I had a distant cousin who was born in the Holy Land, and grew up with Moshe Dyan, the great military leader. Both of them were in the underground movement that was responsible for
getting the British out of the area prior to the formation of the modern State of Israel. This cousin, Chaim, and his wife, Ziona, took Nancy and me around the country each time we were there, so we got
a true “insider’s view”.
It was Chaim who fulfilled a childhood dream of mine: to swim in the Dead Sea. One day, very early in the morning, we left from our hotel in Jerusalem and headed down toward Massada.
Driving along the road, we passed an area where you can see caves in the distance, and he explained those were the caves near where the Dead Sea Scrolls had been discovered.
We continued on toward Massada, arriving well before the sun was high and hot in the desert. We got as far as the end of the cable car ride, then had to turn back because the rest of the trip to the top
of the mesa is reachable only by stairway, and was not wheelchair accessible.
We returned using the same road, stopping off at Ein Geddi, the kibbutz which runs to access center for those wishing to bathe in the Dead Sea.
Leaving Nancy briefly in the company of several attendants, Chaim and I put on bathing suits, left the dressing area, and began the walk down to the sea. He had neglected to fully prepare
me, and I did not have sandals or slippers to protect my feet from the burning heat of the boardwalk you must take to reach the water.
We stopped by a huge bin full of black mud, and, using a shovel left for this purpose, proceeded to slather mud over one another- a protection from the searing rays of the sun. I would
have traded my left arm for my camera at that point, but alas, I did not have it, so there are no photographs of this ridiculous Nate, in a too skimpy bathing suit, covered in black goop!
We entered the water and the feeling of it, and of being there, defy description. I am not gifted enough to find the words to tell you what it meant to me to be there with all my ancestors... |
