DAY EIGHT WALKING MASADA AND A MEMORABLE JEEP RIDE IN THE WILDERNESS OF ZIN
Hebraic culture met Hollywood today as we began our day by touring the famous site of Masada, a hilltop fortress built by Herod the Great which was made famous by a Hollywood film called "Masada" in the 1980s. This sandstone exclamation mark exemplifying Herod's incredible building prowess has been visited and inhabited over the centuries by Jewish zealots, relentless Roman soldiers, adventurous monastics, curious archaeologists, dutiful pilgrims, and eager tourists AND most recently by President Bush last week during his trip to Israel.
History abounds on this hilltop where 1st Century Jews revolted against the Romans in 68 A.D. Among the Jews at that time, many felt that if they were to initiate such a revolt and engage with the enemy then they could accelerate the return of their messiah because the Old Testament spoke of their God who would return to rule, and in essence, squash all of their oppressors. Instead, this revolt ended badly for the Jews, with the holy temple of Jerusalem being burned down by the Romans in 70 A.D. and here at Masada, ten Jewish protectorates of the city cast lots to decide in what order they would kill themselves, their families and the 1,000 residents of Masada, so that when the awaiting 8,000 Roman solders who were surrounding the fortress finally figured out a way to breach the fortress wall, there would be no victory for them in ransacking the city or taking residents as slaves. The Masada residents themselves burned all of their buildings except the storehouse, to prove to the Romans they had not died from a shortage of food and water. In fact, all were dead when the Romans broke through the fortified wall (except a few women and children) and there was a stack of bodies where the ten protectorates had fallen on one another in their final breath. We know of such history of Masada through the writings of Josephus Flavius, a respected Jewish writer from the time of Jesus.
From Masada we switched gears, literally, leaving our comfortable bus behind for a rugged jeep ride through the Judea and Negev deserts to arrive at the Wilderness of Zin. Our group quickly learned that the Israeli version of a deep and memorable chiropractic adjustment is simply to take a hot, dusty and quite bumpy jeep ride out into the Wilderness of Zin (known from the time of Moses as the location where the Israelites wandered for forty years before entering the Promise Land). Whereas the Israelites traversed this barren region by foot that extends for seemingly countless miles, we opted for the massive 4x4 covered jeep that could seat our entire pilgrimage group. Our fate around the hairpin turns and rock-studded hills was in the hands of Jacob, an Israeli who has spent his life in the desert here but his daughter lives in the San Fernando Valley of California. He felt an affinity for our group (largely from California) and this meant that he wanted to keep us out in the desert for at least six to seven hours as if giving us a driving tour of his hometown. After much negotiation, we managed to keep the Indian Jones-ish jeep ride to four hours in the 105+ degree heat. Our group applauded when we came around the bend to once again greet pavement under the all-terrain wheels of our massive jeep and when we saw our lil' purple bus and Ahmed waiting in the distance to drive us back to our oasis in the desert, the Le Meridien on the Dead Sea. Cool air conditioning greeted us as we stepped on board. Ahhh! Our desert day was delightful and it was topped off with spa treatments for those who adventured into the world of salt rubs and mud wraps, and the evening was complete with a self-declared "Ladies in the Lounge" Happy Hour while the men enjoyed an exclusive daily option of a "Men's Only" Spa from 7-8 pm. With sun-beaten skin, dusty shoes and well-worn smiles of our memorable visit to the Dead Sea, we prepare tonight to head to Jerusalem tomorrow. A much anticipated final destination on this WellSpring pilgrimage.
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