Great Debates in Jewish History - Lesson 2 Suicide at Masada

Please join us in person or on Zoom for our new free course: Great Debates in Jewish History.

Course Overview

Debate is not only encouraged within Judaism but resides at the very heart of our history and theology. Great Debates in Jewish History explores six fundamental conflicts that pitted the greatest Jewish minds against each other—six instances of divergent perspectives, including several that are still debated today.

Discover stirring and surprising accounts that span two millennia of Jewish disputation, reflecting the panorama of Jewish history and its monumental political, ethical, and spiritual challenges. Encounter the gripping narratives of six fascinating eras, the intellectual tension and points of view they unearth, and the light they shed on the most fundamental of Jewish beliefs.

Course Details

Lesson 2 Suicide at Masada - Militant Nationalism vs Religious Institutionalism

Glimpse into the minds of those who took their lives at Masada in 73 CE. Discover a view of Judaism that believes it cannot survive without autonomy in Israel and prefers to die rather than live under a foreign nation’s rule. What role does nationalism play in Judaism? What is the Jewish perspective on taking up arms when defeat is inevitable?