Sept 15, 2022
Hello From The Holy Land:
Today we got off to an early start - a 6:00am wake up call - because we had a bit of a drive to our first stop, The Masada Fortress. In 66AD, the Jewish people rebelled against the Roman Occupiers. The revolt lasted for four years, but eventually was devastating for the Jewish people, because it resulted in the destruction of the second temple in 70AD.
There was one last group of resistance secured on top of an isolated rock called Masada, where Herod the Great not only built a three tier temple, but a fortress that was virtually impenetrable. About 950 men, women and children lived in Masada. They were all that were left of the Rebellion, but the Romans were determined to crush them, so they used Jewish slaves to build a ramp that would scale up the rock, and allow them to enter the fortress. The ramp took two years to build, and because the Romans used Jewish slaves, the rebels would not attack their kin to stop the building.
When the ramp was completed, the rebels knew their time was up. Their leader was able to convince everyone that it would be better to die at their own hands as free people, than to surrender to the Romans, who would most likely execute the men, and send the women and children into slavery. So, when the Romans climbed the the ramp on that final day, everyone but two women and one child were dead. For Israel, this resistance is a huge symbol of the importance of their freedom and independence. The military are required to visit this site, and learn it’s history in the hope that they understand how important it is to fight to keep Israel free. Personally, I have mixed feelings about this. When I stood in the community tower where the mass suicide occurred, the walls spoke to me of great sacrifice and deep sorrow, but had no answers to my question of why it happened in the first place.
The excavation is massive. All across the compound, the fortress and the three tier temple was emerging from the pages of history. This place is in the middle of nowhere - initially a well-fortified get away with all the luxuries of home, ending as the last stand of a Jewish rebellion. The excavators were bringing it all back to life, and rebuilding at the same time. They had drawn a black border on the excavations. Below it was the the original 1st century stone. Above it was the rebuilding of the Excavators. The stones looked exactly the same. The only difference, the stones below the line were more than 2000 years old.
Our next stop was the Qumran Community. Here is where the Essenes lived, an isolationist branch of the Jewish Faith who broke away from the Jerusalem priesthood, and the Sanhedrin Council who they believed were corrupt, calling them the “Sons of Darkness, to form their own brotherhood in a remote area where the could focus on purity and serve - you guessed it as the “Sons of Light.”
One of their tasks was daily writing and study. They produced many additional copies of books from the First Testament, along with commentaries on these Holy Scriptures. Around the time when Rome was laying siege on Masada, the Essenes understood that their quiet and isolated Qumran Community May be next, so before Rome arrived, they put their scrolls into clay jars, and hid them in caves, Then they left the area, hoping that some day they would be able to return and continue their work. They never did.
In 1947, a shepherd was keeping watch over his flock in the area, when one of his goats broke away from the herd, and went into a cave. In an attempt to frighten the goat, and perhaps have it bolt out of the cave, the shepherd picked up rock and threw it inside. To his surprise, he heard something break. He entered a cave, saw several clay jars with scrolls inside them. Not knowing what he had, but curious to see what value it had, the shepherd took a single jar and scrolls to a Souvenir shop in Bethlehem. He offered the clay jar and scrolls to the merchant for a new pair of shoes. The merchant understood that the shepherd possessed a treasure, and agreed to the deal that brought about the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. 900 scrolls in all were discovered in the area, 600 in cave #4, the one the shepherd threw his rock in. I am glad to say that all the scrolls are in Museums in Israel, where I’m certain only select scholars can examine them. These scrolls have value because they are extra biblical material of books from the first testament, and commentaries that revealed the Essences understandings of those scripture.
As for the original clay jar, it still resides with the family of the souvenir shop in Bethlehem. They have been offered 350 million dollars for it. Their asking price is 450 million. I suspect that someday they will get it. As for the Shepherd, all he got was a new pair of shoes. Yet somehow, I sense he went home happy that day with his treasure.
That’s enough history for one day. Our next stop was the Dead Sea. It is the lowest point in the world at 402 meters below sea level - not feet, meters. It’s salt content makes up 33% of the sea’s make-up. We went to the sea to float, not to swim. Swimming and standing in the Dead Sea is frowned upon. The heaviness of the salt in the sea can drag your head underwater, and standing on the mud is slippery, so you can easily tumble and end up underwater in the heavy salt sea.
So when Kim And I went floating- and nothing was going to keep us from doing that - we followed the rules. We entered slowly, we turned around, assumed a sitting position, rolled into our backs, and let the sea carry our bodies. We floated in that warm body of water for sometime, and then we decided we needed a mud treatment. The minerals in the mud of the Dead Sea are supposedly good for your skin, so Kim and I made our way to the muddy beach and applied generously. It felt great being a kid again, playing in a mud hole. Once the mud is fully caked on, into the sea one goes to rinse it off. Wouldn’t you know it, my skin does feel smoother. I wonder how long that will last.
Anyways, my eyes grow weary, so it’s time for bed.
Good night everyone - take care and God bless.
Ed