Bar Kochva Tiyul
After our little hike we found a nice shade spot where we learned about the bar Kochva and about the revolt. There are 4 main reasons for the additional revolt against the Romans. The first was that people truelly believed our leader, Bar kochva, was the messiah. The people wanted to believe that he was and partly why it was easy to acknowkwdge it as a fact was because even rabbi akiva supported Bar Kochva. The second reason was that king Hadrian renamed Jerusalem (our city) Aelia Capitolina. Plus he built a temple where our beit hamikdash was. Thirdly the king outlawed circumcision!! And lastly Hadrian told the people that they were behaving really well and said he'll let us re build the temple and then changed his mind...so he basically gave us false hope.
In the beginning the Jews believed simeon bar kosevah was the Jewish messiah. Therefore Rabbi akiva gave him the nickname Bar Kochva meaning m, "son of the stars." However after the revolt the people gave him the name Ben Coziva meaning liar, and/or traitor. This came to be because we realized he was not indeed the Jewish messiah.
During the revolt most families hid out in caves that we crawled through. Inside these caves we sang and turned all the lights off....i felt really connected to everyone and I thought about how I would've felt if I was crawling I. These tunnels for my life, scary stuff to think about.
After the revolt the Jews were punished with the Hadrian decrees.
-No public reading of the Torah
- Not allowed to publicly gather
-No observing Shabbat
This reminded me of when in the hazmonian revolt they took away out religion.
I feel like rabbi Akiva had a lot to offer but there's a line that really stuck out.
"A jew without Torah is like a fish without water."
The last place we went was the Roman amphitheatre. Our classes had a fun break playing a game to get us to put oursek rd in the shoes of the Romans and gladiators.
The last place we went was the Roman amphitheatre. Our classes had a fun break playing a game to get us to put oursek rd in the shoes of the Romans and gladiators.
So I'm bringing us back to Rabbi Akiva, my question for you is, would you rather live life without Judaism or risk your life for what you believe in? Would you crawl through the tunnels and hide or would you flee?
~Eliana
Very tough question. My life and my beliefs are obviously 2 very important values of mine. I think that i wouldn’t go out in public and pray, but I would be someone who would follow my beliefs inside my home. If an authority figure of the Roman Empire asked if I was praying illegally, I really don’t know what I would say. I have no problem lying to him and denying it but I feel that, that would dishonor myself and I would be letting down god and my fellow Jews.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really good question!! I would definitely choose living my life without Judaism. I really like Judaism but I would rather live freely than risk my life for Judaism. I agree with Jared though, I'll always be Jewish so it wouldn't really matter to me. However, I do admire what the families/people did- to hide and dig through caves and tunnels is really amazing and shows so much devotion. Also, them doing that is adding to help keep Judaism alive, which is also amazing.
ReplyDelete-Goldie Elkins
This is a very difficult question. I know myself and I would prefer to live a life with Judaism in it. I think that I would move and escape to a place where I could safely practice Judaism. I believe that life is more important than religion. I would save my own life, and possible family lives.
ReplyDeleteI think I would risk my life for my cultural judaism, but definitely not for religious judaism. I also think I would flee if I had to so that I could be more comfortable with who I am and who I want to be.
ReplyDeleteI think that I would risk my life for Judaism. I agree with Jared that it would be hard supporting the religion in public, but if it came down to it I would. It is something that is very important to me and my family and I don't want to give that up.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a very interesting and important question. I think I would risk my own life as long as I was sure I was not endangering the life of anyone unwilling to do so. I also think it is very important that if I were to risk my own life, my risk would help the future generations. Judaism is something which I love, and would definitely risk my life for. I would realistically be too stubborn to flee for myself but if I was trying to protect my family as well I would flee.
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ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Jared. I can't imagine my life without Judaism because it is built around it. So I would be someone who would not pray and show my Jewish life in public, but at home, where it is safe, I would live my real Jewish life. I also have the same view as Jared about lying to an authority figure of the Roman Empire- it would not be a problem for me to lie, but I would feel as if I betrayed God, Judaism, and my people, especially the ones who would sacrifice their lives for our religion.
Wow Eliana, great question! I am not sure what I would do, and perhaps what I am saying now is the complete opposite of what I would do in real life and adrenaline is pumping. I would probably give up religion for my life, because to me, my religion is my values. No matter who I am praying to, I have grown up under Judaism and I have learned how to treat others in the Jewish way. I feel like I would be more useful spreading love and equality than praying to God. Judaism emphasizes the relationships that we have with other people more than the relationship that we have with God.
ReplyDeleteA life without Judaism is still life. There is nothing worth giving up for death to me, as it is the single most important thing in the universe. There is no ideology or idea that would make me give my life up. I would not crawl through tunnels and risk my life for my religion.
ReplyDeleteUp to this point in my life it has shaped and formed me, and affected the way I think and reason. And for that, I am thankful. However, as to whether or not I would sacrifice my life to continue being Jewish, I would need a much clearer definition of what it means to be Jewish. If being Jewish means believing in god and celebrating Jewish holidays and genital mutilation, then there is no way that I would sacrifice my life for it. However, if Judaism means thinking for myself, challenging authority, bagels and lox, and being more likely to win a Nobel Prize, then yes, I would absolutely rather die than be forced to be an obedient sheep of a goy.
ReplyDeleteFor me, being a Jew is more cultural then religious. Of course I would have been a bit more devout back in that day, but for my experience in this day, I would give up my Judaism to survive. I believe that risking life for a cause is just, but I don't believe enough in religion to die for it. I think that living is more important then risking my life and even the life of my family to study Torah.
ReplyDeleteJudaism is one of the most important things in my life, so I'd definitely fight for my rights to live as a Jew. However, it'd depend on the situation whether I would give my life. Not to mention I'm not sure exactly what I'd give up to be Jewish like I am today. Again it would depend on my situation whether or not I would hide or flee. I think I would flee because at least then I might have a better chance of surviving and still have the ability to live my life out as a Jew.
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