Over the weekend we took a trip to Ein Gedi. We hiked to a waterfall, swam in the Dead Sea, and climbed Masada. For many of us, waking up at 3:30 in the morning for Masada was a rough start to the day, and climbing a steep mountain while you are barely awake was not ideal, but it turned out to be a great day. Every single one of us made it to the top, and we all got to see a beautiful sunrise on top and participate in services at the top.
After the sun had risen we broke up into our Jewish History classes, and went around the different areas to learn all about Masada. Masada itself means fortress, and that is exactly what it was: an ancient fortress, with many rooms, buildings, and areas which were originally built by the Hellenized Jewish king, King Herod. King Herod was a very paranoid man, so he chose to build on Masada because it is high up, so he would always be prepared to fight, it is hard to get reach, and it was a place of solitude for himself.
Jumping forward in time, the Zealots, who were a group of Jews that wanted nothing more than to overthrow the Romans, took over Masada. About 900 Zealots came to the top of Masada, killed the Roman guards who were guarding the area, and conquered Masada. Like King Herod they chose the site because it is high up and hard to get to.
The Zealots wanted to destroy Romans, but they also wanted to stay true to their Judaism and that is obvious in the renovations they had done to the original structures made by the Romans in the time of King Herod. The Zealots added to what was already built there, repurposing Herod’s palace for their own needs. For example, bath houses were turned into Mikvahs and a regular room used by Romans was transformed into a Beit Knesset (synagogue). Because King Herod was Jewish there was already kosher artwork on the walls. The Zealots raised doves to fertilize the desert land so they could grow their own food.
Eventually the group of Zealots and the Romans went to war. The leader of the Zealots on top of Masada, Eleazar Ben Yair, told his people that they should stay true to their Judaism, and they would rather die as Jews than to be enslaved to the Romans and assimilate into Roman culture. The Romans built a ramp to take them up the mountain. They were much better equipped than the Zealots, with weapons and a proper army. It is said that the remaining Zealots on top of Masada decided to kill themselves in what they would call a “heroic act”, to die for a cause. The Rabbis did not tell this story because they did not see this as heroic and they don’t even know if it is necessarily true. Although a few bodies have been found on Masada by archaeologists, it’s nowhere near the number of Jews who lived on Masada. So do you believe that the story is true? Regardless, do you believe that their action to kill themselves was justified? Why or why not?
everyone on top of Masada at sunrise
The room the romans built that the Zealots transformed into a Beit Knesset
An ancient bath built by the Romans, which was later turned into a Mikvah
Although I do not condone suicide, I do believe that in their situation it was more than justified and I even believe if I was in their position I would have done the same thing. They had to chose between dying as someone they were proud of, someone who believed in something and followed a religion or becoming enslaved, living their lives as if they were dead. If they chose to surrender they would completely lose their identity which is something I don't believe you can live without nor could I imagine myself living without knowing who I am.
ReplyDeleteI believe dying for a cause was not the correct course of action for the Zealots to take because it is the responsibility of the jewish people to continue their culture and race along as possible. Even if it meant potential death or slavery they should have tried to survive. I do believe this story is true because of the historicity and evidence.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that the Zealots made the right decision in killing themselves. Although they may have believed that this was the most noble choice of action, I personally believe that the more moral way to go would have been fighting it out as long as possible. In this position, it is up to the Zealots to carry out the lineage of the Jews. There would be no way for them to truly know what would happen if they continued to defend themselves against the Romans, and by committing suicide they end all possibility of sustaining this line of Jewish people for future generations.
ReplyDeleteI do believe the story of Masada because they did infect find a lot of bodies up their. While there were not as many as expected, I still think that the ones they did find were enough to prove the existence. I am conflicted about whether the decision to kill themselves was right. On one hand they did die honorably as they did not want to give up their jewish values. However, on the other hand, I do not think that suicide is ever a good option.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I believe the story of Masada just because it's hard for me to truly believe many historic things like this. They did find bodies so I feel like there is a big possibility that this is all true. I believe that killing themselves was the right decision they obviously did it for a reason and I think it was because they wanted to die Jewish so if that's what was important to them than good for them.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if I believe that the story is true necessarily, but I definitely think that the passion and determination of the Jews at Masadah made a statement and stands as a lesson for us all about the dedication to Judaism that some Jews have. Obviously it can't be expected of every Jew to die for their religion, but it does bring up an important decision for a lot of people. Even though I think their actions were justified, I also think that Jews can prove their dedication to Judaism without going that far.
ReplyDeleteI really do not believe in this story. I think it was made up by the rabbis and the zealots in order to highlight their extreme bravery and justify the defeat of Masada. But let's say it is true, if that's the case, I don't at all condone the mass suicide. The zealots are supposed to be these grave and amazing warriors, yet they didn't fight? I think that all zealots should be embarrassed by what happened at Masada, and not be praising it.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm inclined to believe that the story was actually true. Either way, I don't think their actions were justified at all. From a Jewish perspective, we are taught that human lives are infinitely valuable, and that we are all made in the image of God, so suicide means you are destroying a precious piece of God. In addition, we know that the rabbis do not condone martydom. And from a general perspective, suicide is just a really awful thing to do.
ReplyDeleteI truly do not believe that the story is true but I do have to admit, it's a great story that got passed down over many generations. Does not matter if the story is true or not, I believe that their actions were justified because the Zealots killed themselves on top of Masada because it was what they truly believed in. There are many people that lack the amount of credit that the Zealots deserve as it as 900 Jews against an entire Roman army. These people made their own decision that they would rather kill themselves when they knew that they had lost the battle than be enslaved to the Romans. They understood the consequences of living at Masada and having to face the great Roman army but once again, I give the 900 Jews who lived at Masada so much credit for putting a stand against the Roman Empire.
ReplyDeleteUltimately, I believe that this story was true. It makes sense that this group of Jews did not want to be governed by a group of people who would oppress them and take away all of their rituals and rights. This was, in their eyes, the only solution to getting out of the domination of the Romans. In my opinion, I consider this to be a heroic act because it takes a lot of bravery to come to this decision. If these Zealots thought dying was worth not being under the rule of the Romans, then I would have to say that this action was pretty justified.
ReplyDeleteI believe such a story of mass suicide is plausible, given the extremities and intensity of one's connection to faith of the time period, (as well as the extremeness of the zealot group in particular.) Although I understand the reasoning, I don't really think such an action is justified as it opposes their whole idea for fighting so hard to stay alive in the first place. Working so hard to fight back for what you believe in seems disappointing given that in the end their teachings were inevitably lost in their actions of suicide.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe the whole story is true. I believe maybe some of the zealots decided to kill themselves but not all of them. The zealots nature is to fight. I believe they fought the Romans as long as possible, and the one's who did not kill themselves might have been killed or captured by the Romans. However, this was still a tragic event even if jews did not kill themselves for their cause. I do believe it might have made sense for some of the Jews to kill themselves, and I believe an action of suicide would have been justified because they would have been killed anyway.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to tell if I believe if this story is true or not. They story says that there were almost 1,000 jews living on Masada that killed themselves, and yet only a couple bodies were found. Regardless if this story is true or not, I'm not sure if I agree with their mass suicides. I think that the zealots should of fought for as long as possible, even if it means them all getting killed, it's more nobal to be killed than to just give up.
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