Tisha B'Av Meditation: Bar Kokhba: rebel hero or failed Messiah?(Simon Bar Kokhba)

Midstream, July, 2007 by Kavon, Eli

Yigael Yadin, the prominent Israeli archeologist and statesman, made an extraordinary discovery in the Judean desert near Ein Gedi in 1961. Yadin and his excavation team found in a canyon crevice a letter signed by Simon Bar Kosiba. In the letter, Bar Kosiba describes himself as the leader of an independent Jewish state that rebelled against the might of the Roman Empire for three years [flourishing from 132 to 135 C.E.]. Yadin's discovery shed light on the history of the rebellion led by Bar Kosiba, providing missing pieces of information on the insurrection led by the man who is better known today as "Bar Kokhba."

A few months ago, on the holiday of Lag Ba'Omer, Jews in Israel built bonfires and had student field days to celebrate the three-year revolt...