CONCLUSIONES

The Dead Sea Scrolls comprise a set of ancient HEBREWmanuscripts and fragments discovered in the 1940s, including the oldest surviving copies of nearly every book in the TANAKH, the Hebrew Bible.

K 108 Dayan, Moshe

The scrolls were found in clay pots in caves along the shore of the DEADSEA. The manuscripts have been dated to the period from 200 B.C.E. to around 100 C.E., and are thus 1,000 years older than the earliest previously known biblical texts.

They include portions of every book of the Tanakh except for ESTHER.

Perhaps most important, the Dead Sea Scrolls helped prove that the 1,000-year-old Masoretic text of the Bible, considered authoritative by Jews, does indeed accurately preserve far more ancient ver-sions of the Hebrew books, thus underscoring its reliability. The scrolls also include selections from the APOCRYPHAliterature, as well as pseudepigraph-ical writings (books written in the name of biblpseudepigraph-ical figures). There are also several previously unknown

books associated with the Qumran community, a radical group of pietists living in the desert near the Dead Sea. The scrolls contributed greatly to histori-ans’ understanding of the context in which rabbinic Judaism and early CHRISTIANITYdeveloped.

A controversy has developed around the scrolls because much of the material discovered in Cave IV, the largest collection of scrolls, was unpublished and inaccessible for many years. Recently the Huntington Library in California has published a complete photographic facsimile of the scrolls, and a new editorial team has been organized to super-vise full publication of all the fragments.

Further reading: Frank Moore Cross, Jr., The Ancient Library of Qumran and Modern Biblical Studies (Garden Dead Sea Scrolls 109 J

Today one can see the actual Dead Sea Scrolls on display. Many of the scrolls are housed in the Shrine of the Book in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. (Avi Ohayon, Government Press Office, The State of Israel)

City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1958); A. Dupont-Sommer and E.

Margaret Rowley, The Dead Sea Scrolls, a Preliminary Survey (Oxford, U.K.: Blackwell, 1952); Lawrence H.

Schiffman, Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls: The History of Judaism, the Background of Christianity, the Lost Library of Qumran (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1994).

death camp

Deborah

Deborah’s story is found in the book of Judges (4:4) in the TANAKH, the Hebrew Bible. She was the only female among the judges who led the ISRAELITES in the era before the monarchy emerged.

Deborah was a prophet, a leader, a warrior, and a judge. The biblical text describes her sitting beneath a palm tree while the Israelites brought questions and problems to her for decision. Debo-rah, following God’s will, orders Barak to attack Sisera, an enemy commander. Deborah accompa-nies Barak into battle, the battle is successful, and a woman named Yael slays the fleeing Sisera. The song of Deborah follows: it is a beautiful piece of poetry that praises both God and Deborah. Fol-lowing the battle, led and successfully completed by a woman, the land is said to be at peace for 40 years. Biblical scholars compare Deborah to MOSES

as a leader, prophet, and judge.

Further reading: Cheryl Anne Brown, No Longer Be Silent: First Century Jewish Portraits of Biblical Women (Philadelphia, Pa.: Westminster Press, 1992); Naomi M.

Hyman, ed., Biblical Women in the Midrash: A Source-book (Northvale, N.J.: Jason Aronson, 1997); Ronald H.

Isaacs, Legends of Biblical Heroes: A Sourcebook (North-vale, N.J.: Jason Aronson, 2002); Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures According to the Traditional Hebrew Text (Philadelphia and Jerusalem: Jewish Publication Soci-ety, 1985).

Decalogue

While Judaism counts 613 total commandments (seeMITZVAH), only 10 were given directly by God to the people of ISRAEL. The rest MOSESobtained from God and brought back to the people at MOUNTSINAI. The Decalogue (Greek for “10 words,” an accurate translation of the traditional Hebrew phrase asseret ha-dvarim) is usually known in English as the Ten Commandments. They are recorded twice in the TORAH, once in the book of EXODUS (20:1–17) and once in Deuteronomy (5:1–21; see TORAH).

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Many synagogues display the Decalogue, or Ten Commandments, in their sanctuaries. This example shows how the Decalogue is abbreviated to artistically recreate the tablets that Moses brought down from Mount Sinai. (Getty Images)

According to the Jewish interpretation of the text (which does not clearly delineate where each commandment begins and ends), the command-ments are as follows: 1) I am the Lord your God, and you shall have no other gods besides me;

2) you shall not make for yourself a sculptured image and shall not bow down to or serve idols;

3) you shall not take in vain the name of the Lord;

4) remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy;

5) honor your father and your mother; 6) you shall not murder; 7) you shall not commit adul-tery; 8) you shall not steal; 9) you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor; and 10) you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or posses-sions. Interestingly, Catholics and Protestants (see CHRISTIANITY), using the same ancient text, have a slightly different set of commandments.

The lists of commandments in the two books are almost identical; however, the rationale for observing SHABBAT, the Sabbath, differs. While the Exodus version says to remember the Sabbath day because God rested on the seventh day of CRE

-ATION, the Deuteronomy version says to remember the Sabbath day because God freed the ISRAELITES

from SLAVERY in EGYPT. Some point to a third ren-dition of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 34, when Moses returns from Mount Sinai with a sec-ond set of tablets after smashing the first. This list, however, varies significantly from the other two;

for example, it includes the commandment not to boil a kid in its mother’s milk, which many inter-pret to mean, according to the laws of KASHRUT, not to eat meat together with any dairy food.

Although Judaism holds that all 613 com-mandments are important, the Ten Command-ments hold special significance because of their

REVELATION at Sinai to the entire Jewish commu-nity. This revelation is reenacted each year on the festival of SHAVUOT. The rabbis decided that Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks established in the Torah, is intended to commemorate receiving the Ten Commandments. Traditionally, Jews stay up all night on Shavuot studying Torah and recreat-ing the anticipation of receivrecreat-ing the Ten Com-mandments; in the morning prayer service, the

Commandments are read before the standing con-gregation with a special musical TROPE.

In modern times, some people have argued that the Ten Commandments represent universal ethical norms and that they underpin the laws of the UNITED STATES; therefore, these people argue, they should be displayed in public places, such as courthouses and schools, to encourage society to follow biblical standards of morality. Others point out, however, that though secular law may be partly based on the Ten Commandments, the lat-ter remains by definition a religious document; in addition, some of the commandments are specific to certain religions and thus not universal, such as the prohibition of idols and the commandment to keep the Sabbath.

Further reading: Abraham Chill, The Mitzvot: The Com-mandments and Their Rationale (New York: Bloch, 1974);

J. H. Hertz, The Pentateuch and Haftarahs: Hebrew Text, English Translation and Commentary (Brooklyn, N.Y.:

Soncino Press, Ltd., 1997); Jacob Neusner, ed., How Judaism Reads the Torah (New York: P. Lang, 1993);

Anthony Phillips, Ancient Israel’s Criminal Law; a New Approach to the Decalogue (Oxford: Blackwell, 1970);

Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures (Philadelphia and Jerusalem: The Jewish Publication Society, 1985).

Denmark

King Christian IV invited the first Jewish commu-nity to Denmark in 1622. He offered religious freedom and commercial privileges to SEPHARDIM

from Amsterdam and Hamburg. Most of the Jews who came were financiers involved in trading or manufacturing. By 1782 there were 1,830 Jews liv-ing in Denmark, most of them in Copenhagen.

In 1814 Danish Jews received citizenship, and in 1849 the Danish constitution removed the last remaining law that stood in the way of Jews par-ticipating in any element of economic, social, or political life. By the beginning of the 20th century most Jews living in Denmark were members of the middle and upper classes. The Jewish popula-tion of 4,200 had begun to decline because of Denmark 111 J

INTERMARRIAGE and a low birthrate. In 1903 the community was augmented by immigrants flee-ing POGROMSin RUSSIA; the new immigrants were able to integrate smoothly into the established Danish-Jewish society. By 1921, the population had increased to 6,000 Jewish people.

Jews in Denmark participated in all spheres of life, as sculptors, literary critics, botanists, physi-cians, scientists, politiphysi-cians, bankers, and poets.

After 1969 a significant number of immigrants

from POLANDarrived in Denmark, fleeing an anti-semitic purge. While Danish Jews actively partici-pated in helping Soviet Jews, especially by providing educational materials, fewer than 100 Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union have been allowed to settle in Denmark.

By the mid-1990s there were 8,000 people in the Danish Jewish community. The population has remained steady, with neither natural increase nor immigration.

The Jewish community in Denmark primarily adheres to ORTHODOXJUDAISM. REFORMJUDAISMhas had a steady influence, but it remains in the minor-ity. The Jewish community is recognized by the state. It has the power to levy taxes, and its rabbis have the authority to perform marriages and regis-ter births and deaths. There is at least one Jewish Day School in Denmark as well as an active Zionist Federation, youth organizations, a B’NAI B’RITH

lodge, and two-old age homes for the Jewish elderly.

The community is active in international organiza-tions such as the World Jewish Congress and the World Zionist Organization. Denmark’s Jews show a vital interest in ISRAELand have an active B’nai Akiba youth group (see ZIONIST YOUTH MOVEMENTS). The government of Denmark has always had a friendly and warm relationship with ISRAEL, beginning with its vote for the PARTITIONPLANin 1947 and its recog-nition of the Jewish state on November 29, 1947.

The Danish Jewish community encourages a strong relationship with Israel and the Israeli people, believing that this tie may strengthen their commu-nity and negate the effects of ASSIMILATION.

Historically the Danish people have embraced the country’s Jewish community, and the Nazi occupiers in World War II were unable to instill

ANTISEMITISM. GERMANY did not seek to molest the Jews of Denmark until 1943 when relations between Germany and occupied Denmark deterio-rated. In September that year it became clear that the Jewish community was no longer safe; a rescue operation was launched, involving a broad range of people, from politicians to fisherman. In three weeks’ time, almost the entire Jewish community of Denmark, including approximately 1,400 refugees K 112 Denmark

In keeping with the good relations between Denmark and its Jewish citizens, the nation of Denmark has always had a strong relationship with the State of Israel. President Herzog (1981–83) (far left) stands here with his wife (second from right), the Prince Con-sort, and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark on the steps of the Fredensborg Palace in Denmark. (Ya’acov Sa’ar, Government Press Office, The State of Israel)

from Germany, AUSTRIA, and Czechoslovakia, were ferried to Sweden in safety. The operation cost 12 million Danish crowns, and the price was split between the Jewish community and private and public Danish contributions. By the time the Ger-mans came for the Danish Jews in October of 1943, they found fewer than 500 victims. These were transferred to the CONCENTRATION CAMP of There-sienstadt, where some 50 of them later died. After the successful escape, Danish and Swedish Jews organized a flow of illegal traffic between the two countries, keeping Denmark in touch with the Allies as the war drew to a close. The Jewish com-munity returned to Denmark after the war ended, where they found most of their property intact.

Only about 120 Danish Jews died in the Holocaust, less than 2 percent of Denmark’s Jewish population.

Denmark’s positive relationship with its Jewish community remained intact even during an out-burst of Danish nationalist feeling against immi-grants in the 1980s; the Jews were not seen as strangers but countrymen. Many of the newcomers are Muslims. An office of the PALESTINELIBERATION

ORGANIZATION(PLO) was opened in Denmark, but when plans were uncovered to assassinate Danish Jews visiting Israel, as well as the chief rabbi of the country, the office lost its support. Denmark con-tinues to celebrate its successful rescue of the Dan-ish JewDan-ish community, and the community remains an integrated part of Danish society.

Further reading: Herbert Pundik, In Denmark It Could Not Happen: The Flight of the Jews to Sweden in 1943 (Jerusalem: Gefen Publishing House, Ltd., 1998); Emmy E. Werner, A Conspiracy of Decency: The Rescue of the Danish Jews During World War II (Boulder, Colo.: West-view Press, 2002); Nechama Tec, When Light Pierced the Darkness: Christian Rescue of Jews in Nazi-Occupied Poland (New York: Oxford University Press, 1986).

Dershowitz, Alan M.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Alan M. Dershowitz attended YESHIVAUNIVERSITYhigh school and

gradu-ated from Brooklyn College. He received his law degree from Yale University, where he was the editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal. After becom-ing a member of the Harvard University Law faculty at the age of 25, Dershowitz achieved the rank of full professor three years later at the age of 28, the youngest person to do so at Harvard Law School.

Dershowitz has won wide acclaim, and some notoriety, as a lecturer, newspaper columnist, author of several books, and, especially, criminal defense attorney. Among his controversial clients have been Patty Hearst, Michael Milken, Jimmy Bakker, O. J. Simpson, and Claus von Bulow, whose murder trial Dershowitz chronicled in Reversal of Fortune, later made into a successful movie. His wide interests are reflected in the courses he has taught, which include criminal law, psychiatry and law, constitutional litigation, civil liberties and violence, comparative criminal law, legal ethics, and human rights.

Dershowitz has been a vocal defender of Jew-ish interests. He authored the best seller Chutzpah:

Candid Reflections on Being Jewish in America (1992). In another book, The Vanishing American Jew: In Search of Jewish Identity for the Next Cen-tury (1997), he makes the controversial argument that mainstream American Jews are in danger of disappearing through INTERMARRIAGE, ASSIMILA

-TION, and a relatively low birthrate.

Dershowitz’s commitment to civil rights has earned him recognition by several national ora-ganizations. In 1983 the ANTI-DEFAMATIONLEAGUE

honored him with its William O. Douglas First Amendment Award for his “compassionate elo-quent leadership and persistent advocacy in the struggle for civil and human rights.” He has received honorary doctorates of law from Yeshiva University, the HEBREW UNION COLLEGE, Mon-mouth College, and HAIFA UNIVERSITY. Through-out his career, Dershowitz has exhibited commitment both to the practice and teaching of law and to the worldwide Jewish community.

Further reading: Alan M. Dershowitz, The Case for Israel (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2003); ———, Dershowitz, Alan M. 113 J

Chutzpah (Little Brown, 1991); ———, The Vanishing American Jew: In Search of Jewish Identity for the Next Century (New York: Touchstone, 1997).

Dessler, Elijah Eliezer