Do you want to know what the perfect thing is to do on the Saturday of Shabbat while you’re in town visiting Jerusalem? Get yourself down to The Israel Museum which is conveniently located about a 30-minute walk from the city center. I really thought it’d be a museum about the history of Israel but it’s not. It’s more of an art museum and an archeological one, whose main attraction is the famed Dead Sea Scrolls.
The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in caves in the Judean Desert and they are the second oldest surviving manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible. They date back to 408 BC and basically are proof that the Jews were in Israel far earlier than anyone initially thought (as far back as the 8th century BC). They were super cool and no, photos are not allowed, but somehow photos ended up on my phone!
The rest of the museum was fine art, modern art, sculptures; you name it. The grounds are huge and although we spent several hours there, we didn’t even get close to see all of it. They also had a minature repliaca of what Jerusalem looked like during the time when the second Temple was still standing. Here are some of my favorite pieces that I saw there:
The Israel Museum was definitely cool and surpassed any expectations I had and I’d definitely encourage you to check it out if you’re in Jerusalem on Shabbat and you just can’t take sitting in your hotel room for another minute. To learn more about the museum, click here.
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