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| Masada is the name of the mountaintop fortress built by Herod the Great (37B.C.-4 B.C.) overlooking the Dead Sea. In 66 AD the Great Jewish Revolt against the Romans broke out, Masada was conquered by one of the Jewish sects in that time period. With the destruction of Jerusalem, by the Romans, in 70 A.D. , the rebel fighters from Jerusalem joined forces with those of Masada. Masada became the last rebel stand in Judea. The Romans eventually built a ramp and were able to get into the Masada fortress but the 960 Jewish rebels decided to commit mass suicide rather than be captured by the Romans and become slaves. |
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| Remains of Herod's palace built on the side of the mountain |
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| Roman Catapult Missiles |
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| The path going down to the Palace. |
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| The square area down below was the Roman encampment |
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| View from Masada |
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| A Sofer (Scribe) A Sefer Torah- a Torah Scroll, contains the Five Books of Moshe Rabaynu (Moses our teacher) handwritten on parchment (animal skins). A Sefer Torah is kept in the Ark in the Synagogue and portions are read in public on Shabbat, Holidays, fast Days, Monday and Thursday during prayer and only in the presence of a minyan(quorum of ten Jewish males above the age of 13). The Sefer Torah is written by a Sofer, special-trained for the holy task on sheets of parchment. Kosher Parchment (called Klaf) must be prepared specifically for that purpose. The parchment must come from a kosher animal usually a goat, bull/cow or deer. the Klaf is meticulously prepared by the Sofer. First the skin is soaked in lime water for nine days to remove hair and then skin is stretched over a wooden frame to dry. The Sofer scrapes the skin while it is being stretched to remove more hair and smoothes the surface of the skin in preparation for writing on it with the use of a sanding machine. When the skin is dry the Sofer cuts it into rectangular pieces |
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A Torah Scroll Container |
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| You have two choices to get up to Masada either hike up the windy Snake Path or ride the cable car. We were happy that our tour guide took us up and down in the cable car. |
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| An Ibex in Ein Gedi |
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| Ein Gedi is where David hid in a cave (like the one that is in this photo) when he was running from Saul. I Sam 23:24-29, 24:1-22 David finds Saul and spares his life. |
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| I'm always ready for lunch. |
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| Some things that were found with the Dead Sea Scrolls. |
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| Qumran is an archaeological site in the West Bank under control of Israel. It is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea. It is best known as the settlement nearest the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were hidden. |
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| Since the discovery of the scrolls in 1947-1956, extensive excavations have taken place in Qumran. |
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| In Qumran cisterns, baths,cemeteries, assembly room, pottery kilns and a tower have been excavated. |
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| Cave where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. In 1947 a Bedouin shepherd boy looking for a lost goat found some jars in this cave.These jars contained 190 linen-wrapped scrolls that had been preserved for 2,000 years. |
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| The road signs are in three languages: Hebrew, Arabic and English. |
End of the 4th Day
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