cultural post 3

[Jacob Goldfarb]

For my third cultural artifact I have chosen Masada because my language partner visited there during our time working together. Masada is a very significant site for the people of Israel and the Jewish community as a whole. Current day Masada is a fortress located in the Judean Desert near the Dead Sea. It is apart of the remains of Israel when it was an empire back in the AD period. Current Masada is only remains of the much larger fortress that was there before the Roman Empire invaded. Masada was the last defense position for the Jewish people against the Roman Empire. The site was originally a complex created by the king of the Judeo kingdom. Even the remaining architecture is incredible according to my instructor. It is seen to represent the strong response of the Jewish people in the face of adversity as they fought until the last defender that was alive. Its location in the desert is extremely advantageous from a defensive perspective but there were so many Romans in comparison to those fighting for the Jewish empire that the group was still over run. It is a very unique site in the sense that most places the Romans invaded were completely destroyed. My instructor said that the tour felt very surreal because of how many individuals on both sides perished in the fighting. After the Romans prevailed, the new ruler of the area renovated the site and added many Roman aspects such as barracks as well as armories for Roman soldiers. There is talk of the possibility of a mass suicide of all the Jewish people who remained at the site when the Romans invaded. This can not be confirmed however, so the validity of this claim is heavily put up to debate. After the Romans prevailed, capturing this last stronghold, life for Jewish people who lived in the kingdom was not the same. Jewish people rebelled against the new governing power and this resulted in countless inhumane events like mass crucifixions. Today many young Jewish boys and girls opt to have barmitzvahs or batmitzvahs at the site’s synagogue. Special forces and military units of the IDF also routinely march there and are known to take oaths to the State of Israel at the site. It seems that Masada has significance in Israel as a place that will not be allowed to be controlled by a foreign power again. Israeli’s even sometimes use masada as a term to criticize Israel foreign policy. Obviously, this is a highly contested subject as people have differing opinions on the foreign policy of Israel. Excavations during modern times have also revealed even more remaining roman military sites like defense walls and camps that would house Roman soldiers. To my language partner as well as many Israelis, Mosada is a site meant to symbolize the history of the Jewish state and serves as a reminder that an invasion of Israel in the present day would be devastating to Israel. When I do eventually visit Israel I will be sure to visit this incredible site.

 

 

 

 

Masada - UNESCO World Heritage Centre

masada photos - Bing images