“The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Command the Israelites, and say to them: When you enter the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan, defined by its boundaries), your south sector shall extend from the wilderness of Zin along the side of Edom. Your southern boundary shall begin from the end of the Dead Sea on the east.” Numbers 34:1-3
Our day today was the least religious of all the days in our trip. Our first stop was at Sea Level, where we got off to play with this cute desert creature:
We then drove through the desert for miles and miles.
We then went to Masada. Its name means “fortress,” and that is the role it played for both Herod the Great and the Jewish resisters who held out here during the First Jewish Revolt against Rome. Herod the Great used the natural resources of the cliff as the foundation for a luxury palace and lookout station that doubled as a safe house to which he could flee if his relationship deteriorated either with his Jewish subjects or with his Roman patrons. The Western Palace was the first royal residence built here. Eventually Herod built a second royal palace on the north side of Masada, where afternoon shade promised cooler temperatures. The three-tiered Northern Palace seems to defy gravity, clinging to the northern ledge of the cliff like a bird ready to fly off the rocks.
Our visit took us only to the Northern Palace. We took a gondola to get up there.
We had beautiful views of the desert and the Dead Sea below.
Even though it was early in the morning, it was pretty hot. Imagine coming here in the summer when the temperatures reach over 100 degrees. Just to the south of the Northern Palace is a very well-preserved Roman bathhouse. We walked through the multiple rooms as the ancients did, starting in the changing room and then moving through a series of bathing rooms.
While there, Shuki told us the story of Masada. After the Romans defeated Jerusalem in 70 AD, some of the Jewish soldiers fled to Masada. It took two years for the Romans to find them, but when they did, they showed up in force. The Roman general, Silva, ordered the construction of a ten-foot wall that encircled Masada, cutting off supply or flight. He then brought fifteen thousand soldiers into the arena and housed them in eight square, stone-lined camps. We can still see the remains of the wall and camps at the base of the cliff.
Knowing that the 967 Jewish men, women, and children could hold out against them for a long time, Silva initiated the construction of a siege ramp on the west side of Masada to bring his assault weapons to destroy the defensive walls. As the Roman soldiers made final preparations for the assault on Masada, the Jewish families agreed to an unthinkable plan. Each father would end the lives of his family members. Ten men were chosen to kill the surviving fathers, and one individual (chosen by lot) would execute the nine before taking his own life. That is how the plan unfolded as told by the first- century Jewish historian Josephus. It is the powerful story that lives in the archaeological remains.
When Rome dominated a region, it expected those living there to show allegiance by adopting the worship of pagan deities linked to Roman rule. This demand raised a question for those at Masada: How may we best live or die when faced by a dominating power that demands allegiance to other gods? That was the question that probably made the Jewish families take such a drastic decision. They chose to die, rather than pledge allegiance to other gods.
The Dead Sea was quite an experience. We took our bathing suits, and water shoes, so we could take a bath in the muddy waters. Honestly, it looked like a muddy swamp. We were wondering why bathe in that dirty water when we have beautiful beaches back in Miami. But we had come too far not to go through the experience. We went in, very carefully because we had been warned there was a hole. First, Maria felt down. Then Christy, upon seeing what happened to Maria, stepped once, stepped twice, and landed on her butt. In the meantime, Rafael was being swallowed by the swamp. The only one that managed it beautifully was Paul. After we managed to get back on our feet, we actually enjoyed ourselves. We joined the rest of the group who were busy covering themselves with mud. We did the same. We spread mud all over our bodies and faces. We floated in the over-salted water. It was definitely a different experience. Rafael claims these people have sold us the Kool Aid, and are making us go into the mud to bathe as if it’s the best thing in the planet. He says the Israelites are great salespeople. They sell us the land as “holy” and the mud from the Dead Sea as having “revival” properties for dead skin cells.
When the salty water touched our lips, it was pretty painful. One of the guys in our group got water into his eyes, and it was bad. We were only able to stay inside the water for fifteen minutes because the high level of salt would be harmful if we stayed longer. Who would want to stay in that muddy water longer than 15 minutes anyway? True, it has minerals that are supposed to be good. It did leave our skin feeling pretty soft. But at the end of the day, it’s still mud. However, we bought the Kool Aid, and bought bags of mud. Hopefully it will make all our wrinkles disappear.
The Dead Sea is the lowest point on the surface of the earth—1,300 feet below sea level. Its salt content approaches 33 percent (nearly nine times that of the ocean). Water arrives in the basin primarily via the Jordan River. But upriver demands have curtailed inbound flow to less than 5 percent of what it was in Bible times, resulting in a rapidly dropping lake level and the formation of sinkholes that we saw adjacent to the road. There is no natural outlet for the water that enters, so the only way for the water to leave is through evaporation. There is plenty of that, particularly on a summer day when daytime high temperatures exceed 100° F. On such a day, half an inch of water leaves the lake. The people that come to the Dead Sea come for the therapeutic value of the water and cosmetic value of the mud. And who can refuse “swimming” in a body of water that does not allow you to sink? Honestly, most of us would probably rather sink in the clear blue waters of Miami Beach.
After the Dead Sea, we were all pretty exhausted. We returned to the hotel, where we had mass. This time, Father Willie left the homily to us. He asked us to share what this pilgrimage has meant for us. Many pilgrims shared.
After mass, we went to dinner to Chakra. We saved the best for last because this was the best food we’ve eaten in the Holy Land. Some of the choices were sea bass, focaccia bread with tomatoes, beef carpaccio with Parmesan shavings, burrata with tomatoes, and for dessert we shared a crack (oatmeal cake), which was awesome and pistachio ice cream which was not green and tasted creamy and yummy. It was truly one delicious meal.
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