The Dead Sea Scrolls Clearly the Dead Sea Scrolls and the schism that caused the Dead Sea sect to arise can only be understood in the context of Jewish history and the sectarianism of the Second Temple period in Judea. Across twenty centuries, the Scrolls speak to us of the pluralism that existed in ancient Judaism, each group competing to be the "True Israel" of God, and each claiming a monopoly on the true interpretation of the Torah. The Scrolls provide us with a window into an ancient Jewish time and give us a glimpse of an ancient Jewish sect who resided in the desert on the shores of the Dead Sea. Reflected in the