Adolfo Roitman focuses on what Jews, Christians have in common
By Nyshicka Jordan
Staff Reporter

Adolfo Roitman, curator and director of the Shrine of the Book Israel Museum in Jerusalem, said the Dead Sea Scrolls teach what Jews, Christians and all humans have in common.

“I find myself where Jews and Christians are sitting together,” Roitman said. “That is the power of the Dead Sea Scrolls.”

Roitman presented his speech, “The Significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls for Judaism and Christianity,” to a full audience at Congregation Ahavath Sholom on S. Hulen Street Thursday night. His visit was co-sponsored by the synagogue and the Program of Jewish Studies at Brite Divinity School.
According to the Israel Museum Web site, The Shrine of the Book was built in 1965 for the preservation and exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Dead Sea Scrolls are ancient manuscripts that were discovered between 1947 and 1956 in 11 caves, as stated on the site.

David Nelson, director of the Program in Jewish Studies, said the topic of the Dead Sea Scrolls is of interest to a wide audience.

“You only have to look at everything from newspapers, to tabloids, to TV shows to realize that they certainly have a broad appeal,” Nelson said.

“The name is very powerful.”

Roitman presented his speech in three parts. The first part consisted of a brief video, “The Shrine and the Scrolls,” which gave a historical background of the Shrine of the Book and the Dead Sea Scrolls. The second part of the lecture consisted of a slide presentation in which Roitman showed examples of scrolls in their original condition. And in the final part he gave his lecture in which he examined Jewish and Christian tradition by comparing Biblical text to scroll writings.

Christians were involved with the Dead Sea Scrolls from the very beginning, Roitman said.

“The Dead Sea Scrolls are crucial today to the understanding of Christianity,” Roitman said. “Don’t forget the first Christians were also Jews.”

Lucia McCoy, a Brite Divinity student, said the lecture expanded her knowledge of the subject from what she had learned in her courses.
“(The lecture) gives more of a bird’s eye view from an expert,” McCoy said. “That’s why these lectures are important.”

McCoy said Roitman did an excellent job of pointing out the relevance of the topic and that it is a topic of importance today.

“History didn’t start the day after Christ, it started before,” McCoy said. “All of it is important. If we don’t know that, we need to learn that.”

McCoy said she was expecting to learn about history, but also learned about unity and common ground in an age of conflict.

“It’s not just about history, it’s about who we are and where we are going,” she said.

Nelson said Roitman’s visit is valuable because he provides one-on-one contact that is interesting because he can talk about what is new in Dead Sea Scroll research.

Roitman is only the second curator and director of the Shrine of the Book, where he has been since 1994. He has published three books, two of which cover the topic of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Today, Roitman will visit classes at Brite and present the lecture, “Jerusalem, The Temple and the Origin of Sectarianism in Ancient Israel” at noon in the Beasley Building Room 107.

Nyshicka Jordan
n.d.jordan@tcu.edu

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