Dead Sea Scrolls for Zero Dollars

On Saturdays the Jewish Museum is free so the I decided to check out the museum's exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls. After passing through a metal detector that would make Homeland Security proud, undergoing a mandatory bag check, and being told by a beefy security guard that the only way I could wear my jacket in the museum was by tying it around my waist, I finally made my way to the exhibition-I understand the need for security in these troubled times, but it's a bit jarring to visit a museum and to feel like you'll hear, "Please keep your chairs in an upright position" in a manner of minutes.

The scrolls (which to my surprise were not whole, but actually in fragments) were displayed under glass cases in a clean, crisp space with various facts and quotations displayed on the dark blue walls. I learned that the earliest scrolls were written in 270 BCE (before the common or Christian era) and were discovered in 1947 in 11 cases along a five mile stretch of cliffs in the Judean desert. Almost as interesting as seeing the actual scrolls (at least I thought) were the artifacts found with the documents. These included objects relating to the scrolls such as the scroll wrapper, a beige cloth the scrolls were wrapped in, the stone vessels that held the scrolls, and more everyday items including coins, an inkwell, cups and plates, a comb, and even a pair of sandals. According to the movie being played, the Bedouin who found the scrolls sold them to an antiques dealer in Bethlehem.

The Dead Sea Scrolls while interesting, was not as extensive as I had thought, so I decided to check out the rest of the museum. In a small corner tucked away between some artwork there were Holocaust relics from Thereisenstadt and the Lodz ghetto, as well as a spoon used at Auschwitz, money used in the ghettos, and various yellow stars worn by Jewish people during that time period.

One of the other exhibits that caught my eye was a cafe setting where you could sit and listen to conversations from cafes around the world. The museum also houses exhibits about anti-Semitism, Israeli immigration, the history of Judaism, and materials relating to the Jewish sabbath and holidays such as Passover.

Source: The Jewish Museum
Cheap Chick Info: Free on Saturdays! Otherwise $12 for adults, $10 seniors, and $7.50 for students.
Location Info: 1109 Fifth Avenue at 92nd Street, New York, NY
Subway: 4, 5, 6 to 86th Street, 6 to 92nd Street