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What makes any room a church, or in this case, a synagogue? Answer: It’s the people! Although they were rebels in the minds of the Roman soldiers, they were a group of Jewish people who “gathered” in one place. And as a Jewish community, they needed a meeting place—a synagogue for practical and ritual necessities.
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An artist's rendition of the Masada synagogue
A historical marker at the site reads:
“The rebels’ way of life on Masada required a building suitable for community meetings and Torah readings. This building, which became a synagogue during the revolt, was built in Herod’s time, most likely a stable.
The rebels changed its internal structure and even closed off a small room in the corner of the hall, which apparently served for storage of Torah scrolls and as a genizah (repository for damaged scrolls). Under its floor were found fragments of Biblical scrolls, including the “Vision of the Dry Bones” in the Book of Ezekiel. The synagogue at Masada is one fo the very few discovered so far that date from the Second Temple period.
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