Masada and Yavneh By Evan Jaffe

The Geography of Masada Located on the eastern border of Israel It is on the Western shores of the Dead Sea It is an isolated plateau with steep sides Very sunny, hot and dry climate

Beginning of Masada Built by King Herod between 37 and 31 B.C.E as a place of refuge In 66 C.E. Jewish rebels conquered Masada  8. Underground cistern 9. Southern bastion 10. western palace 11. Throne room 12. West gate 13. Synagogue 14. Large bathhouse 1. Small bathhouse 2. Herod's palace-villa 3. Storerooms 4. Apartment building 5. Snake-path gate 6. Casemate-wall 7. Zealots' living quarters   1. Small bathhouse 2. Herod's palace-villa 3. Storerooms 4. Apartment building 5. Snake-path gate 6. Casemate-wall 7. Zealots' living quarters  8. Underground cistern 9. Southern bastion 10. western palace 11. Throne room 12. West gate 13. Synagogue 14. Large bathhouse

The Romans Attack Romans surrounded it in 73 C.E. Roman Camp Masada Ramp Romans surrounded it in 73 C.E. Jews built an inner and outer wall for protection Romans built a ramp up to reach Masada Romans set fire to the outer wall The Romans built this ramp up to Masada with rocks and dirt to reach the walls

The Jews Respond Jewish leader Eleazer ben Yair, told the Jews living at Masada not to try to escape It was important that they all act together The Jews committed suicide Husbands killed their wives, children, and friends The Jews left food behind on Masada showing they would rather die than survive to be tortured by the Romans

The Story of Yavneh . The story of Yavneh starts in Jerusalem around 68 C.E. The Jews ruled themselves at the beginning of the Second Temple Period The Romans wished to defeat the Jews because of several recent Jewish victories against them Many Jews gathered in Jerusalem as a place of refuge because it was a walled city

Romans Encircled Jerusalem Romans surrounded Jerusalem Romans controlled the Jews Jews were prohibited to practice Judaism the way they wanted Romans surrounded Jerusalem

Zealots In the Jewish nation, there were Zealots These were people who preferred to fight rather than surrender to the Romans At one point, the Zealots even burned most of the food in order to encourage people to start fighting Many Jews died because of the Zealots’ actions

Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai was not the most learned of Rabbis, although he was very clever He thought of an idea to escape Jerusalem He faked his death and two Rabbis put him in a coffin and started heading out of Jerusalem They came to the Roman General, Vespasian Rabbi Yochanan made a deal with Vespasian that if Vespasian became Emperor in the next year, then Rabbi Yochanan would be given the land of Yavneh for the Jews In the next year, Vespasian became Emperor, and gave Yavneh to Rabbi Yochanan and the Jews

Romans Destroy Jerusalem After Rabbi Yochanan left, the Romans broke into Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple and the whole city When Rabbi Yochanan heard that Jerusalem and the Temple had been destroyed, he tore his clothes in mourning There was nothing the Jews could do to fight back

Why I found Yavneh Inspiring Rabbi Yochanan risked his life in order to save the Jewish nation and the Torah If he hadn’t done that, the Jewish nation may not exist today Rabbi Yochanan saved part of the Jewish nation opposed to them all dying in the battle with the Romans

Why I found Masada Inspiring The Jews stuck together as a nation and acted as one They died together instead of letting the Romans accomplish their goal of torturing and killing the Jews However, if all of the Jewish nation (Bnei Yisrael) did this, there would not be a “Bnei Yisrael” today

Why Masada and Yavneh were not Inspiring In Yavneh Rabbi Yochanan was willing to leave some Jews behind to die Although the Jewish plan at Masada may have been inspiring, it is not necessarily the best solution for every situation

Why I Found Masada More Inspiring In the story of Masada, the Jews worked together as a community and died together In my opinion, the outcome of Yavneh was better, however it was not more inspiring I can’t say that I would have liked to participate at Masada, however the actions of those that were there inspired me more

What Inspires You? Yavneh or Masada ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?