Masada

We hiked to the top of Masada today, located on the eastern fringe of the Judean Desert, near the Dead Sea. It was a challenging hike up rough terrain. At roughly 1,100 feet tall, the ancient vacation home for Ceaser Augustus was built by King Herod during his reign between 37 BCE to 4 BCE to try to maintain his relationship and his status in Roman politics. Later, the city was taken over by Jewish slaves who became rebels because they were tired of being mistreated. The city is currently in ruins that have great meaning to the Jews. The Jewish slaves, who had taken over the structure were faced with a difficult decision when the Romans were attacking them to take the mountaintop back over. There were roughly 1,000 Jewish people trying to protect this compound vs. the Roman army. It was a difficult feat that ended in a decision to end their lives. The Jewish people didn't want to be overrun by the Romans and enslaved again, nor did they want their offspring to have to live as slaves, so they decided to commit suicide. All but a few Jews died. When the Romans busted into the compound they found slain Jews. It is a very sad story, but an important event for the Jewish culture and is a constant reminder to them to not allow themselves to get in that situation again.

We were able to hike to the top of Masada today in order to learn about this moment in history. The hike led us up switchbacks that took the group a little over an hour to conquer. The switchbacks, (what they call “snake paths” in Israeli culture), were steep and, at times, challenging. Although we faced slight heat exhaustion, the whole group of individuals who attempted the climb made it to the top. There, we found ancient walls constructed of stone that, at one time, served as a vacation home for kings, and later become a stronghold for Jewish people who wanted out of slavery. This is one testament to the fact that the Jewish people have had both high and low times in their history. This low time, which we learned about through our journey to the top of Masada, opened our eyes to the harsh reality of what the Jews had faced in a moment of history that is not frequently talked about today. We know the result of the Jews’ actions. They chose to give up. Ultimately, what I left Masada wondering today was this: “What could have (or would have) happened? What positive outcome could have resulted if the Jews had NOT given up in this situation?”