Exhibit at Art Institute
—
Masada-Majestic Testament to Man
By CHARLOTTE DUBIN
What price will a man pay for
freedom? Throughout history—as
current as Czechoslovakia — there
are answers. But few are more
eloquent than the chronicle of
heroism being retold at the Detroit
Institute of Arts through Nov. 10
—Masada.
Solomon Zeitlin notwithstanding
(Prof. Zeitlin being the noted schol-
ar who has challenged the authen-
ticity of these archaeological find-
ings), Masada loses none of its
luster with the buffets of scienti`ic
argument.
The story of Masada and its in-
credible rediscovery five years
ago are related in this exhibit on
a scale that no other archaeological
exhibit has achieved. In terms of
logistics alone, it required four
vans, each with a capacity of
19,250 pounds, to transport the
artifacts and related materials to
Detroit.
Curator William Peck and his
crew took one solid month to as-
semble photo-murals, maps, wall
charts, models and dioramas, -as
well as displays of coins, pottery,
jewelry and other items preserved
for almost 2,000 years • •
The viewer begins his five-
gallery journey into history at
the -point. -w he r.e the modern
story began: with the appeal
for volunteers .by archaeologist
Yigael Yadin six years ago.
The former commander of the
Israel armed forces went about
his task as any good Israeli gen-
eral does: he molded a . citizen
army into .a crack team. Thou-
sands of volunteers from through-
out the world, whose only bond
was the desire to give two weeks
of unpaid labor, working under
primitive living conditions, engag-
ed in the most remarkable
archaeological expedition of the
century.
Yadin was a tough general, with
a battle plan that would have as-
tounded Fla v i u s Silva. The
uniqueness of Yadin's army, and
the rigors to which they subjected
themselves, in their assault upon
rugged Masada, were fortunately
preserved in photo, film slide and
mockup.
Their work camp was pitched
near the ruins of Roman camps.
400 feet below title MSsada pla-
teau, where 960 men, women and
children had stood against 10,000
Romans in theyetars 71-73.
What the Yadin team found con-
firmed reports of the historian
Josephus, a Jew who had joined
the Roman camp and later learned
of the Masada events from two
women who survived.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
W. German Teachers Take
8 Friday, October 11, 1968
Courses at Hebrew U.
(Direct JTA Teletype Wire
to The Jewish News)
TEL AVIV — Thirty West Ger-
man history and political science
teachers arrived here Monday for
a series of courses at the Hebrew
University in Jerusalem that, ac-
cording to the group's leader, will
fill gaps in the teachers' knowledge
of Jewish history. The group is
headed by Prof. Rolf Rendtorff,
honorary president of the German-
Israel Friendship League.
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The model of the rock fortress at Masada, key to the exhibit
being shown at the Detroit Institute of Arts through Nov. 10, is
viewed by (from left) Hy Safran, president of the Jewish Welfare
Federation, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Jackier (she's Federation
Women's Division president) and Mrs. Safran.
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other drawing, one man was se- a wall of simulated flames.
lected to kill the other nine. He
Mounted inside the monument
of the exhibit
'1 •
• -a-nd - can hold the - sword
Among the display items are the
let them do a, noble service!
sandals and plaits of hair of _ .a
Let us die
-
woman whoke skeleton was found
unenslaved by our enemies
alongside those of a man and _ and leave this world as
child. Were they - a family who
chose death that_ night in
CE?
free men in company with
our Wives. and children!"
No Jew who - responded to Is-
Jewish_
coins minted during .
' .
the uprising of 66-73 show the rael's call in June 1967—"Masada
insistence of the, Zealots that- shall not fall again!"—should miss
Rome would not triumph. The this exhibit. No man who values
Roman victory coin depicts a
freedom should let his children
country in fetters — Judaea
miss it. -
* S
Capta. The Jewish coins declare:
Jerusalem the Holy and Free-
•
doin of Zion.
Considered the most important
find at Masada are fragments o`
14 biblical and sectarian scrolls,
which shed new light on the dat-
ing of the Dead Sea Scrolls. These
fragments, too, are included in
the exhibit, with special humidify-
ing devices to guard against their
disintegration.
The oldest synagogue in the
world yet discovered, which was
first built by Herod and then was
used as a Roman stable only to
be rebuilt by the Zealots, is an-
other important Yadin find which
is described in the exhibit.
An- entire Zealot dwelling was
reconstructed, as was a scale
model of the 10th Roman Legion
in battle formation. The latter dis-
play contains some 5,000 pieces.
After the Romans took Jeru-
In including items from the
salem and destroyed the Temple
daily life of the Jews—including
in 70 CE, the few Jews who
cosmetics and perfume flasks,
hadn't been executed or driven
along with pottery, scraps of fabric
into slavery took refuge in the
and key rings—Him pointed out
Masada fortress, at one time
that the Zealots were "primitive,
Herod's palatial hideaway and
not puritan." A puzzling pair of
later turned into a Roman gar-
dice may have been used by either
rison.
Jew or Roman. According to Him,
Food stored by Herod 100 years one of them was "loaded."
before and water replenished by
'Salt, dried dates and nuts have
rains in an ingenious system of been preserved, and there are
cisterns kept the Zealot insurgents "coupon" potsherds that were
alive for the duration of the three- probably used in place of money.
year siege.
Perhaps the most moving dis-
Flavius Silva could not allow play is the obelisk before
such resistance to continue; his
army engineers built a rock and
timber ramp to the heights of the Dutch Protest Treatment
rock so that his 10,000 men could of Jews in Arab Nations
breach the fortress wall.
AMSTERDAM (JTA) — Three
Believing that God had finally major Dutch Jewish organizations
turned against them, the Ze'alots joined in a protest to United Na-
decided to take their own lives .tions Secretary General U- Thant
rather than submit to slavery. Led over the treatment of the Jews,
by their commander, Eleazar ben- in the Arab states. They urged
Yair, each man killed his own the UN to investigate the treat-
family. Then 10 men were chosen ment of these Jews and take ap-
by lot to slay the rest. With an- propriate measures to protect them.
Yadin Reports
Another Find
MI 4-1930
Res. 357-0326
•
♦
AN ADAS SHALOM
SISTERHOOD
HAPPENING
°
then set fire to all that _remained are 10 inscribed shards with the
of the Zealots' belongings and took names of 10 men, including ben-
his own life by sword. Yair's. Found near the main
Only the two, women, and two crossroads of Masada, they -bear
mute_ testament to the Zealots'
children, who had hidden remain-
heroism. •
ed to tell the story to the aston-
ished Rornans.'
-The words or Masada's corn-
Tlie mood and the Majesty of niander leap out from the wall:
Masada have been preserved- by
"Come!
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forces and one of the country's
cl Mrs. A. I. Morrison, Bazaar Chairman
UN 4 7474
leading archaeologists, described a m
new find in the Qumran caves near
.13
a
19 '
—D
the Dead Sea not far from where
the famous Dead Sea Scrolls were
discovered more than 20 years
ago.
Gen. Yadin spoke at a meeting
for Birthdays - Anniversaries - Holidays
which dealt with both the military
and archaeological a s p e c t s of
southern Israel and the Sinai. He
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shared the platform with Deputy
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during Israel's War for Independ-
ence in 1948.
1310"3
Prof. Yadin said a tefilin (phy-
1 Year (Daily and Sunday) $30.00, Sunday only $12.00
lacteries) box was found in one
6 Months (Daily and Sunday) — $16.00
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TEL .AVIV—Yigael Yadin, for-
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