Other scrolls shed additional light on ancient Jewish history. There are fragments from the Book of Isaiah. Seven hundred years prior to the fall of the Temple, Isaiah prophesied the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the hands of the Assyrians, described as the staff of God's wrath. But Isaiah also prophesied hope. It is this uneasy dualism that underpins the Jewish Scriptures and the Jewish faith.

I light upon a piece of Deuteronomy. Significantly, fragments from 32 copies from this Book of the Bible were found in the caves of Qumran. Deuteronomy represents God's final instructions to Moses, prior to His people entering the Promised Land (without Moses). Don't screw up, God instructs His people through Moses, in so many words. Of course, God's people screw up, with devastating consequences. One can interpret the entire rest of the Jewish Scriptures as a Deuteronomy morality play.

Think of the Jewish Bible as an attempt to come to grips with the ancient question of why bad things happen to good people.

But in another exhibit case is a fragment from the War Scroll. The War Scroll represents a Qumran original. Like Revelation in the Christian Bible, the War Scroll foretells of the final battle between good and evil. This particular Scroll also resonates with the hopeful passages from Isaiah. Righteousness will be rewarded. Good will triumph.

Yes, bad things happen to good people, but all in service to a higher purpose. We may lack the capacity to understand, but we need to trust in God.

But the anonymous scribes of Qumran were living on borrowed time. Nevertheless, God never delivers a blow without providing a healing. Rome may have scattered Israel to the winds, but the seeds of an ancient and venerable tradition that refused to die took root in new lands, within different cultures and even different faiths.

If we cast aside our ethnic and sectarian biases for just a moment, we are able to behold enduring wisdom and insight that binds us all, that unites all six billion of us. We are connected. We are one. Yesterday, in a darkened museum basement, squinting at bits of ancient parchment, I experienced a profound sense of connection and healing. I emerged into the light feeling rejuvenated and reborn, not exhausted and jet-lagged.

I looked at my watch and was amazed to discover that two hours had passed. I had lost all sense of time in there. Rush hour would be starting soon. It was time to head home.