I teach Sunday School at our synagogue. It's pretty fun. Today, I chose to teach the children about Masada.
Masada was a unique episode in Jewish history--in short, a group of Jewish rebels who fought against Roman rule were holed up in a former Roman-built mountaintop fortress in the Negev desert. They fought for 3 years as the Romans moved ever closer, trapping them on their plateau. When it became clear that they had lost, the rebels elected to commit mass suicide rather than watch their children and wives be raped and themselves be enslaved. No judgements here. It was a horrible situation and a horrible decision to have to make, either way.
Talk about a rock and a hard place. However, they were operating under the "Live Free or Die" school of thought. The same one that our own country was built on.
So, they died rather than lose their independence.
Then, this afternoon, my daughter and her friend were heading out to sell Girl Scout cookies for the first time in our neighborhood, and as I was putting on my coat, they both looked at me and said, "Uh, we can do this on our own."
They didn't want/need me. Here I was, thinking I needed to be there to help, and as they spouted off their safety rules and all they knew, I realized that my little girl is very independent.
Independent.
So I let them go. Then, I realized that I hadn't walked yet, so I grabbed the dogs, and followed a block or so behind my girl and her friend. This way, I could get in my walk and ensure that the two little ones didn't end up at the bottom of a basement dungeon waiting for lotion to be lowered down to them in a basket.
And why do I walk every day? To maintain my independence.
And there you have it:
An odd but veritable independence trifecta on this sunny Sunday.
Want to buy some cookies?
Dani
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