Liberty or Death: Masada as an Ethical Foundation for Social Justice
As I awoke in the Judean Desert after a night of bonding with my fellow trek leaders and peers, I looked upon the skyline in front of me. Straight ahead, I could see a rock plateau towering above the rest of its surroundings. Masada was in sight.
Herod the great had built a large fortress on the plateau as a refuge in the case of a revolt, however the site became a haven for a group of Jewish rebels as they took refuge from the forces of the Roman army during the First Jewish-Roman War. The roman forces could not traverse to the top so easily on account of their heavy artillery. They slowly and consistently built a siege ramp, which the Jewish rebels could see progressing each and every day. When the Romans finally reached the plateau, however, there was nobody to be found. The rebels committed a mass suicide of nearly a 1,000 people. They chose death over enslavement.
The story of Masada was not only consequential to the movement of Zionism throughout much of the 20th century as it inspired a deep devotion to the state of Israel and its cause, which would ultimately translate into compulsory military service. I would argue that the story of Masada and the story of the Jewish people has been incredible influential in the ethics and moral discussions and movements surrounding slavery and, more broadly, discrimination and racism.
Masada underscores the ethical and moral significance of freedom, that is the liberty and autonomy to live a life according to the dignity and principles of which one desires. The value and necessity of freedom transcends that of life itself, which is why the rebels opted for mass suicide, despite the fact that this ultimate sacrifice is illegal in the Jewish faith. They understood that if the Roman army captured them, they would forever be enslaved, never to enjoy the fundamental human right that is freedom. Through this brave act, the Jewish people chose to value autonomy and take their lives into their own hands.
This thought framework has not only inspired ethical discussions to the moral egregiousness that is slavery but also to that same moral egregiousness which is discrimination and racism. It is through systems of structural discrimination in which the autonomy and liberty of groups of people is altogether violated, and it is for partially reason why modern though has been so concerned with the morality and ethics of discrimination and the social justice movement against it. Though Masada holds specific historical significance to Zionism, it also holds values and morals that can be applied to the world at large.
