Return to Masada

Separated from the mountain range by two deep gorges, Masada was a natural fortress. In 66 CE, during the Jewish Revolt against the Romans, Masada was captured by a small group of Jews. In 72 CE, however, the Roman General Silva decided to put an end to even the tiniest pockets of resistance against Rome. With an army ten to fifteen thousand, he began the siege of Masada. When the Zealot leader Eleazar ben Jair saw the end nearing, he gathered his people and together they chose death with honor by their own hands rather than being captured alive and becoming slaves to the Romans.

Even today, the legends and mystique of "Zayin," or "Seven" tells a tale of courage and commitment to those universal principles of love and truth to one's highest self that throughout the ages have nourished and sustained the downtrodden and oppressed -- and caused even the meek to become risk-takers and crusaders for world peace.