Masada, Take Two

       On Sunday, July 12th 2009, I had the most physically exerting experiences of my life. At 2:30 in the morning, I woke up in Israel and prepared to hike the mountain of Masada. I spent the summer of 2009 in Poland and Israel on a teen tour with USY, a youth group of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. My group consisted of 45 teens from the United States and Canada as well as 5 staff members from the United States and Israel. Without a doubt, the summer as a whole was the best experience of my life. The morning of the hike - not so much.

  Masada was a fortress used by Jews as shelter from the Romans. Since then, it has been excavated by archeologists and it is now considered a “must see” when traveling to Israel. There are three paths to reach the top: the cable car, the Roman Ramp, and the Snake Path. The Snake Path is considered to be the most physically exerting: it is composed of numerous small, steep, narrow steps and it is entirely in the sun. I’ll give you one guess which my group climbed both up and down.

        Okay, so technically I have already climbed Masada so it shouldn’t be on my LIst, right? But I have to be honest, I wasn’t the most cooperative climber. I was tired after only getting a few hours of sleep the night before and felt sick after the cake that we were given for breakfast. Additionally, my friends and I couldn’t help but laugh and feel bad for ourselves when a younger girl, perhaps in elementary school, raced past us on her way to the top. And so, I complained most of the way up.

      I’ve added Masada back on my List because I want to climb it with a stronger feeling of determination and accomplishment. I was incredibly proud to reach the top, surrounded by my friends, in time to see the sun rise over the desert. It is an incredible image that I will never forget. Plus, the experience was not truly terrible. Many of us were feeling the same way and we encouraged each other. I can even argue that, because I didn’t think that I would ever make it to the top, the view was that much more powerful when I finally did. This is the approach that I usually take when retelling the story of that Sunday morning. My friends and I struggled throughout the climb and yet we still motivated each other. But, next time, I want to climb up with a positive attitude and truthfully believe in myself.

     Have you ever felt like this? Have you had an incredible experience that is slightly overshadowed by your inability to believe in yourself and any negativity that you felt during the process? If so, I invite you to look forward to the opportunity to take a more positive approach. You may have the chance to redo that treacherous hike or maybe you are simply looking towards your next challenge in life. I personally cannot wait for the chance to go back to Israel and have a second take on my own Masada experience. 

Snake Path sign at the base of Masada

The view from the top of Masada