Pictures from Sanda's

This past Shabbat I went to visit my cousin Sanda in Zichron Yaakov (or Zikrhon Yaaqov as they spell it on the signs). On Friday, we went to the beach and I took quite a few pictures. Here they are:

The Dead Sea Again

After hiking up and down Masada, our group went to the Dead Sea. We went to a different part, past Ein Gedi. The beach was free and nice; however, the mud still cost money, though this place had buckets that you could buy instead of the packets they sell everywhere in Israel.

Since I was not feeling that well still, I decided not to go in the water and instead I took pictures for people and talked more to the people in my group, many of whom I don't see very often. I actually talked a lot to one of our Madrachim, Sima.She told us that she used to be an Ahava girl in the U.S. (New York specifically). Ahava sells Dead Sea products and they send young Israeli women to various malls across the United States to sell their products. I'm sure that you have seen them somewhere in California, I know there used to a booth of some sort in Parkway Plaza, but I'm not positive it was Ahava. Anyway, she showed us her sales pitch, but she was more interested in talking to people than selling the product and she did not do as well as some of her coworkers. Also, though she liked New York, it was too much for her (she spent a good deal of time in Manhattan).

Most of the people I talked to ended up being from the West Coast (there are quite a few of us, at least 20 University of California students and about five others from Washington and Oregon). We told Sima about the West Coast because she'd never been and tried to explain what Mexican food was (a running theme around here).

Anyway, we were only at the Dead Sea for about an hour and most people just floated for a little while and then got out to eat some of the snacks they provided. Then, we took the bus back to the dorms (another 2 hours) and I for one went to sleep.

Here's some pictures of some of the people on the trip:

My friend Julie

In order: Becka, Jacob, can't tell, Phoebe, and Paul

Sierra and her roommate with Julie

Masada

Yesterday, a group of us went to Masada, with Rothberg. It was a lot of fun. My school offers a variety of activities for students (pre-paid with our tuition). I went on a night hike in the Judean Desert a week ago and yesterday morning a group of about 40 of us hiked Masada to see the sunrise.

We left at 2:30 in the morning from Jerusalem. The bus ride was long (a little over two hours) and unfortunately I got a bit sick. Next time I'll remember to take motion sickness pills. When we got to the Roman Trail (the thankfully shorter trail) we hiked up as a group, in about 15 minutes. It was a short but steep walk and everyone was out of breath when we reached the top.

Then, we watched the sun rise before starting our tour. We split up into two groups and I have no idea if the other group saw the same things we did. First, we went to the bathhouse that King Herod built. Apparently Herod, who is best known for rebuilding the Second Temple, built Masada as a retreat in case of a siege or revolt. He created a luxurious bathhouse and archaeologists found evidence of both figs and grapes. The bathhouse itself had multiple parts, including a gymnasium and a room similar to a sauna. (The floor was built on top of beams, and wood was burned beneath, keeping the floor warm. Cold water was then thrown on top of the floor, to create steam).

After Herod's death, Masada was inhabited by a radical group of Jews (known as the Zealots or Sicarii) during the war against the Romans. The Sicarii on Masada were commanded by Elazar ben Ya'ir. In 72 CE, two years after the destruction of the Second Temple, a Roman General named Silva lay siege to Masada.
He and his men, possibly with the help of Jewish slaves, built the Roman ramp to reach the Jews.

The Jews, observing this work, knew that soon the Romans would reach them. They had enough food for a long siege; however, they could not fight a legion (10,000) of Roman soldiers. So, Elazar ben Ya'ir, their leader, decided upon a different course of action. According to Josephus, Elazar gathered all the Jews and gave a speech, calling for the Jews to kill themselves before being taken by the Romans. Almost everyone agreed. Women killed their children, men their wives, until only ten men remained. These ten men wrote down their names on clay tablets (later found by archaeologists) and drew lots to determine who would kill whom. The last man committed suicide.

The account of the siege of Masada was related to Josephus by two women who survived the suicide by hiding inside a cistern along with five children. Josephus' account is the only account of the events on Masada that survives today.

Anyway, after that rather depressing history, here are some pictures of Masada:

The bathhouse

The synagogue