (Laidlaw 2009). The ROM sent a representative to Israel to secure the exhibit. THE CONTROVERSY OVER THE EXHIBIT There is much conflict and controversy over the exhibit and it is largely a product of the war between Israel and Palestine. The controversy is basically about the owner of the scrolls and it is a debate between scholars. Some scholars believe that the Essences are the true owners of the scrolls because they lived in the Qumran area and were the most likely to store the scrolls. Other scholars argue that the information seems to have been written by more than one group of people because there is so much information and it is written in more than one language. Most scholars agree that the scrolls may have been hidden for safety (Taylor 2). Oakland Ross reports that the controversy is so strong that some of the top Palestinian officials asked for the exhibit to be canceled. They have accused the ROM of violating international law. They say that Israel is in possession of the scrolls illegally because they were taken when Jerusalem was annexed by the Jewish people in 1967 and they were originally part of Palestine (Ross). Patrick Martin says that these two groups have been fighting over the scrolls for many years. Clearly this is a political issue and it threatens to bring the ROM into the war between Israel and Palestine but it is an exhibit that everyone should see. In one sense the controversy is also about ethics and values and they represent what people believed in ancient history. The scrolls give more information about the bible and fills in valuable details. The museums controversy management seems to be working because people have not stopped attending the exhibit. Instead there has been a constant stream of visitors. The exhibit is interesting to many and much of the marketing seems to be coming from word-of-mouth and the Internet. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SCROLLS ACROSS THE WORLD Regardless of who the scrolls belong to they are very important for people across the world. The scrolls are important because bring an ancient history into modern times and they help people understand what their faith means. As they walk though the exhibit they are inundated by the sights and sounds of the entire experience and people will be deeply moved whether they are religious or not. MY THOUGHTS I have always liked history and I felt walking in the exhibit had a mesmerizing effect. I also thought about the title because "words that changed worlds" was a very important phrase. Religious people talk about different versions of the bible but this exhibit shows the real events that happened during the writing of the book. The world can now understand the immense change that faith has gone through over these many years. I have to say though that I was not impressed by the exhibit. I did think about the fact that we have never known the entire bible and it seems like it is something that you would not keep secret. The words of many texts that scholars and individuals read show us that some things can be changed throughout time and as I walked through the exhibit I wondered whether this information would help or hinder the people would go through the exhibit because it shows information that has never been seen. To read the translation made me wonder whether I was getting the true translation and what I did read added to my knowledge of the bible. I was impressed by the fact that it was so well organized and done in such a way that anyone who was interested could walk through without a guide. The challenge for many people is that they have already adopted a biblical text in some way. The Dead Sea Scrolls may challenge their belief because it gives more information as to what the bible has already told. There will be a lot of conversation around whether these scrolls are authentic, whether they hold "the truth" or just what significance they have to the rest of the world. The scrolls could shed light on some of the myths that people have developed over the years about what happened at this time and it can be something that is important to those who are devote in their religions. THE SUCCESS OF THE EXHIBIT How do we measure the success of an "art" exhibit? Is art something that is created to help understand more about a subject? If they understand does this mean it is successful? I think that a successful exhibit is one that people enjoy and can relate to in some way. This exhibit is successful because people are interested in history and the Dead Sea Scrolls have a fascination of their own. The exhibit is displayed in a way that is easy to move through and it makes sense. Each section was very well thought out and the fact that it is divided into two different showings will bring people back for the second showing that have seen this one. The Internet has also played a part in the success because there are sites that encourage people to go to the exhibit and those that talk about the controversy. The Internet is often one way to measure success because information moves quickly and people can talk about anything. The Internet also is a way to do marketing through online newspapers and magazines. The ROM is a business first and they had to do marketing for this display. In any successful business, once it has created a product it must market it to the people who would be most interested. In this case the ROM remodeled their museum and brought this exhibit knowing it would be profitable and that it would bring a variety of people into the museum. Part of the audience would be loyal followers of religion who have attended the museum in the past and may have some knowledge of the scrolls. Others may be tourists and some may fly across the world just to see this exhibit because of the mystery surrounding the scrolls. The scrolls have been in other cities where it has been very successful. As an example, they appeared at the San Diego Natural History Museum. The Museum marketed their exhibit by saying that it was " the largest, longest, most comprehensive [exhibit] ever assembled in any country. Spanning two floors and 12,000 square feet" (Jewlicious). For most people this is a very important exhibit to see because they have some part of their faith that is connected to it. Works Cited Berardinelli, Marilena. "Words that changed the world: Dead Sea Scrolls in Toronto". Salt and Light Television: Your Catholic Channel. 25 June 2009. 4 July 2009. " Duckeck, Jochen. (2008). Qumran Caves: The Dead Sea Scrolls. Caves of Israel. 12 October 2008. 7 July 2009. < http://www.showcaves.com/ english/il/caves/Qumran.html>. Jewlicious. "Phenomenal Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibition in San Diego". Blog. 11 July 2007. 6 July 2009. . Martin, Patrick. "Unfurling the Claims to the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Globe and Mail. 15 May 2009. 5 July 2009. . Robertson, Ian. "Dead Sea Scrolls come alive at ROM: Ancient documents on exhibit." Toronto Sun. 25 June 2009. 6 July 2009. . Ross, Oakland. "Dead Sea Scrolls stir storm at ROM". The Star (online). 9 April 2009. 6 July 2009. . Taylor, Kate. "Breathing Life Into the Dead Sea Scrolls". The Globe and Mail. 1 July 2009. 4 July 2009. < http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/breathing-life- into-the-dead-sea-scrolls/article1200806/>. Read More