The Masada Legacy
Pronounced: msad. Masada has a legendary status in Israeli mentality. Here
the fight for
Israeli and Jewish independence was fought with such ferocity that the
people who took Masada
as their last stronghold chose to die rather than surrender.
Masada is an ancient mountaintop fortress in present day Israel.
Historically, it was the final
outpost of the Zealots, an extremist Jewish sect, in their rebellion
against Roman authority
(AD 66-73).
Masada was first fortified during the 1st or 2nd century BC. Between 37
and 31 BC the Judean
king, Herod the Great, further strengthened Masada, building ornate
palaces, bathhouses,
aqueducts, surrounding siege walls and extensive administrative and
military facilities.
Masada had an exceptional geographical setting. Located in the Judean
Desert, the fortress city
sits atop a mesa-shaped rock that towers some 1,300 ft (400 m) above the
western shore of the
Dead Sea. The original purpose of the Masada fortress was to counter the
potential military
threat represented by Egypt and Cleopatra. In 4 BC, after Herod’s death,
Masada became a Roman
garrison.
In 66 AD, with the outbreak of the Jewish war against Rome, the Zealots
seized Masada in a
surprise night attack and massacred all of the members of its Roman
garrison. In 70 AD, when
Jerusalem fell into Roman hands, about 1,000 Zealots took refuge in
Masada. The Romans
responded by attempting to recapture the fortress. By 73 AD the Roman Army
had engineered a
long earth assault ramp from a hill to the west, to the shoulder of the
Masada mesa.
The Zealots leader, Eleazar Ben Yair, realized that his defeat or
surrender was near. He
ordered that each of the Zealots was to be killed, rather than have them
surrender to Roman
occupation. He appointed 10 Jewish soldiers to kill the other nearly 1,000
men, women, and
children in the fortress. Then 1 of the remaining Zealots killed those 10
Jewish soldiers, and
he himself committed suicide. In effect, all of the Jewish occupants of
Masada followed the
orders of Eleazar Ben Yair and were murdered, or killed themselves, rather
than surrender and
be ruled by the Romans.
Masada now is a major Israeli tourist revenue attraction, in addition to
being an Israeli
national symbol. Masada is where Israeli special forces give their oath of
allegiance, and the
word Masada is the name of a global Jewish youth training program.
An impressive history, and one that continues to influence many lives
today, but how do we
interpret it?
Were the Jews who massacred the Roman families garrisoned at Masada
freedom fighters or brutal
terrorists? Was the Zealots leader, Eleazar Ben Yair, a mass murderer and
a terrorist or a
religious hero? When Eleazar Ben Yair ordered all of the Jewish families
murdered, were they
willing martyrs for their faith or innocent, terrified victims of an
extremist leader? When the
Zealot soldiers killed each member of their own families, were they
fanatical followers or
faithful believers? Perhaps the interpretation depends on which Masada
tour guide you get.
Masada’s powerful legacy of Zionist values appears to strongly influence
todays Palestinians,
too. The Palestinian Arabs never really shared the Zionist values before,
but todays
Palestinians may someday have a Masada of their own, as their national
symbol. The Likud Party
is certainly doing all it can to help them produce one.
Or maybe for todays and tomorrows Palestinians, ‘their Masada’ will be
just a collection of
nondescript street corners and village squares where they committed
suicide, one by one, rather
than submit themselves and their children to Zionist domination.
Are the Palestinian Arabs freedom fighters or manipulated victims? Are
they sacrificing
themselves to assure a future for their children on their own land, or
just copying the
behavior of their own Zionist oppressors? Do they all have to die, just
like the Zealots, or
can they negotiate peace?
Is todays Zionist Israeli military a noble defender against insane
fanatics, or the recreation
of the Roman Army that captured Masada? The Masada tour guides of the
future will, no doubt,
properly interpret all of this for us.
The Masada legacy doesn’t have to repeat itself forever.
Attend Carefully To These Admonitions:
Israeli Jews: Your own genetic scientists have clearly proven that your
genetic code is
identical to the genetics of the Arab Muslims living inside Israel and in
the occupied
territories. Palestinians are Semites. They are identical to you. You have
been one race since
the time of Ibrahim.
Your own finest thinker, Albert Einstein, wrote, ‘Insanity is continuing
to do the same thing
over and over and expecting different results.’ When you invade
Palestinian neighborhoods and
kill and maim Palestinians you are destroying your own families, in the
same way that Eleazar
Ben Yair murdered his own people. Do you wish to be known throughout the
world, and forever, as
insane?
The Masada legacy of murder and suicide is a cultural pathogen. It has
infected and corrupted
your very identity. It is the death-rattle of the most noble aspects of
the Jewish tradition.
Recognize it. Close your eyes to it. Turn your backs on it. Walk away from
it. Heal yourselves.
You were taught in Hebrew school that Jews are to be “A Light unto the
Nations.” The Masada
legacy has metastasized into a cultural disease that delivers only
darkness and death to Jews
and to all others. When will you choose to believe, pray, think, and act
outside this ancient
psychopathic box?
Muslims - Turn And Walk Away.
To Arab Muslims: You have no equity in the Masada legacy. It is not a part
of your history or
your beliefs. The Masada legacy of murder and suicide is a cultural
pathogen. It has infected
you. In your agony, you have fallen into an unholy and co-dependent
relation****p with those who
oppress you.
Recognize this. Admit it. Turn your backs on it. Walk away from it. Return
to your own values.
Only then can you be healed - and your spirits - and your land - can
become your own again.
Your Prophet (May He Rest In Peace) taught you that the ‘People of the
Book’ are all sons and
daughters of Ibrahim, and are brothers and sisters in peace. He
specifically included Jews and
Christians. And he implied inclusion of all decent people. And as you pray
- five times each
day - to the One Eternal Spirit, ask for light, forgiveness, guidance and
wisdom. If, in your
agony, you have forgotten how to pray, your own Sufi masters will gently
teach you.
To Each Of You
Listen to yourselves, in your agony, and listen to each other. ‘Listening
is the beginning of
understanding. Wisdom is the reward for a lifetime of listening. Let the
wise listen and add to
their learning, and let the discerning get guidance.’ Proverbs 1:5
Each of you seek and revere knowledge. You must now acknowledge that your
cultural health
profoundly shapes the nature of all that you do. And your cultural health
influences far more
than you control. Your ultimate responsibility is to deliver an uncommon
depth of Light,
knowledge, understanding and meaning to all those you influence and serve
throughout the world.
Look Inside
“People suffer, not because they can’t solve their problems, but because
they can’t see their
problems.” Albert Einstein
The Masada legacy of murder and suicide is a cultural pathogen that has
spread throughout the
world. If you recognize it and walk away from it, it will no longer infect
you.
The Masada legacy is only one - of many cultural pathogens - that you will
find within
yourselves - if you choose to see them. And each is lethal. Cleanse
yourself - and your culture
- and walk away. Otherwise, you are doomed. And you doom all those around
you.
After Illness, How Do You Regain Health?
Health is far more than the absence of disease. In nature, when you create
a vacuum, something
new must replace that which was removed.
If Jews are to become “a Light unto the Nations,” then Jews - and all
others who seek cultural
health - and who heal themselves of a cultural pathogen - need a new moral
compass to fill the
cultural void within them. And they need a new light to guide them.
Follow a Sustainable Moral Compass
Abram Poljak wrote these thoughts as his ‘moral compass’ - and to light
his way - during a time
when he was in prison in Germany in the 1940s. I believe his reflections
serve as a new light
and a new ‘moral compass’ for Israeli Jews and for Arab Muslims as well.
If you are able, read
his thoughts for yourself, as he wrote them; if not, they are translated
here for you.
“Erkenntnis ohne Liebe is kaltes Licht, ein Irrlicht, das in den Abgrund
führt. Je mehr Licht
der Erkenntnis wir bekommen, um so einsamer werden wir An dieser
Einsamkeit können wir zugrunde
gehen, wenn nicht zum Licht der Erkenntnis ein höheres Licht, das
vollkommene, kommt: das Licht
der Liebe und der Demut. Erkenntnis mit Liebe is aber Wahrheit,
Vollendung, das Wahre
Licht.”Abram Poljak
Knowledge without love is a cold light, a false light, which leads us into
the abyss. The more
light of knowledge we get, the more lonely we become. We can be destroyed
in, or by, this
solitude if to the light of knowledge we do not add a higher form of
light, the perfect light:
the light of love and humility. Knowledge with love, however, is Truth,
Perfection and the True
Light.
“Alles Licht, das wir erhalten haben, strömt aus Seiner Gnadenhand. Er
gibt es uns nicht, damit
wir hart werden und jene verachten, die weniger Licht haben als wir,
sondern damit wir uns
ihrer erbarmen und ihnen dienen.” - Abram Poljak
All the Light we have received streams from His merciful hand. He does not
give it to us so
that we become hard and scorn those who have less light than we have, but
so that we will have
compassion for them and serve them.
“Es ist die Aufgabe des Sehenden, den Blinden zu führen, mild und sanft,
ohne ihr zu stoßen und
zu erschrecken. Stilles Dienen wird von uns verlangt, heiliges Schweigen.
Räume den Blinden die
Steine aus dem Wege und beschütze ihn vor jenen, die aus seiner Blindheit
Nutzen ziehen
wollen!.” - Abram Poljak
It is the task of the seeing to lead the blind, mildly and softly, without
pu****ng them or
frightening them. Quiet service is demanded of us, sacred silence. Take
the stones out of the
way of the blind person and protect him from those who would take
advantage of his blindness.
Only You Can Change Your Destiny
Erase and replace the Masada legacy of murder and suicide. Start your new
life with the
admonitions of Abram Poljak - in all that you believe, honor, think and
do. The admonitions of
Abram Poljak will enable you to begin to regain your health. And they will
light your way.
The Future - For You and Your Children
How do you want your sons and daughters to grow up? Twisted by an
invisible disease you
inherited? Or with clear minds and spirits? Filled with love for
themselves and all mankind -
or unthinkingly trapped in an ancient psychopathic box?
The new destiny you choose for yourself will change their destiny as well.
And you must decide
- for your children will become what you become.
The future is not a place you - and they - are going, it is a place that -
you - are creating.
The new paths to it are not found, they are made, and making a new path
changes both the path
maker and the destination.
Your Mission Is Their Mission
Your new mission - in a culture together - is to produce and deliver an
uncommon depth of
Light, knowledge, understanding and meaning to the world of men and women
whom you serve and
influence.
Your personal humility and your new ‘moral compass’ will influence your
brothers and sisters,
your children, and your future prosperity, far more than you may imagine.
Only together can you
be “a Light unto the Nations.”
“There is a destiny that makes us all brothers. No one goes his way alone.
All we send into the lives of others, comes back into our own.”
From the time of Ibrahim, you have had a mysterious bond with one another
as you have walked
the same land on your journey. You are indeed one State for Two Peoples.
Two Peoples who are
bound together by love.
Your spiritual health - and your future - exists within this mysterious
bond, because: ‘The
most beautiful experience in the world is the experience of the
mysterious.’ Albert Einstein.
As-salaam alaykum …… Shalom…..
http://desertpeace.wordpress.com/
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com
**
|
