Self-Sacrifice as Martydom

What endowed so many Jews during the history of the Jewish people with the strength to sacrifice themselves on the altar of their faith? What motivated the moving story associated with the prayer Unetaneh Joqef (Now we declare)? The article discusses these subjects as well as the conceptual tension between life's sanctity and self-sacrifice as well as the splendid concept of martyrdom found in Judaism. It traces this tension's development from the Talmudic period through versus the changes in the concept's meaning that were initiated by events during the Middle Ages and the Holocaust in Europe.