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Posted on 05/24/2004 4:07:22 PM PDT by Alouette
A GROUP of ultra-Orthodox Jews brought a Torah scroll to the mountain-top fortress of Masada today to rededicate one of the oldest synagogues in the world, which has been unused since the Romans destroyed it nearly 2000 years ago.
Almost 1000 religious Jews gathered at the foot of the fortress overnight before hiking up the steep path which leads to the top of the mountain that overlooks the Dead Sea.
The foreign-donated scroll was placed in a room of the partially renovated synagogue on the edge of the site which the Romans attacked from a sloping ramp in 73 AD
The Romans captured the fortress only after its 900 defenders committed mass suicide and Masada is now a major site of pilgrimage for Jews around the world.
The religious emergency volunteer organisation Zaka, which organised the event, explained an active synagogue on the site was needed for the thousands of Jewish visitors who until now needed to bring a scroll to pray.
In Jewish tradition, 10 people are needed as well as a Torah scroll to hold a collective prayer. Hundreds were gathered today at sunrise to inaugurate the synagogue by conducting morning prayers.
The site of Masada, one of the most visited in Israel, is at the heart of national mythology and has become a symbol of Jewish resistance to oppression.
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WARNING: This is a high volume ping list
Tefillin and cellphone cameras - a delightful juxtaposition of the ancient and modern.
IKEA parking lot ping
Of the super duper, neato keeno variety!
This is awesome. But who wrote this? 'Pilgrimage' to Masada? Part of our 'mythology'?
I'm a devout Protestant Christian and I get goosebumps seeing these brave men reestablishing a synagogue at Masada. HE will never leave the righteous forsaken, or HIS children begging for bread.
Ha! Who said all the Essenes were killed in the war?
Anyone notice a geographical error?
Masada overlooks the Dead Sea, not the Jordan River.
That was an AP error. The article has it right.
I spotted that, too. I was there just two weeks ago. Saw a very *dead* sea, but no river.
I noticed the article had it correct too.
I guess if we can have "new math" there is no reason we can't have "new geography."
I noticed the article had it correct too.
I guess if we can have "new math" there is no reason we can't have "new geography."
Bump.
Probably because what most people "know" about Masada is mythology.
I can more easily understand the fight to the last breath at the Alamo than kill myself before the enemy can mentality.Didn't thousands of Nipponese leap to their deaths on an island rather than surrender in WW2 ?
I picture God shaking his head and saying"such devotion, but.."
Many ultra-orthodox Jews are at home with modern technology. They use cameras, have TV shows, radio broadcasts, use computers and drive cars and trucks. They even fly. The notion of observant Jews living like the Amish is an outdated notion.
Tomorrow in Al Jezerra (sp) the tale of some Muslim dude (Minister Farrakhan?) who flew to outer space from Masada, it's really Islamic ground you know.
As long as they're "Ultra", they can do anything, like settlers.
What's with this ULTRA. Sounds like a tricked out car. Just call them Orthodox, or Torah observant. The ULTRA or SUPER, or MEGA is superfluous.
Next on MTV, Pimp my Religion.
I'm sure the writer meant "mythology" as in "common inspiring story" rather than the more vulgar meaning of "made up BS"
Unfortunately, familiarity with basic geography, history, religion, science or political science are not prerequisites for reporting for AP.
AP!! Where a Bush-bashing attitude is all you need!
"Masada will not fall again!"
Times were a bit different back then. Anyone who wasn't dead when the Romans took Masada would be subjected to a fate worse than death at the hands of sadistic Roman soldiers. Remember all the uproar over "The Passion of the Christ?" Like that.
Thanks. It's a beautiful event and good, necessary history reminder. I'm a real Protestant who is not charismatic or spiritualist.
In A.D. 73 the then Roman governor Flavius Silva collected all his forces and marched against Masada, the final Jewish fortress standing in the midst of a land subdued by the iron fist of Rome. Masada was occupied by sicarii and their commander Eleazar, a descendant of Judas [the Galilean].
The Jews, refusing to surrender to enslavement, committed mass suicide, with 960 casualties. Two women and five children escaped by hiding in an underground aqueduct during the massacre. It was the absolute end of Jewish sovereignty in the land. (from The Essential Works of Josephus.)
Now, today, with this event at Masada, almost two thousand years later and their religion and cultural identity very much intact—miraculously, the Jews have returned to the Covenant land, that sovereignty restored, as G-d promised it would be.
Kind of unsettles the modernist, pragmatic, rationalist reality we live in, don't it? 
Thanks, Alouette. Just neat!
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I am glad that there will be a synagogue there. As a Catholic, I NEVER understood why Jews would pilgrimage to a place where 900 of their people committed SUICIDE....especially when they had enough water and food to last them a very long time. I don't get what's good about committing suicide rather than fight to the death. Flame Away.
Okinawa, and some in the Philippines, too. Japanese soldiers, officers, and their families. My great-uncle was there, with the U.S. Army.
No to mention cool toys like this:
Let's just say that panties over the head would not be on the agenda.
They are not Essenes. In tradition and observance, they are closest to the Pharisees.
Having enough food and water to last a very long time doesn't do you much good if thousands of Roman soldiers (the Tenth Legion, to be specific) are about to storm up their enormous earthen ramp into your redoubt with their gladii swinging and spears flying against a mere 967 people, including women and children.
A friend of mine is married to an ultra Orthodox Jew, originally from Israel. Non-Jews often ask if Yehuda is Amish, probably because of his beard and wide-brimmed dark hat.
Thanks...
CD
*by way of Ireland and before that, Lithuania, and before that...
I used to work at General Motors, as a vehicle engineer, about 10 years ago. I kept a picture of my family in my cubicle. A co-worker, seeing my family photo, asked me if I was Amish.
"Well, of course!" I said. "Didn't you see my horse and buggy in the parking garage?"
The notion of observant Jews living like the Amish is nothing more than myth and fairy tale nowadays.
LMAO!
Why can't the AP just say "Jews"??? Are they so used to the ultra-left wing Deformed JINOs in their newsroom that they cannot comprehend the existence of a religious Jew? I don't recall their calling Muslims who made pilgrimage to Mecca "Ultra Orthadox".
That term is reserved for the like of Barbra Streisand, Barbara Boxer, Michael Lerner, Madonna, Diane Feinstein, and similar afflicted beings. The term "Ultra" is reserved only for those Jews that the AP feels uncomfortable being around.
I am just saying that I have NO idea why Jews pilgrimage to a spot where 900 Jews committed suicide.
Perhaps to honor this? Or perhaps it is part of G-d's plan?
Whatever the reason, they ARE back in the land that G-d promised them. And I'm happy for that.
The massacre....how many people were at Massada originally?? was it the 900 + ?? Did the women and children hide because they did NOt want to commit suicide?? I don't quite understand....can you explain??
No. I cannot explain. Nor can I explain the way G-d works, whether through the Jewish faith or the Christian. All I know is that He does.
And that's enough for me.
Rejoice with me (and our Jewish friends) that they are in their homeland!
He may not be Amish but he is loved...
And yet, in the middle ages the Pope ruled that a man who jumped from a tower, rather than stay and be burned to death, was not a suicide.
The main wall had been breeched and the inner structures were on fire when they commited suicide.
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