More about the Workshop Locations...
Jerusalem: It is a holy city of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. For Jews, Jerusalem is the focus of religious longing, the site of their ancient temple and their historical capital. For Christians, the city is the site of many events in the life of Christ. Almost every known denomination of Christianity is represented in its population. For Muslims, the Koran relates the Night Journey of Mohammad, when the angel Gabriel took him to Jerusalem, from where they rose to Paradise. During this voyage they saw Abraham, Moses and Jesus.
Masada: "Hitherto we have never submitted to slavery, even when it brought no danger with it. We must not choose slavery now, and with it penalties than will mean the end of everything if we fall alive into the hands of the Romans... Come! While our hands are free and can hold a sword, let them do a noble service! Let us die unenslaven by the hands of our enemies, and leave this world as free men in company with our wifes and children". - Ben Yair, Leader of the rebels at Masada.
Masada, the desert fortress built by Herod, is located on a 450 metres plateau in the Judean Desert. It overlooks the western shore of the Dead Sea, a stunning view! In AD 73, when they realized that all further resistance was futile, 960 men, women and children burned the palace and committed suicide rather than surrender to the Roman soldiers. Masada is a poignant symbol of determination for the Jewish people of modern Isreal to be free in their own land. "Masada will not fall twice" is a popular anthem. The vicinity was also a retreat for the Essenes, a monastic-style fundamentalist Jewish community of which Christ is believed to be a member. The Essenes were ascetic who lived a communal life constructed to make them self-reliant.
The Qumran caves where the manuscripts were discovered