HOODWINKED ON MASADA
There is an old saying, “you never forget your first”. It is appropriate therefore that I inaugurate my blog with an anecdote about my very first tour as an official guide. In late August 2017, after two and a half grueling years of intense study, I received my license from the Israel Minister of Tourism. I often say that the guide course and final examination in Israel was harder for me than 3 years of law school and the bar exam in the U.S. No kidding! So, becoming a guide was monumental for me. Within days of receiving my license, I was on top of the desert fortress of Masada guiding my first clients, Arlyn and Jon Riskind from Bethesda, Maryland. I was beaming with pride. The mountain was relatively empty due to the extreme desert heat, but I was cool as a cucumber. There I was, boastfully wearing my government issued guiding license around my neck with Josephus Flavius’ Jewish Wars in hand, waxing poetically about the history, archaeology and legends of Masada, when out of nowhere a young man with a notepad and pencil in his hand approached us. He introduced himself as Ilan Ben Zion and said he was a freelance writer doing an article for The Forward magazine about Masada. Recognizing me as a guide, Ilan asked if he could talk to my clients for a moment. Assuming I had nothing to lose (big mistake), I acquiesced. After asking the Riskinds a question or two, Ilan turned on me. “So what do you think of the new archaeological finds?”, he said. My euphoria quickly turned to dread as I struggled to remember what he could be talking about. For the life of me, I could not recall anything about new discoveries on Masada. What was he talking about!? In a split second I had to decide whether to make up a story so as not to embarrass myself in front of my FIRST clients or just tell the truth. I chose the truth. When I sheepishly said that I was not aware of any new finds, Ilan with a slight smile said, “of course not because the recent discoveries have not been published yet”. Whew! A bullet dodged. Ilan, knowingly or not, taught me on my first day that despite how much I think I might know as a guide, there is always more to learn. A link to the article Ilan published in The Forward two weeks after our meeting on Masada in August 2017 is posted below. I am quoted mid-way through the article.