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| A mighty falcon perches atop Masada |
King Herod made Masada great, taking an already amazing spot for defense and turning it into a nearly impregnable fortress, complete with a palace, bathhouse, an excess of dried fruits and trade route connections all along the Dead Sea. Being an easily defensible area, it was a highly desired outpost during the Great Revolt. The Great Revolt happened after Herod's rule, but the state of the fortress had remained largely unchanged, despite being held by the Romans in 66 CE. This gave a division of the קנאיםת, the סיקארים, a great reason to take over Masada. These Zealots were, for all intents and purposes, ridiculous ninjas who took over the fortress swiftly and silently.
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| Sicari throwing star |
The rabbis of the time did not talk about this decision and this can be interpreted in many ways. One explanation could be that suicide is shameful in the eyes of Judaism and not supported in any way by the Torah. Yet, the rabbi's decision can be viewed differently. To acknowledge the events of Masada would mean that the rabbis would have to admonish the decisions of the Zealots. Yet by silently recognizing their actions, it can almost be viewed as a sign of respect for refusing to be extinguished by foreign powers and making Judaism theirs to lose. The rabbis however do use the phrase שנית מצדה לא תיפול. This means "Masada will not fall a second time", and acknowledges the collective memory of the events that took place on the mountain as well as the refusal to submit to those who wish to snuff out Judaism.
Studying these events to me was a very powerful experience and in response, the questions can be posed: Were the Zealots right in their actions? And is there anything in the world today you could bring yourself to die for?
There were upsides and downsides to what the Zealots did in order to protect their Judaism and their spirits. If everyone had consented to the action, not just the men, then I would be much more okay with the actions they took, but because the women and children did not consent to it, it does upset me. If everyone was asked and only those that agreed to the action were slaughtered, I would find it not necessarily right, but admirable. The people of the sect were willing to die for this cause rather than go against their beliefs as slaves to the Romans. I also think the gesture of leaving all of the food to prove that they died by their own accord and not because they were not advanced enough to survive as a society is really fascinating and admirable.
ReplyDeleteAs far as causes I would die for, I would rather die than become a slave or be put in a position where I am caused immense amounts of physical pain anyway. It is a very hard thing, however, when you live as comfortable a life as most of us do, to imagine wanting to choose death over life. It is something that I for one could not decide right now.
To write about the Zealots in the Talmud in a positive light would be to glorify suicide as something other than self-murder, which is how it is defined in the strict Jewish tradition. If the Chazal were to denigrate the actions of the Zealots on Masada they would be in accordance with the Torah and with Hashem. What we have is a conflict between theory and practice. In theory, the mass-suicide is one of the gravest sins we can commit. In practice, it was a valiant statement of self-actualization, much like the words of Patrick Henry, telling the British "give me liberty or give me death". The issue is that practice is what the world is, and theory is what the world should be. If the Chazal wanted to be true defenders of the strict Jewish faith, the suicide at Masada should have been written about and spat upon in the Talmud. They may have deferred judgment in front of the people, but not in front of Hashem. Of course, here we are two millennia later. Our value systems have changed. I personally think that the Zealots were justified in their actions (though without evidence, we can't make any assumptions about the women and children killed as well. That is an argument for another time), but because of that, I must disagree with strict Jewish interpretation. I don't think that suicide is something immoral, or something to be talked about in whispers. It is just something sad.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe right is the correct term in this case. This is because it can be taken so many different ways, like Celia said, the deaths of the wives and children were not approved by the wives and children. In a religious standpoint, both the murder of 959 Sicario and the suicide of one are clearly not ok, but you still must admire the dedication these people showed. While I agree with Celia about the leading a privileged lifestyle and therefore not able to fully understanding the choice between living and dying, I believe I could take my life. It could be for a few reasons, but if I were to take my life hopefully it would be for the benefit of others.
ReplyDeleteThe Zealots were a group of extremist who should not define what Judaism is. I think the Rabbis who choose to ignore Masada want to avoid one group defining Judaism. A modern example could be who there are Islamic extremist groups who seem to be defining what Islam faith is, which is really not true. So yes, the Zealots, I think, were very brave and heroic, but if the events at Masada were more common they would define us as jews, and I dont think we would want that. I also am scared of death, honestly who isnt, so I dont think there is anything I know I would die for until it was threatened. ( this is my second reply due to the fact my 1st one deleted)
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that there was a right or wrong answer to the actions of the Zealots. Because Judaism does not accept suicide as a solution many will say that they were wrong in terminating their lives and the future of our people. However, the Romans were going to murder all of them and the Zealots wanted to end their existence themselves so they were not conquered by another group of people. i personally do not think that The Zealots were right in killing all of the women and children because the children had full lives ahead of them, but if the Romans came and captured them they would inevitably end up as slaves. Being ruled by others and giving up every rights you have as a human could be considered death so therefor there really is no black or white answer to The horrible end of the Zealots.
ReplyDeleteAlso, i do not believe that there is anything in this world that i would die for today except for my family. I feel that everyone is put on this planet for a reason and terminating ones life because of something you do not agree with is giving up on the rest of your life that you have to live.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree with the Zealots on their decision to commit suicide. In a way, I think they gave up on their lives and Judaism. Luckily Judaism survived, but there was no way for those Zealots to know whether or not Judaism would survive. Instead of sticking it out until the end, they decided to, in a way, quite while they were ahead. This can be viewed as a cowardly act.
ReplyDeleteIn my life, things I would die for include people. There isn't anything more important than the loved ones in my life. But in terms of dying for my beliefs, I feel like I don't know about everything I believe in a this point in my life. I wouldn't be able to make a decision now in my life.
I believe that the Zealots were right in their actions. I think that is admirable that they were so faithful to God and the Jewish religion that they were willing to give their lives to stay true to this. It is sad that the way that they had to do this was through suicide. It is hard to answer the question of what I would die for. I can think of many things, like being forced to kill another, to protect family or friends, a big compromise of my morals, but in all these situations my mind could change in a split second. I don't know if I would truly be able to give my life up or not unless I was in the situation.
ReplyDeleteThere were clear upsides and downsides to their actions, however, I believe that the Zealots were right in their actions. As opposed to just backing down and giving up, they actually took a stand and fought for their Judaism. I don't personally agree to the suicide part however, I admire their intentions and do like what they stood for. In response to what I'd die for... well I could think of a few things but I don't think I could give a solid answer for this.
ReplyDeleteI believe the Zealots were right in their actions. No matter what happened to them they didn't give up, they fought for Judaism. I think the Zealots were brave and heroic in there actions of suicide. I think today I would die for things I believe in. In my home town there aren't many jewish teens that I can connect to, so that's definitely something I would die for.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think that the Zealots were necessarily right in their actions, although I’m also not entirely sure that they were wrong. I think that the idea of not dying as slaves was somewhat admirable, and that could fit in to our ideal of Kiddush Hashem, the preference of death over certain actions. One of these actions being a Jew forced to give up on Judaism. The Zealots thought that if they were overtaken by the Romans they would be forced to give up on Judaism, so they chose death. This interpretation makes sense to me. I don’t think that the Zealots went about this the right way, however. It bothers me that they killed the women and children without their consent as well. I think that all members of that society should have been part of the decision making, not just the men.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think that there is anything that I could choose death for. I’ve never been in a situation where I would need to take into consideration the three reasons for Kiddush Hashem. I don’t think that I would ever come across those, but if I did, that would be the only possible reason I could choose death. Even then I’m not sure that I would choose death. I’m afraid of dying, therefore I would have a huge issue with choosing that.
-Rachael Coleman
At the time the time of the siege the zealots on top of mesada thought they were last of the Jews. I think its even more meaningful that not only were they ending their lives but they also believed that they were dying with the rest of judaism. Part of me thinks that it was kinda of selfish because not only were they leaving the world and not fighting to the end they also had this idea that judaism was dying with them. Despite that they still ended themselves and what they thought was the long and hard history of the jewish people. Today i would put my life down for those who gave me life and made me who i am. I would also give my life for those who are on the frontlines who are trying to protect my country and I for i think that since they gave me life i have to pay them back with my life.
ReplyDeleteI think that what the Zealots did was admirable and their intentions were brave but I don't think that it's something that should ever be done again. Of course people should go to great lengths to save such important things like Judasim but I could never ever say that mass suicide is the answer to that. I feel very strongly about many people and things in my life but there aren't any aside from family that I could say I would give my own life for.
ReplyDeleteI think that what the Zealots did was admirable and their intentions were brave but I don't think that it's something that should ever be done again. Of course people should go to great lengths to save such important things like Judasim but I could never ever say that mass suicide is the answer to that. I feel very strongly about many people and things in my life but there aren't any aside from family that I could say I would give my own life for.
ReplyDeleteI think that when the Zealots decided to commit suicide over what they believed in was very admirable however, I do think that the decision should have involved the women and children in the community. I believe that it was admirable because they wanted to show that they were continuing Jewish tradition on Masada and felt that they should honor that by not being sold into slavery under control of the Romans when they attacked. The Zealots realized that some people would probably assimilate and Jewish tradition would be lost if they were sold into slavery. In order to preserve their beliefs, they thought that it would be better to die as a Jewish community rather than being dispersed into slavery under Roman control.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I would be able to die for anything but the most important thing to me is my family.
While the Zealots were without a doubt well-intentioned, I do not believe their decisions to slaughter their entire community was the right one. Even if they faced a horrible fate as Roman slaves, the Jewish people have a long history of survival in difficult situations. A prime example of this was slavery in Egypt. I believe that even though the Zealots atop Masada believed they were the last of the Jews, they could have decided to remain faithful to Judaism even in bonds.
ReplyDeleteI do not feel comfortable answering the second part of this question.
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ReplyDeleteI do believe that the zealots were right to acquire Masada, even if it meant that they must kill their opponents swiftly, brutally, and coldly. In the end, would you believe the Romans would not do the same to them if they could?
ReplyDeleteNow to say the zealots were correct in their actions during the final fight is to condone suicide. Suicide though, should never be allowed and if one is ever to be put in a situation where they feel they should or they must commit suicide, then it is a tragic day for all sides of the event. Now ignoring everything I just previously have said; yes, there are many situations which I would take my life for with out a second thought or hesitation. Now do I want to share what those situations are, no, I do believe I rather not.