About
A scholar of the literature and religion of Israel in the Second Temple period
From Buenos Aires to Jerusalem, and thirty years alongside the Dead Sea Scrolls.
For thirty years, from 1994 to 2024, I directed the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum and served as Curator of the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is the place where some of the oldest written works of the people of Israel are kept, and most of my professional life was spent in their company.
I was born in Buenos Aires in 1957. I studied anthropology and history, was ordained as a rabbi, and did my master’s degree and doctorate at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in ancient Jewish literature and thought. I taught at the Hebrew University and at the Schechter Institute, and lectured as a guest at universities around the world.
In 2011 I led the project that brought the Dead Sea Scrolls online in partnership with Google, so that anyone could study them from anywhere. I have written nine books and some 60–70 academic and popular articles on the subject, and received three honorary doctorates.
Today I devote my time to bringing the world of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Bible and early Jewish history to a wide audience: in online lectures, in-person lectures and interviews, in Hebrew, English and Spanish.
Education and recognition
Academic path
- BA in Anthropology and teaching diploma in History, University of Buenos Aires (with honors)
- Rabbinic ordination
- MA in Comparative Religion, Hebrew University of Jerusalem (with honors)
- PhD in Ancient Jewish Literature and Thought, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- Curator of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Director of the Shrine of the Book, Israel Museum (1994–2024)
- Lecturer in Comparative Religion and Ancient Jewish Thought, Hebrew University and Schechter Institute
- Three honorary doctorates and a gold medal for my contribution to research
A historic moment
The Dead Sea Scrolls, for the whole world
In 2011 I led the digitization project that, in partnership with Google, made the Dead Sea Scrolls available online to the general public for the first time, so that anyone, anywhere in the world, can examine them with their own eyes.
Explore the Dead Sea Scrolls online
Institutions where I have taught and lectured
- Israel Museum
- Hebrew University
- Schechter Institute
- NYU
- Complutense University, Madrid
- Catholic University of Chile
- +30years of research and directing the Shrine of the Book
- 9academic books
- 3honorary doctorates
Discover the secret of the Dead Sea Scrolls
To book a lecture, an interview or a collaboration.