Yesterday we traveled down to Masada, or in Hebrew, Metzada, from the word for fortress. Masada today is one of the Jewish people's greatest symbols. Israeli soldiers take an oath there: "Masada shall not fall again." Next to the Old City of Jerusalem, Masada and Yad Vashem are the most popular destinations of all tourists visiting Israel.
Masada had a very profound effect on me, one I'm not sure I can describe. Standing up on the cliffs with the incredible view of the Dead Sea, looking at the ruins where 960 of our people chose to die as free men rather than be taken into slavery or be slaughtered at the hands of Romans, entering the oldest synagogue ever built, hearing the words of Jewish commander Elazar ben Yair's final speech to his doomed followers, I was so overcome with feelings of pride, of despair for their tragedy, of love for the land, that I told Jon that I had become a true Zionist right then and there.
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