Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit
Scrolls from the Dead Sea Exhibition
From the discovery of the earliest known recorded biblical scrolls and
related artifacts in the caves above the Dead Sea, the Dead Sea
Scrolls have held an aura of mystery and swirled with controversies.
Project Judaica Foundation, in partnership with the Israel Antiquities
Authority (IAA), the Israel government agency in charge of all the
archeological digs and artifacts throughout Israel, brought the Dead Sea
Scrolls to the public's view with five world-class exhibitions held
around the globe including the Vatican.
The Director of the IAA, the indefatigable General Amir Drori (Ret.) and
the Assistant Director, Jacob Fisch, approached this Foundation to
determine whether it would be possible to create and display an
exhibition of selected fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls at the
Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Having just completed another
amazing exhibition at the Library, "From the Ends of the Earth," the
stage was set for this astounding show.
The Librarian of Congress, Dr. James Billington, was immediately
interested in the exhibition of this scope and agreed to exhibit the
Dead Sea Scroll fragments. Twelve of the most interesting scroll
fragments became the core of the exhibition and were surrounded with
related artifacts including jars in which the scrolls were found after
being preserved by the low humidity of the region. Tefillim boxes and
straps, sandals believed to belong to the scribes, coins from the
period, various pottery of the period from the area Written on leather
over 2,000 years ago in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic, these scrolls are the
earliest known biblical manuscripts. They include portions of all of
the five Books of Moses as well as the writings by the Essenes sect.
The IAA's rich materials were complimented by special pieces from the
Library of Congress' vast holding from the Hebraic, Map, and other
collections. The Library's world-class in-house staff of conservators,
curators and scholars became deeply engaged in applying their skills
to choose the items from their divisions. The Library's additions
included one of the few extant Gutenberg bibles and some of the earliest
known maps which oriented the public to the sites and the region. The
maps also gave insight into the views of the early pioneering
cartographers of the Fifteenth Century and how they perceived the
lands and events of the Biblical era.
Early incunabula (the earliest known printed books) and their later
mechanically printed books along with the various commentaries through
the centuries all keyed to the passages from the scroll fragments on
display. These included early writings of Pliny, Philo and Josephus
among others allowing comparisons of texts as well as historical
contexts.
Each venue faced the very difficult issue of lighting the exhibit
without endangering the highly sensitive scroll fragments which could be
damaged irrevocably by exposure to bright light. The skilled staff at
the Library of Congress created a low intensity lighting system which
was activated only when a visitor stood before the scroll fragment
case automatically switching off as the visitor moved away.
The design staff, augmented by a talented consultant, recreated the
feelings of the period with wall coverings emulating the stone of the
caves above the Dead Sea and the pink stones of Jerusalem making the
setting truly unforgettable. Visitors were dazzled by being able to
actually see and read the 2,000 year old texts which so many knew from
present-day study of their own bibles by all faiths. Large color
photographs within the exhibition made visitors feel as if they were
actually entering the very area of the caves at Qumran.
To help visitors who wanted to learn the complexities of the story of
the scrolls meanings, an audio guide was presented for use thus making
the entire exhibition totally visitor friendly regardless of level of
knowledge.
This exhibition had the largest attendance of any exhibition in over the
215 year history of the Library of Congress. The crowds had to be
controlled by time-stamped tickets which still resulted in long lines
sometime two to three long blocks long.
This opening coincided with the opening of the United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum in April, 1993. As a consequence, many heads of state
including the President and Foreign Minister of Israel along with twenty
other heads of state toured the exhibition along with the staffs and
members of both the House of Representatives and Senate, Supreme Court
and Executive Branch lead by the White House.
Since this exhibit elicited such support from donors and great public
interest, arrangements were then made to travel the fragments to the New
York Public Library where equal interest resulted. The San Francisco de
Young Fine Arts Museum was the third venue where extensive collateral
public programming was developed for school children, bible study groups
and the general public. Time tickets were implemented as well to manage
the huge response from the public.
In the meanwhile, Jacob Fisch, of the IAA, quietly began discussions
with Father Leonard Boyle, the Director of the Vatican Library to
determine interest in displaying the fragments at the Sistine Gallery
(Salone Sistine) at the Vatican. On the June 30, 1994, with great and
dignified ceremony, Secretary of State of the Vatican, Cardinal Sodano,
presiding, the exhibition of Scrolls from the Dead Sea was opened for
the public. There were 18 cardinals and 28 ranking archbishops present.
Jacob Fisch, Mark Talisman, President of Project Judaica and Mrs.
Barbro Osher of San Francisco, CA spoke after the Secretary of State and
Father Boyle.
Mr. Talisman presented the highly regarded and valued facsimile of the
Washington Haggadah to the Secretary of State of the Vatican and
Father Leonard Boyle to be placed in the Vatican Library.
The timing of this exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls was carefully
planned to coincide with the arrival of the very first Ambassador from
Israel to the Vatican which happily allowed both sides to celebrate
through this ground-breaking exhibition. Displayed adjacent to the
Sistine Chapel, eighteen thousand visitors a day saw the Vatican
exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls!
Finally, upon leaving the Vatican, the Scroll fragments returned to
the Israel Museum along with the various objects added to the exhibit by
the Vatican Museum including early Torah scrolls over a thousand
years old, and many other texts and illustrations and maps. This special
exhibit augmented the Shrine of the Book Isaiah exhibit for several
months at the Israel Museum for the large and enthusiastic public in
Israel.
This exhibition would have not been possible without the generosity
and abiding moral support of Bernard and Barbro Osher and the Osher
Foundation of San Francisco. Phyllis Cook, Director of the San Francisco
Jewish Federation Endowment was the person most responsible to
provide encouragement when no other options appeared to be available.
A special thank you for Jacob Fisch unquenchable thirst for creative and
exciting opportunities to bring Israel rich archaeological
collections to the public's view. |
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发表于 2002-1-7 20:15:42
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