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orion Congress
The following update of the DSS Congress in Jerusalem was posted on
http://www.imj.org.il/shrine/congress/daily.html
Avital Pinnick
list moderator
Orion
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
>
> An International Congress
>
> THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS
> FIFTY YEARS AFTER THEIR DISCOVERY
> [Image]
> Major Issues and New Approaches
>
> Jerusalem, July 20-25,1997
>
> WATCH THE CONGRESS UNFOLD
>
>
>
> Monday, July 22, 1997.
>
>
>
> In the first day of the congress some 30 papers dealt with
> three main fields:
>
> The Bible and its interpretation; poetical, liturgical and
> Sapiential texts and archaeology. By and large, most scholars
> adhered to mainstream interpretations. Disagreements were
> mainly on archaeology, although, some scholars did challenged
> the accepted interpretation about the Qumran sect.
>
> Adolfo Roitman, curator of the Shrine
> of the Book, at The Israel Museum,
> Jerusalem, explained these diversified
> interpretations of noted Dead Sea
> Scroll scholars: `'The first challenge
> was advanced by Professor Joseph
> [Image] Patrich, of the University of Haifa,
> who disagreed with the traditional
> position according to which it is
> believed that sectarians lived near
> the Dead Sea in caves. He argued, to
> the contrary, that the sectarians
> lived in the main building located at
> the Qumran archaeological site.
>
> The second challenge was expressed by Dr. Yizhar Hirschfeld
> from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He stated that the
> type of complex found at the Qumran site maybe defined as
> manor houses of well-to-do landlords who benefited from the
> flourishing economy following the Roman conquest of the East."
>
> Another theory concerning Masada was proposed by Joe Zias from
> the Israel Antiquities' Authority. He states that the human
> skeletal remains from Masada discovered in 1963-65 have been
> an enigma to researchers, especially because of the presence
> of pig bones in the southern cave. As a result, the C-14 dates
> 40 - 115 CE showed conclusively that these remains were not
> Byzantine.
>
> These are just a few examples of the varied controversies
> presented at this international congress that make the Dead
> Sea Scrolls come alive to scholars and laymen alike.
>
> During the congress week, the scrolls continue to
> attract visitors from all over the World . The
> Venerable Mettanando Bhikkhu, special U.N. advisor
> to the Secretary General for Buddhist Affairs, [Image]
> came to see the exhibition, "A Day at Qumran", The
> Dead Sea Sect and its Scrolls at the Shrine of the
> Book, which continues to attract hundreds of
> visitors every day.
>
> Some of the participants to the congress,
> chose to take part in a special workshop,
> at the Ruth Youth Wing, "Back to Qumran".
> The program includes, drama, video, a
> conservation hands on activity, ancient
> [Image] text interpretation, and culminates in a
> Qumran style ritual feast. This popular
> program is aimed at youth, educators and
> laymen and encourages lively discussion
> of of the Essene way of life and its
> relevance to our lives today.
>
> The computer assisted research of the Dead Sea Scrolls,
> promises to be a popular session scheduled for tomorrow
> afternoon, so bookmark this page and come back to find out how
> the latest in digital technologies are enhancing academic
> research.
>
>
>
> Susan Hazan