Masada: Much Challenge, Such Asthma

Wow. If I have ever complained about not being able to breathe or that I'm having the most ridiculous workout, I was so wrong. 

We started off our day waking up at 2:30am to get all of our stuff ready to get on the bus and to leave by 3:15am to head for Masada. Needless to say, we were all exhausted and running on about four hours of sleep on average. The drive was about an hour and a half total, driving through the West Bank next to the Jordan river and south until we reached the bottom of Masada. It was still very dark and we were barely able to see each other. 

It was so dark and the flash was so bright, I can promise you, we were not high. 

The majority of us dressed in layers because it was freezing as we got off the bus but we all soon found out that within the first five minutes of climbing, layers were not the way to go. 

We must remember the Jenna has asthma and a sprained ankle and a bad back, so the struggle was very real. I ended up stopping every few minutes to catch my breath. And with every stop, I looked out at the Dead Sea and the rest of the land and it was all so breathtaking that I found it hard to catch my breath again. It took about forty minutes for me to get to the top. Sadly I didn't the chance to see the sunrise from the top but my friend Arianna and I stopped on the side about three quarters of the way up to watch the sun peak over the top of the mountains in the distance. It was one of the most beautiful things either of us have ever seen. We truly enjoyed sitting with each other and bonding the whole way up and having an experience together that we would never have again. We had great conversations on the way up (there's a possibility that we crawled the last few meters....)and finally made it to the top and hugged each other even if we were both sweaty and gross. (I may or may not of collapsed on the ground and just layed there for twenty minutes. Minor details.) The view from the top was unbelievable. Especially with the sun just beginning to rise. 

It was remarkable. 

Once we were all at the top (I wasn't the last one believe it or not) we had beautiful  t'filot (services) at the top all together. It was so peaceful and serene that I thought I might have been dreaming. Along with feeling ridiculously  accomplished. 

After services we started learning about why Masada was built. I hope you're ready for a little history lesson because I'm ready to spill out some info. 

So after the first temple was destroyed the Jews were sent to Babylon in exile. After about forty years they are allowed to go back and about 10% actually returned. A few hundred years later, Alexander the Great introduces Hellenism to Israel which is a form of Greek culture and it divided the country into pro hellenists and anti Hellenists. After a few more hundred years, there's a revolt and the people of Israel win and retake Jerusalem and rededicate the temple (which is the actual story if Hannukah) then Judea falls under the rule of the Romans and they get a new king named Herod. Herod rebuilt the temple. 

Now Herod was convinced that a lot of people were out to get him because he wasn't technically Jewish, so him being the paranoid king he was built a fort on top of Masada. If you go there, you will see that Herod always built things big. Very big. If you've seen a model of the second temple and Masada you'd understand. His fort on top of the mountain was luxurious with multiple bath houses, storage units and a view of every major road to make sure no one could attack him. 

After Herod's Rule, the Romans were still in charge and there was one group from Judea that believed in no foreign rule. They we're known as the Zealots. And this is the real story of Masada. 

The Zealots had a smaller group called the Sicarii who were much more intense and basically were extremist in a sense. They went to live at Masada for protection from anyone forcing foreign rule on them. They ended up being surrounded by Romans with no way to escape and so they decided it was better to die at the hands of their friends and family rather than their foes. They had a raffle and about ten names were picked. Those ten people, were chosen to kill each person. One of the ten would kill the other nine and then himself. 

And that was the fall of Masada. It was an emotional story to hear about and the choice they made was one that would be unthinkable today. I truthfully was in awe learning about the whole story. Having to choose between dying at the hands of someone you love and trust rather than dying at the hands of your enemy is a hypothetical question I could never answer. Both are equally terrifying. I'm still in awe of how that decision was made. All of the Sicarii gathered around their house of prayer and listened to one man make the decision for them. It's one thing to take a vote and it's another to take the word of one man speaking on behalf of a whole group of people. 

I will never forget the story of how Masada fell. Nor should anyone who has read this forget.