DEAD SEA SCROLLS SCHOLARS get a pat on the back from a museum curator:

Learning to build bridges of understanding (Mobile Register)
Saturday, June 12, 2004

Ellen Herron deals in the past.

But speaking to Mobilians last week, the guest curator and project coordinator of the forthcoming Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit pointedly addressed the present and the future.

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"In these days of war and terrorism," Herron told the audience, "we can all take a lesson from (the) new Dead Sea Scroll scholars."

Before 1990, Herron said later, only seven volumes in the series of Dead Sea Scrolls research had been published. As of last year, 98 editors representing 11 countries and seven religious traditions have examined the scrolls, Herron said; 39 or 40 volumes have either been published or are in the works, she said.

"I think in this case, having more chefs, or people who are able to give their input, really enriches the project," Herron said.

In turn, she believes study of the scrolls might improve people's understanding of one another.

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In her preface to the catalog for the Michigan exhibition, she wrote: . . . "But the scrolls have somehow inspired academics to see past personal and political differences to work together. Modern day scrolls research is characterized by close cooperation between scholars from many faiths and nations. The product of these labors would be wanting without the talents and diverse perspectives of all of these people. They have come together to work on these documents that are of inestimable value to us all. Perhaps the true legacy of the Dead Sea Scrolls is their power to bring people together."

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