Best websites to study the Dead Sea Scrolls, and best Jewish analysis of them?

[Ari Ben-Canaan]

I was reading another thread where the subject of the Dead Sea Scrolls came up.  I was inspired to do some research of my own but most of what seems to be online is not very scholarly, or is from Christian analysis, both of which is of little use to me.  From what I gather the bulk of the find is written in Hebrew near exactly what we use today, and minority of about 5% could be translated as the Septuagint, and another 5% Samaritan text?  I would like to know which texts were in which languages, and I would like to learn more about what non-Biblical texts were found as well.  And I would like to learn more about the subject in general. 

I have read that a small portion of the texts have not been made public as late as 2007, here in 2010 this still true?

I read that a man named Father Roland Guérin de Vaux held onto a large number of the Scrolls and would not relinquish them for decades and they were only recovered after his death.  Is this true?  What ramifications, etc, come out of this?  Does anyone know his reasoning?

Who were the people of Qumran?

I know little about the subject myself, what I have read and discussed here could be totally wrong.  I would like to see what credible Jewish scholars and Rabbis have to say on the matters online.

Thanks.

[muman613]

Here is a short list of what I find concerning Jewish sources on the topic of the Dead sea scrolls:


http://www.jewishmag.com/14mag/essenes/essenes.htm

The Essenes

By Robert Michaels
In Jewish History there has always been divergent opinions. These differences have caused many factions and groups. In the short period of time preceding the destruction of the Temple, roughly 200 to 100 B.C.E., such a splinter occurred. This division had a impact not only on Jewish life but also on Christian belief. During this period, the Jewish people had divided into three groups, the Sadduccees, the Pharisees, and the Essenes.

The Sadduccees, which in Hebrew means "righteous", were one group. They were characterized by their novel interpretations of the Torah. Although they did not accept the tradition of the "oral" Torah, that is the verbal traditions, they were very active in upholding the Torah in it's strict literal sense. In many ways, they were bigger religious zealots than the Pharisees or Essenes. As an example, the Torah states that no fire must be carried in the house on the Sabbath. They understood this simply as a total prohibition of use of fire through out the Sabbath day, therefore they did not allow the use of fire during the Sabbath. Another example was that they would wear their tephilin on the back of their hand since it states in the Torah, "and you shall tie them on your hands...:"

In opposition to the Sadduccees, the Pharisees taught that the proper interpretation of the Torah was based on the verbal tradition. Therefore, even though it is written, "and you shall tie them on your hands...:" the traditional interpretation is not on the back of the hand, but on the biceps. The Pharisees gained much power during this period and took command of the order of the Temple services, excluding the participation of the Sadduccees.

The third group, the Essenes, were an ascetic group. They rejected both the Pharisees and the Sadduccees as not being acceptable. Although the Essenes were closer in philosophy and tradition to the Pharisees than to the Sadduccees, still the Pharisees were considered corrupt, since their lives were much more worldly and therefore seemingly less intense in the religious observance than the Essenes. The priests, who conducted the services in the Temple according to the ways of the Pharisees, were also deemed evil. The Essenes retreated from the controversy between the Pharisees and the Sadduccees and sought out a more purified life style in the tranquility of a hermit type existence. Although they lived through out the land of Israel, their masses centered upon the Northwestern shore of the Dead sea an area desolate and given over to a quiet and thoughtful life style.

They formed a "brotherhood" which was almost monastic in form. Marriage was permitted, but due to the doctrine of holiness which they espoused, many men refrained from marriage in order to dedicate themselves to the service of G-d and spiritualism. Their lives were that of austerity, hard work, communal living and much introspection. They took upon themselves an oath which was to dedicate their lives to the most demanding rituals which would bring them closer to G-d. They worked hard for their common community and lived together in strict observance to their specific structured life as dictated by the "elders" of the community.

Although the Essenes followed many of the same traditional teaching that the Pharisees accepted, there were many additional rules that they instituted and some differences in other laws. Since the discovery of the famed "Dead Sea Scrolls" in the caves at Qumram, just north of Jericho, which included many various writings by the Essenes, much is known of their lives and thoughts.

One of the differences between the Essenes and the Pharisees was in the calendar. The Jewish people today follow the calendar of the Pharisees. This calendar is based on the moon. The month will have either 29 or 30 days depending on the sighting of the moon. Since a lunar year is 29.5 days times 12 months equaling 354 days. A solar year is 364.25 days, therefore the lunar year is short by 10.25 days from the solar year. The rabbis therefore had to add extra month every three years to make up this difference, otherwise the holidays, (such as Pesach would not be celebrated in the beginning of the summer) would rotate around the year.

To the Essenes, this calendar was an abomination. Their calendar was a solar calendar. Each month had 30 days. One month in three had 31 days, hence each season (three months ) had 91 days. Each year had 364 days. The holidays began on the same day of the week each year (as opposed to our calendar where the New Year varies from year to year on which day of the week it falls).

Practically speaking this caused a big rift in relations between the Essenes and the other two groups. When the Pharisees and Sadduccees celebrated the holidays, the Essenes worked. Conversely, when the Essenes celebrated the holidays, the other two groups worked. Although no known record of conflict is recorded, we can deduce that due to the reclusive nature of the Essenes, conflict was minimized.

Historians have long pointed to the Essenes as the forerunner to the Christians. It is known that early Christians took much from the Essenes and their doctrine of asceticism. Their abhorrence of the Temple service and view of the evil priests is well documented. Since the early Christian religion began protest group and as an extension of Judaism, it has been speculated that the early Christian leaders circulated amongst the Essenes. Much of the changes and reforms set in motion by the Essenes gave impetus to the early Christians to make further changes. However since they changed too many of the main tenets of the Jewish religion, they were not successful in attracting Jewish followers.

Today, all Judaism is based on the Pharisees. The calendar is universally accepted in the Jewish world. Though Jews may disagree on many things, be it politics or religion, still the roots for today's Judaism is in the Pharisees.


http://www.torahcafe.com/musicvideo.php?vid=395f64dd0


http://www.simpletoremember.com/articles/a/the_great_revolt/

JEWISH STRIFE

The Jewish reaction to the presence of the Romans - who were dominating the Holy Land and worshipping idols - had many faces.

    * Hellenized and assimilated Jews. They welcomed the Roman presence and profited by it. They were angry with other Jews who resisted Roman domination.
    * The Sadducees. For the most part, these were wealthy Jews who denied the Divine origin of the Oral Law. They dominated (and corrupted) the Temple hierarchy, and were willing to cooperate with the Romans to keep their power base. They saw other Jewish factions as troublemakers.
    * The Pharisees. These were mainstream Jews who wanted nothing to do with the Romans, but they were pragmatic. They wanted Judaism to survive and short of giving up their religious principles were willing to make the best of the Roman domination. They disapproved of the other Jewish factions - those that tried to curry favor with the Romans and those that advocated open rebellion.
    * The Zealots. They were comprised of several different groups of nationalistic extremists. Amongst the zealots was a group called the Sicarii (meaning “dagger”) who derived their name from the concealed daggers they carried that were used to murder their political opponents. They were incensed at the Roman presence and were angry with other Jews whom they saw as actively or tacitly cooperating with the Romans.
    * The Biryonim. This was the criminal element often masquerading under the guise of nationalism. They sided with the Zealots.
    * Splinter sects. These religious groups (such as the Essenes) held extreme views and opposed both the Sadducees and the Pharisees. For example, the Dead Sea Sect (famed for the Dead Sea Scrolls) expected the world to end shortly and went off to live in the desert to escape the depravity and corruption of city life and to prepare for the End of Days.

      Jewish sources list 24 separate factions. Their conflicting views were a symptom of a disease afflicting the Jewish people at this time. The rabbis call this disease sinat chinam—“senseless hatred” of one Jew for another Jew.

        Unfortunately, we are seeing a very similar situation today. You don’t need to be a scholar of political science or have a PhD in sociology to realize that by far the biggest problem in the Land of Israel, and the Jewish world as a whole, is lack of unity which leads to divisiveness, infighting and even hatred. There are factions of Ashkenazim, Sephardim, secular, religious; among the religious there are the Hassidim, the Misnagdim, and the religious Zionists. A weakened, disunited Jewish nation is easy prey for the both anti-Semites and the enemies of Israel.

        The paradigm for all that is happening today can be found in the Roman era.


http://www.messiahtruth.com/yosef.html

[muman613]

http://www.arachimusa.org/Index.asp?ArticleID=711&CategoryID=136&Page=2

Later, less than one hundred years before the destruction at the hands of the Romans, the Temple was extensively renovated and expanded by Herod the Great.  It seems that no alterations were made to the altars and the Table of the Presence, and the Temple service continued uninterrupted.  The only vessel Herod did replace was the menorah made by the Hasmoneans, who had ruled before him, and whose memory he wished to eclipse.

Another source of information which led to speculations about the fate of the Temple vessels is the copper scroll found among the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in the Cave at Qumran in 1952.  The bulk of the scrolls in the cave were written on parchment; further to the back, on their own, were two scrolls engraved in copper.  They were found to be two parts of one document, 2.4 meters long, when unrolled, and 28 centimeters high.  While the parchment scrolls were deciphered as texts, the documents in copper proved to be lists of hidden treasures together with a description of where each one had been secreted.   The total value of the items listed is estimated to total over one billion dollars.

The copper scrolls found their way to Amman, Jordan, where they were put on display.  Since they were corroded and fragile, no attempt was made to unroll them and so that their message might be deciphered.  The Jordanian authorities turned a deaf ear to the pleas of archaeologists and researchers from all over the world that some method be devised to unroll the precious metal scrolls and glimpse their secrets.

By holding a mirror up to the portion of the rolled-up scroll that was visible from the outside, scientists managed to record at least a small portion of what was written inside.  Their findings only whetted their appetite to read the full contents.  It was obvious from what little was accessible to them that these strange metal documents contained a list of hidden treasures from the Holy Temple.

However, the Jordanian antiquities authority was adamant: any attempt at unwinding the brittle metal would destroy this precious find.  The scrolls were not to be touched.

It was only after four years of negotiations, and the payment of a very substantial sum of money, that permission was given to saw the scrolls to pieces, taking care to cut them only between the columns of writing.  The results were breathtaking.  Row after row of letters described caches of silver and gold, all hidden away in a cave:

"In the cave that is next to the fountain belonging to the House of Hakkoz, dig six cubits. (There are) six bars of gold."

The text gave a precise description and location, row by row, for one item after the other.  It notes sixty-four locations, sixty-three of which hold treasures of gold and silver, with a total weight estimated in the tons.  Everything was so clear, and yet, so mystifying.  Where was the cave with these fabulous riches?

The "House of Hakkoz" mentioned in the scroll apparently refers to the family of Hakkoz who were treasurers of the rebuilt Temple, following the return from Babylon, as noted in the Biblical of Ezra and Nehemiah.   

When the Second Temple fell, the tradition tells us, Titus took the parochet, the curtain which separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple, and fashioned a sack out of it.  Into this sack, he placed the vessels of the Temple and took them with him back to Rome.  Titus' victory is commemorated by an arch erected in Rome shortly after his death in the year 81, only two years after he became emperor.  Some of the vessels from the Temple are clearly seen: the Menorah, the silver trumpets, and large trays which are presumably from the Table of the Presence, the Shulchan.  All are borne by captives from Jerusalem; their heartache as they are paraded before the masses is preserved to this day in the cold stone.

We once had a Holy Temple in Jerusalem.  Titus destroyed it, and plundered its vessels.  Perhaps they are in Rome.  The famous Jewish traveler of the twelfth century, Benjamin of Tudela, included Rome in his itinerary.  He reports having seen the vessels from the Holy Temple there.   He writes that the famous ten martyrs tortured and executed by the Romans all lie in a burial cave which he visited.  He prayed at their graves, and also viewed the Temple vessels there.

Another source describes a large stone building in Rome – not a place of worship, but a building within the boundaries of the State of the Vatican City.

Inside, the tradition recalls, one could view two large stone pillars which the Romans took from the Temple when they left Jerusalem.  The tradition of the Jews of Rome recounts that each year, on the Ninth of Av, the day the First and Second Temples fell to our enemies, the pillars "weep" endlessly.

The structure is impressive, long and narrow with long rows of stately columns with ornately decorated capitals.  The roof is also decorated with sculptures, and a large tree spreads its leafy branches over it.  Who knows what secrets lie within?

"Once there were two ancient pillars there.  They were removed to storerooms.  No one is allowed to approach the two pillars..."

Another tradition preserved among the Jews of the "eternal city" describe the victory march of the Jewish captives, bearing the Menorah, as pictured on Titus' Arch:

They marched along in silence, their faces expressionless.  The pain and the anguish were sealed in their hearts, within.  Zion's prisoners, exiled to Rome, revealed not their inner agony.  Their city had known the intrusion of strangers; now they themselves were strangers in an alien land.  Titus' victory parade was demeaning and humiliating not only for them as individuals, but even more so, for the Holy Temple, the Holy City, and all they represented.

As they marched along the banks of the Tiber River, the eyes of the crowd examined every face, every nuance of their expression.  It was more than they could bear.  Their arms grew weak with the weight of the golden Menorah.  Suddenly there was a loud thud, then a huge splashing of water.  The sacred Menorah fell on the waves of the Tiber and sank into its waters.  Their arms might have been strong enough to carry its weight, but the burden of the Menorah's disgrace was more than their hearts could bear.  The Jewish slaves preferred to consign it to the muddy bed of the Tiber.  According to the tradition of the Jews of Rome, there it remains to this day.

An additional testimony is found in the Midrash called Milchemet Melech Hamashiach, to be found in Otzar Hamidrashim.   This source reports that the Menorah is located in the home of Julius Caesar.  Other sources mention a candelabrum which was brought out on parade during celebrations and festivals; possibly this was the sacred Menorah from Jerusalem. 

[Kahane-Was-Right BT]

It is a "machloketh" amongst the scholars as to whether the Jews of Qumran were essenes or some other sect.   The dogma when the scrolls were originally released was that they were essenes because the christian scholars wanted to associate the Qumran people with Jesus whether they had any real connection or not.   It looks like what you have quoted here gives over some "conventional wisdom" on the subject, but it is nowhere near so simple.   There is considerable argument amongst scholars about who the Jews of Qumran were. 

I doubt very strongly whether certain type of kiruv sites have delved into these matters in depth or could possibly take a sufficiently scholarly approach to the texts to get real in depth information beyond sort of surface level.   On the other hand, I don't really know where one could go about learning about them in a serious manner.  I can try to find out though from people I know that are more familiar with the scrolls and the research that has been done on them.   Bli neder (without promising), I will ask around about this.

Personally I think one should prioritize and there are other things much more worthy of one's time of looking into in depth than the dead sea scrolls, especially if you are like me and don't have an in depth knowledge of the things we have actually preserved in our tradition and traditionally studied since their creation.  (unlike these dead sea scrolls which were hidden away and not referenced for a couple thousand years and not accepted into the body of our canon by the chachamim).  But that's my personal preference. 

[Ari Ben-Canaan]

Thanks Muman, very interesting stuff.  I really enjoy what I have heard in the past from Prof. Schiffman, this should be really good too.

Toda rabba!

[Ari Ben-Canaan]

It is a "machloketh" amongst the scholars as to whether the Jews of Qumran were essenes or some other sect.   The dogma when the scrolls were originally released was that they were essenes because the christian scholars wanted to associate the Qumran people with Jesus whether they had any real connection or not.   It looks like what you have quoted here gives over some "conventional wisdom" on the subject, but it is nowhere near so simple.   There is considerable argument amongst scholars about who the Jews of Qumran were. 

I have not had time to delve into it much, but I saw there is somewhat of a contraversy between Professor Schiffman of NYU, and Professor Golb of the University of Chicago [and his son Raphael].  Both men seem very educated and intellectual, if I have the time some day I would like to read at least one of each of their books.

I doubt very strongly whether certain type of kiruv sites have delved into these matters in depth or could possibly take a sufficiently scholarly approach to the texts to get real in depth information beyond sort of surface level.   On the other hand, I don't really know where one could go about learning about them in a serious manner.  I can try to find out though from people I know that are more familiar with the scrolls and the research that has been done on them.   Bli neder (without promising), I will ask around about this.

So far online I have not seen things super in depth as I would like, but I am making some headway.  I suppose for a real knowledge one must read several books. - I would be grateful to hear anything interesting you come across.

Personally I think one should prioritize and there are other things much more worthy of one's time of looking into in depth than the dead sea scrolls, especially if you are like me and don't have an in depth knowledge of the things we have actually preserved in our tradition and traditionally studied since their creation.  (unlike these dead sea scrolls which were hidden away and not referenced for a couple thousand years and not accepted into the body of our canon by the chachamim).  But that's my personal preference. 

There is wisdom in what you say.  I've only been studying Torah/Tanakh for about two years now [seriously, beyond just a normal understanding I see most people having], I certainly have a lot to go.  Still it is a subject I have been curious about for a long time but have not thought about in a long time either, seeing a recent thread on JTF has peaked my curiosity once again.