I first went to the Israel Museum when I was in Yeshiva about 5-6 years ago during Pesach break. Unfortunately most of it was closed and found the open parts to be extremely boring and uninteresting.
Thankfully that did not keep me from revisiting it today and finally see what I missed. To sum it up: I was very pleasantly surprised.
This museum is absolutely fantastic.
Hands down the best museum I have visited in Israel and possibly the best museum I have ever visited.
I will break this review down into parts.
Jerusalem During the Second Temple:
This is the first exhibit you see when you enter. It is similar to mini-Israel. It is a model of what Jerusalem looked like during the second temple. You get the audio guide earphones to explain exactly what you are seeing and what each building is. They try and make it as accurate as possible based on all available Judaic, Christian, Muslim, and secular sources. It was really interesting to get a better visual of what the city once looked like. I've always learned about it, but seeing the visual really enhanced my understanding.
Billy Rose Sculpture Garden
I can't believe I was unaware of this before today. Isamu Noguchi, the Hulk Hogan of sculpture artists, not only has sculptures there but designed the entire flippin' garden! I honestly have never really been much of a sculpture person but I found the garden to be extremely enjoyable, provocative, and interesting. The weather was also perfect for walking around which only enhanced the experience.
Shrine of the Book
The home of the Aleppo Codex and the Dead Sea Scrolls, two of Judaism's most important artifacts. The Aleppo Codex is "considered the most authoritative document in the masorah ("transmission")". I don't understand how someone cannot find this amazing. Especially a religious Jew. It is absolutely priceless. (It is called keter in Hebrew which means crown.)
This was really the highlight of my visit and my main reason for going.
Bizarre Perfection Art Exhibit
Even the Israel Museum's art exhibit was excellent. Nearly every piece they had was unique and interesting. Like the picture below: This is a full size kitchen made out of shiny beads! It looks stunning in person. (I am considering remodelling my kitchen to be similar...)
Conclusion:There is nothing negative I have to say about any of the parts of the museum I saw today. It was a really fun, educational and thought provoking trip.
If someone told me they were coming to Israel for a week I would definitely put this on the must do list.
It is truly one of Israel's national treasures and almost bizarrely perfect.
Note: There is a lot of construction going on so a good portion of the garden and museum is currently closed.
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