If there is a bigger symbol of the independence of the Nation of Israel than Masada, I missed it during my stay here. Since I don’t have a lot of time to write, I will just share a few brief notes and some pictures.
Masada was originally built by Herod the Great as a place for he and his family to flee for safety in the event they ever needed to (those in his family he had not killed I suppose). In theory, it should have just been a fortified place with food and water stores. However, that would not have been Herod’s style. and the end result was basically a Roman City on the mountain top. Oddly Herod never spent a day in his mountain fortress.
I think most are vaguely familiar with the story of the siege and fall Masada in the year 73 AD; if not, there are plenty of accounts out there. This story is not without controversy, even today in Israel. Some see Masada as a monument to Israeli bravery and independence, while others see it as a symbol of extremism and a refusal to compromise.
I think most know where my thoughts are on the above scale. I would be a safe bet to say that when I leave this country, part of my heart will be left behind. I do know that when the fortress fell in 73 AD, the last remnant of the Jewish Nation went with it, and was not seen again until May 14, 1948 when Israel became a nation again.But, enough of all that; let’s just look at some pictures.
Cable car up to the mountain top
The synagogue at Masada used by the Jewish Zealots after they came
The Roman Style bathhouse
This is the ramp the Roman army built using slave labor to bring their siege engine up so they could breach the walls. Day, after day, the defenders watched the progress of this and knew time was running out for them.
March 11, 2017 at 10:14
Love the history and evidence of what once was. And of course, what will be.
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March 11, 2017 at 10:20
But dont ya know archaeology has disproven it all?
The amount of things yet to be found is limitless. Some things are known but cannot be unearthed. Do you know we stood probably 20 ft from the Holy of Holies? And that is probably as close as they will ever be.
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March 11, 2017 at 10:22
Yeah its like a guy standing in a blistering thunderstorm, getting pelted with rain, saying: ‘Rain? what rain? I need more proof than me being soaked……….’
Geez, how stubborn men can be.
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March 11, 2017 at 10:27
Ha..perfect analogy my friend, just perfect. The well of stubbornness is apparently very deep. Hey remember some talk once about Pontius Pilate never existing? Well, ya know they found him too. Not him, but a reference.
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March 11, 2017 at 10:34
Yessiree.
Did your guide talk about the kodesh ha kodeshim? Sure he did. Even rolls off the tongue nicely. And the cherubim, and the laver, and the glory of God. Love it.
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March 11, 2017 at 10:44
He did. Eventually gonna post on the work on the Western Wall being done via tunnel under the city. That’s where you could almost touch it
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March 11, 2017 at 10:54
Thanx for the pics. This is one place we did not visit on our trip. Much regret. As you know, I did leave my heart in Israel 17 years ago.
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March 11, 2017 at 11:00
I can relate Don. Even though Masada is not part of the Biblical narrative in many ways it moved me more than other places
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March 11, 2017 at 11:06
I am living vicariously through your pictures and comments. I know I’ll never have an opportunity to visit this country. How blessed you are.
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March 11, 2017 at 11:14
I was indeed. I am very sad that it is over. I’m back ya know. I just didn’t even get close to all the posting on the trip. So, the journey will continue for a bit.
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March 11, 2017 at 12:38
Thanks again…so glad the journey will continue! 🙂
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March 17, 2017 at 06:20
Thanks. And sorry, you went to spam and I did not know!
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March 11, 2017 at 16:32
Great pictures! Thanks fur sharing!😺
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March 11, 2017 at 16:33
Thank you for reading!
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March 12, 2017 at 00:12
Why of course!😺
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March 11, 2017 at 20:20
Incredible pictures
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March 11, 2017 at 21:24
Thanks brother
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March 13, 2017 at 17:00
Wally, Masada is such a sad story. Jews killing their children and themselves rather than being captured (and killed) by the Romans. No doubt Roman military engineers relished the challenge of building that ramp. This reminds me of the causeway Alexander constructed to reach the island city of Tyre, the populace just waiting for the inevitable.
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March 13, 2017 at 17:17
I am really glad you used that example, Tom. I knew there was a similar story, but for the life of me could not remember it!
I will share something here. I was moved by lots of places, but Masada moved me in a very visceral way. When I was walking out the path and saw that Star of David flying over it, I blubbered like a baby. It really, really captured me.
I am pretty sure I fell in love with Israel at the very moment.
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March 13, 2017 at 17:35
Wally, I completely understand your reaction to Masada. I studied Polish history for a long time (I had to fill the void with something during my prodigal days) and I eventually concentrated on Polish-Jewish relations. For many reasons half of Europe’s Jews lived in Poland at the start of WWII. And most ethnic Poles hated the Jews, for religious and economic reasons. Poland wasn’t as bad as Nazi Germany but things were bad and getting worse. Poland was even investigating the possibility of shipping its Jews to Madagascar when Hitler invaded. When Hitler began transporting the Polish Jews to concentration camps, some in the Warsaw ghetto fought to the death. On one of our trips to Germany my wife and I took a side trip to Krakow, Poland and to nearby Auschwitz. Words can’t describe it. I was numb for days. Yes, the Jews have suffered terribly as a people.
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March 13, 2017 at 17:43
Did you ever read Mila 18 by Leon Uris? I remember reading it, and was struck by the story of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.
Not much has changed, Tom, in that the Jews are still hated. I think people should ask themselves ….why does everybody hate the Jews? There are only two possible answers. One is, they did something to deserve it. Ha…bet nobody would go for that answer. Two is…well we know the answer to that. Because are still God’s people. Satan hates them, and uses people to try and destroy them.
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March 13, 2017 at 18:00
No, I never read that one, Wally. The institutional church made it very hard for the Jews by stoking the public’s hatred but monarchs often befriended the Jews for their financial acumen. Poland had no mercantile class – there was only the nobility and the peasants – so the nobility invited the Jews fleeing persecution in Western Europe to Poland to fill the void. Of course this created very bad feelings among the Catholic peasantry. Yes, the Jews are a miracle! Mankind has done everything they could to stamp them out. I have told my two sons that the Jews are “proof” that God exists or else why does the whole world revolve around a little country the size of New Jersey?
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March 13, 2017 at 18:18
Well, nobody has an answer to that, Tom. Thanks for that history, too. I did not know all of that.
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