We got off to an earlier start and made the over 2 hour drive down to the desert. Yes, the desert is hot, but it is also windy. We were prepped for our climb with a good night’s sleep and lots of water. We were excited!!!
Due to the heat we did not walk up the snake path, but entered Masada the same way the Romans did. While this walk up was a bit shorter, it was still challenging. We are all proud of the fact that we were all successful in completing the climb.
The word Masada comes from the Hebrew word for fortress. This was exactly what King Herod set out to build for himself. His fortress was built with 2 palaces, cisterns, bath houses and lots of food. It is hard to imagine how the workers and probably overworked slaves carried up supplies. We saw intricate frescos with different colors that showed that Herod spared no expense. We saw store houses large enough to hold food for years.
Now, why would anyone in their right mind build a luxury fortress in the desert? Well, if you know anything about Herod, you’d know he was a paranoid king. He made lots of enemies among the Jewish people. His plan was to escape and be safe on Masada. Ironic isn’t it that not only did Herod die a natural death in 4 bce, but it appears that he himself never even lived on Masada.
Fast forward to the year 70. The 2nd Temple has been destroyed and a group of about 900 Jews, men, women and children, escape Yerushalayim and make their way to Masada. They knew there was an abandoned fortress. Imagine their surprise as they find food, water and place to live. Archeologists have found 9 mikvaot and a shul on Masada. These Jews were clearly living a Jewish life.
As the story goes, the Romans found out and sent 8 units of soldiers to capture the fortress. That amount to 16,000 soldiers. If you know the history, all the Jews except a woman and her children die. We pause the story here to share a most amazing person that can be found on Masada.
Masada is actually the 2nd most visited site in Israel after the Kotel. The site wanted to add a component of Judaism and decided that they would hire a Rabbi to run bar and bat mitzva. This would enhance the site, as well as provide extra income. The Rabbi they hired is a Chabad Shliach of the Dead Sea, Rabbi Shimshon Israeli. In addition to adding the bar and bat mitzva component, he is a sofer and asked to be able to write Torah scrolls as well. The site was worried that that might be too much Judaism. Rabbi Israeli asked for them to try it for a month. Well, feedback is amazing and he is still there.
As we visited the shul at Masada, the Rabbi asked us our names and wrote letters in our honor. He then finished the Masada story for us. This is not the one you are expecting to hear. He told our group that the Roman Emperor wanted to know the secret of how to make balsam oil that was used in the temple. This was a secret recipe known only to Jews living in this area. When the Romans found out that Jews were there, the Caesar instructed to take them all alive.
Back to those 16,000 troops. They were hot and tired in the desert. It was a huge embarrassment to them that 900 Jews were on a mountain throwing down water on them. According to this Rabbi, he feels that after the Romans managed to build the ramp and enter Masada, they were so angry and upset that they massacred the Jews.
But what of that famous story of suicide? Well, the account we have is from Josephus Flavius, a Jew turned Roman traitor. While his accounts for the most part are accepted, his account of Masada sounds very close to another incident that occurred up North. Rabbi Israeli feels that the Roman generals decided not to tell Caesar what really happened as to not anger him. It was simply safer for them to say the Jews committed suicide. They all just wanted to go home. Considering the amount of Jewish archeological life found, this does make some sense. These Jews wanted to live as Jews.
An amazing tale of Jewish will to survive. This seems to be a theme we keep on stumbling upon. Thank G-d!