We Have Joined Twitter!

We will be using Twitter to update more frequently on the happenings of the Museum. Please follow us! http://twitter.com/mbswritings

And don’t forget to check out our official website: http://sacredwritings.org

Sacred Writings Newsletter, January 2010

The Museum Receives Scroll: Holocaust Survivor Sefer Torah

The Museum is excited to announce our newest artifact that we have recently received.  It is a Manuscript Hebrew Sefer Torah Scroll.  This scroll is a “Holocaust Survivor” of great historical and emotional value.  Estimated to have originated in Central Europe (Germany, Poland, or Bohemia), it is approximately 200 years old, dating from the late 18^th Century or early 19^th Century.  It survived the Nazi “Final Solution” against the Jews and their Holy Scriptures in Central Europe and was taken to the new nation of Israel after World War II.   This Sefer Torah Scroll is handwritten in a Jewish Scriptorium of Beit Yosef script. It is approximately 105 ½ feet long with 172 columns on 54 panels of uncoated cow skin and includes the entire Torah or Pentateuch, covering the five books of Moses—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

This Manuscript Hebrew Sefer Torah Scroll was generously loaned to us on a permanent basis by the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation under Dr. Weston Fields.

Archaeology Classes Continue: The Dead Sea Scrolls & Archaeology

Back by popular demand. Register before classes fill up!

Don’t miss this opportunity to take part in a Museum hands-on class on Ancient Writings and Archaeological Artifacts from the Ancient Near East! Study and handle the artifacts, then relate them to the ancient historical context that brought them about.

Teachers:

Dr. James Rietveld, CSUF Professor

Dr. George Giacumakis, Museum Director & Biola University Professor

Sessions:

• Elementary Level Students
  • Friday, February 12, 2010
  • Friday, February 19, 2010
• Secondary Level Students
  • Friday, March 12, 2010
• Adult Level Students
  • Friday, April 16, 2010

All Sessions are held at CSUF, Irvine Campus, Room IRVC-152, from 1:00 – 2:30 PM

To register, please call the office, or email Christine: cgarner@sacredwritings.org

Cost is $5 per participant

Azusa Pacific Acquires Dead Sea Scrolls Fragments

Azusa Pacific University will show five fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls this coming May. Joined with a collection of other biblical antiquities, Azusa’s Museum of the Bible is designed to tell the story of the Bible from ancient to modern times.

The Museum & The Dead Sea Scrolls

The Museum has acquired on loan from Legacy Church six portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls in facsimile: The Great Isaiah Scroll, the Manual of Discipline, the Habakkuk Commentary, Testimonia, Pesher Isaiah, and Qohelet. The Museum will begin a monthly lecture series focusing on the Dead Sea Scrolls, where experts will present their latest research. The Great Isaiah Scroll will be on display. More detailed information is available on our website.

New Website Launched

The Museum has launched our new Website:

sacredwritings.org

If it brings you back to the blog page, or to the old website, you may have to reset your browser history.

We have a lot of exciting events happening this year, so please look at the Event page to mark your calendar!

Special Announcement

Greetings Friends of the Museum of Biblical & Sacred Writings

We are very pleased to announce some exciting forthcoming events in October. The Museum is breaking new ground, and we wanted to bring you an update with the latest happenings.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

We are delighted to announce that the Museum of Biblical & Sacred Writings will be the first Museum in the US and Canada to have use of, through a special donation, facsimiles of six of the Dead Sea Scrolls. They have been purchased for $65,000 by concerned individuals and placed on permanent loan to the Museum.

BIG EVENT: UNVEILING THE SCROLLS

Mark your calendar for the evening of October 17 for an exciting presentation and fundraiser at the Orange County Great Park. We will be publicly announcing the acquisition of and displaying, for the first time, the Dead Sea Scroll Facsimiles. One of the purposes of the evening is to raise awareness of the Museum Facilities and Collections. There will be a cost to attend the event of $60.00 per person. Please consider joining us from 5:00 to 8:30 PM in the newly refurbished Hangar 244 on the former El Toro Marine Base. This will be a unique chance to view the Dead Sea Scrolls in facsimile in an up-close and intimate setting.

FALL LECTURE SERIES

Also consider joining us earlier that day for our annual Museum Fall Lecture Series. This year’s presentation, Writings From the Ancient World, will be held on Saturday October 17, from 9:00 AM-1:00 PM, at Cal State Fullerton, Irvine Campus. Five specialists will discuss various ancient inscriptions and their historical implications. We have some very distinguished lecturers scheduled to present, so you would not want to miss this great opportunity. (No cost to attend).

The lecture titles are as follows:

1. Ancient Near East Writings: The Origins of the Star of David
2. Hebrew Writings: The Great Isaiah Scroll of the Dead Sea Scrolls
3. Ancient Near East Writings: The Origins of Monotheism
4. 4. Egyptian Coptic Writings: The Spiritual Life of a Scribe: Writings About a Coptic Monk
5. Persian Writings: On Zoroastrian Scriptures

We are very excited for these forthcoming events, and we encourage you to learn more about the Facsimiles Online and to Visit Our Website

To RSVP for either event, please call the Museum Office at: (949) 786-0033.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Regards,

George Giacumakis

Director

Dr. Ted Proffitt’s Lecture, Spring 2009 MBSW Lecture