Scholar in residence Dr Adolfo Roitman, curator of the Dead Sea Scrolls and director of the Shrine of the Book will visit Jamaica from October 6 to 7, for a series of events. Organised by the University of Technology (UTech), this is a much-anticipated event. The university provides its more than 12,000 students opportunities for communication and information transfer by establishing partnerships and collaborative arrangements at regional, national and international levels.

The Dead Sea Scrolls, the greatest manuscript discovery of modern times, comprise biblical and non-biblical texts, including every book of the Old Testament except the book of Esther. The scrolls were written between 200 BC and 68 AD in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, most likely by the Essenes who lived on the shores of the Dead Sea at the Qumran community.

After much intrigue and high drama the Dead Sea Scrolls were purchased with the support of philanthropist P.S. Gottesman in 1954, and are housed in Jerusalem at the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum since 1965.

The Dead Sea Scrolls show Christianity to be rooted in Judaism and have been called the evolutionary link between the two. Roitman is the curator of the impressive collection.

Reception, lecture and film

Highlights of Roitman's visit include a reception, a lecture and a film set for October 6 at the Courtleigh Auditorium, 8 St Lucia Avenue, Kingston. That lecture by Dr Roitman is titled, 'The Mystery of the Dead Sea Scrolls'. There will be another lecture at the University of Technology auditorium on Sunday October 7, titled, 'The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls for Christianity and Judaism'.

These two lectures combined form an insight into the meaning and origins of the sacred Dead Sea Scrolls and their relevance to Christianity and modern times. Dr Roitman's scholarship in residence at the University of Technology 2012 is sponsored by: Zuccherina Development (Holland Estate), Ashtrom Building Systems, The Antilles Group (Shell Licensee), WISYNCO, Jamaica Broilers Group, Pan-Jamaican Group/ C.B. Facey Foundation, Iberostar Resorts Rose Hall, The Gleaner, Guardsman Group, J. Wray & Nephew, Mark and Julie Jones and Jamaica Producers.

Tickets are on sale at the following outlets: Cannonball Cafés located at Manor Park Plaza, Loshusan Plaza in Barbican and Pan Caribbean, 60 Knutsford Boulevard; Hillel Academy, Island Cinema/Courtleigh Auditorium.