Our story; the story of Masada. | Shorashim - Israel with Israelis

Our story; the story of Masada.

First attempt

The day began at 4:45AM. We trekked outside in the pouring rain hopped on the bus led by our faithful guides: Yossi, Benji, and Becky. Unfortunately, this was not even a great morning for the Romans to attack Masada—both the "snake path" and the "Roman road" were both closed due to rain. No sunrise hike.

Second attempt

The day began at 7:45AM. We woke up again, made our way to buses and reached… MASADA (the super Israeli fortress). Many of us thought that we were going to take the tram up because the sun was already baking the sides of Israeli fortress, but our guides gave us a true Israeli experience—we hike the "snake path". According to our Israeli compatriots, to complete their training, some army units must make a 70km journey to the base of Masada and then carry a member of their team up in a stretcher. While we did have some stragglers, nobody needed a stretcher and we summited the top at 9:30.

The story of Masada was told through the terrific acting talent of some of our group members. Yossi narrated while Jeremy, Jonathan, and Rachael played the parts of King Herrod, the writer Yusefus Flavius, and a survivor of Masada. Here's the straight dope:

King Herrod, the half-Jew, built Masada 2000 years ago. 960 Jews settled Masada to flea the Romans. After a year, the Romans came to take Masada, but they were unable to assault the fortress due to the steep path up the mountain. 10,000 Romans + slaves spent a year building a siege path up to the mountain. The inhabitants of Masada, believing that a life of slavery and paganism would be worse dying, decided to commit mass suicide. How do we know this? Because two women decided not to participate with their children. It is a sad story, and it is difficult to judge the choices made by individuals in that situation. It brought up questions. When it is appropriate to give up? When is suicide ok? When is suicide ok for Jews? What would have happened if the Jews in Europe during the Holocaust had given up home like those in Masada?

Think about that!

-Jake Shapiro

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