Since its founding in 1992, the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem has explored the culture of the peoples mentioned in the Bible, including the ancient Egyptians, Canaanites, Philistines, Arameans, Hittites, Elamites, Phoenicians, and Persians, with the museum's goal of placing these peoples in their historical context.
Recently, the museum in Givat Ram opened two new exhibitions that combine history, art, and Hebrew mysticism: “Kuma,” which pays tribute to an artist who was also one of the Israeli soldiers killed in combat in Gaza, and “Letters Floating in the Air,” which explores the profound symbolism of the Hebrew alphabet in Jewish tradition.
Kuma presents a three-meter-long illustrated scroll created by Eitan Rosenzweig, an Israeli soldier who died in combat on November 22, 2023, in Gaza.
Before being called up for military service, Rosenzweig studied art in a yeshiva. He created this scroll during the COVID-19 pandemic, combining symbols, quotes, and figures from the Bible, the Talmud, and Kabbalah with references to Jewish history and contemporary Israeli culture. The work is divided into three sections: early biblical history, the Holocaust, and modern Israel.
The name comes from the Hebrew phrase “Kuma, Mei-Afatzim Vekankantum,” referring to the ingredients used to make ink in sacred texts.
The second exhibition, “Letters Floating in the Air,” opened in February 2025 and explores the esoteric meaning of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, considered in Jewish tradition to be the fundamental building blocks of creation.
Created by Russian-Israeli artists Sergey Bunkov and Tenno Pent Sooster, along with digital artist Maxim Bunkov, visitors can use the Artivive app to see the letters come to life in digital space, a particular attraction for younger audiences.