On April 1, the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage will premiere a major traveling exhibition tracing the shared roots of Jewish and Christian values and practices by exploring aspects of early Jewish life and the concurrent birth of Christianity.

“Cradle of Christianity: Treasures from the Holy Land” will showcase objects that will be seen in the United States for the first time, including a section of the Temple Scroll, one of the most important of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which has never before been displayed outside of Israel. The exhibition will be on view April 1 to October 22.

The exhibition powerfully presents artifacts drawn from the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, which houses the foremost collection of Biblical archeology in the world.

Using dramatic installations to incorporate original objects excavated in Israel over the last century, including some recreations of historical settings, “Cradle of Christianity” offers an opportunity to examine two periods of major consequence for modern religious history. The first era explores the final days of the Second Temple (the Herodian Period and the First Century CE), the time when Jesus of Nazareth lived. The second period examines the concurrent development, side by side, of formative Judaism and Christianity in the Holy Land (Fourth-Seventh Century CE).

Pontius Pilate – the Roman Procurator, Latin dedicatory inscription, Roman theater at Caesarea, 26-36 CE, stone, Israel Antiquities Authority ©The Israel Museum, Jerusalem

All of the objects are from Israel, the majority of themunearthed in excavations, and some displayed publicly for the firsttime. Curated and organized by the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, theexhibition will subsequently travel to two additional NorthAmerican museums that will be announced at a later date.

“In today’s world, it is increasingly important to recognize the common roots of the Jewish and Christian faiths,” said Milton Maltz, founder of the Maltz Museum. “We are proud to premiere this groundbreaking exhibition, providing people throughout the region with the opportunity to explore Jewish and Christian traditions in the context of their simultaneous development in ancient Israel. Visitors of all faiths will be able to explore their heritage through these amazing artifacts, which speak to our shared values.”

The first section of the exhibition is devoted to the holy land at the time of Jesus, presenting important events of his life in the context of First Century Jewish life. Unique archaeological finds excavated in Israel portray the world in which Jesus lived, as described by the scriptures and writings of Jewish historian Josephus Flavius.

Extraordinary finds from the Temple in Jerusalem as well as stone ossuaries bearing the Hebrew names of Jesus and members of his family and circle will be featured in the exhibition. It will also include artifacts characteristic of the period in which the Last Supper, trial, and crucifixion are believed to have taken place, which will provide a new perspective on these events in the New Testament.

In telling the story of early Christianity and its emergence as a religion, the artifacts included in the second section of the exhibition illustrate the religious activities of the Byzantine period: the intensive building of churches, the sanctification of holy shrines associated with Old and New Testament stories, mass pilgrimages. These objects, together with contemporary literary sources, present a rich picture of Christian life in the Holy Land during the Byzantine period, an important chapter in the history of Israel.

With the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, the Jews lost their central place of worship and were forced to find alternatives. It took more than two centuries for synagogues to evolve into the typical architectural form that people are familiar with today. These houses of prayer where people gathered to study and analyze the scriptures would become the center of the community’s spiritual life. Dozens of synagogues, most of them dating from the Fourth to the Seventh Centuries CE, have been excavated in Galilee, in the Golan, and in Judea.

The museum is at 2929 Richmond Road. For information, www.maltzjewishmuseum.org or 216-593-0575.