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The Sacrifice at Masada
It was clear that the Romans were going to win. The Jews had no hope of keeping their freedom, and were facing certain death.
But the Jews were determined to die as free men, preferring to kill themselves while they were still free. They would not wait for the Roman victory, and decide to make a terrible sacrifice.
Every man took his wife and children to his own room. First they burned all their belongings, and said a lowing goodbye to each other. When they could say no more the men killed their wives and children.
Sadly they returned to a place in the centre of the fort. Their lives had no value now, and they chose ten men to kill all the others. Hundreds of men then lay down beside their dead families, and the ten chosen officers had the dreadful task of killing them all.
Finally, the last ten men chose one to complete the sacrifice. He had to kill his nine companions and then he killed himself.
When the Romans broke through the walls of Masada they were met by a dreadful silence — they had seized a dead fort.
This story of courage and sacrifice brought young people from all over the world to dig at Masada. They admired the strong character and love of freedom shown by the defenders of the fort, and wanted to see where it had happened.
In two years Yigael Yadin and his workers raised Masada again from its ruins. Of course the Romans had destroyed
everything, but signs of the fort’s history could be seen. They found many examples of the beautiful work of Herod’s
palace; wall paintings and baths and beautiful rooms were brought to life again. Yet perhaps the little huts of the
Jewish defenders were more admired. In some of these the pots were still on the fire waiting for the evening meal .
In others, the bones of whole families lay together. One pile of bones may have been the remains of the ten men
chosen to do the final killing.
The character of Masada lives in those simple huts and not in the ruins of the palace. Everything that has been uncovered by the archaeologists shows the truth of the old story about the sacrifice at Masada.
From Successful Reading ,1979.
Approximately 1,000 words.
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