Desert Speaking

Early in a bright and sunny morning we left the sanctity of Jerusalem for the barren beauty of the desert. Glimpsing Arab East Jerusalem, Bedouin tents and Jericho we entered a world quite different from Jerusalem. Sharon reminded us that the Hebrew word of desert, midbar, is related to medaber, to speak. And indeed, the wilderness is perhaps the best place to shut out the noise of the world and to speak without pretense; or to speak with silence. The Negev is harsh, it is clean, it is uncompromisingly beautiful. No wonder so many have come to the desert to find God.

We reach across the millennia as we ascend Masada – the ancient fortress built by Herod but made famous as the Zealot’s last stand against the Roman Empire. We retold the story of the martyrs who chose death rather than slavery and abuse. There was a time when the story of Masada was an inspiration to the Israeli youth. Soldiers were sworn in on its summit with the battle cry Metzada lo tipol shaynit! “Masada will not fall again!” However modern Israeli society has come to revisit that history and sees the tale of martyrdom as less inspirational. The message Israel wants is of hopefulness, overcome enormous challenges - not sacrifice. Soldiers are no long sworn in there.

Amid the ancient ruins of Masada, those of us who had purchased a tallit in Jersusalem wore them for the first time in our own ceremony of dedication. Together we said the blessing and wrapped our heads and our shoulders in a blanket of prayer. As the morning sun was moving up the sky, making Dead Sea sparkle beneath us, we prayed prayers of gratitude that we could experience this moment together.

From summit of Masada we traveled the short distance to the Dead Sea, the earth’s lowest point. There, as tourists have always done, we floated in the salty waters and enjoyed the uniquely buoyant sensation. After lunch, with skin still tingling from the minerals, we boarded the bus for Maktesh Ramon the mid-desert crater.

Waiting for us at the Mitzpe Ramon Overlook were two white jeeps. After a brief orientation, our guides quickly took us down into the maktesh and pulled off road into a wadi. There we learned that a maktesh is a geological formation unique to the Israel area. A huge crater, formed millions of years ago through the remains of a vanished sea, a maktesh is watered only through its own rainfall had has only one exit point for water. We drove through the Maktesh Ramon park and saw the beautiful formation of the largest known maktesh. Our guides showed us fossils of animals from the extinct ocean and the acacia trees whose wood is mentioned in the Torah as the building material of the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant. Even the trees here help make the Torah come alive.

Our exciting and bumpy ride through the natural wonders of this desert wonder came to a close with sunset. We came to our hotel in Mitzpe Ramon and after dinner got some well deserved rest in the desert air.

We are a bit sunburned and windblown. But it was a very good day. The desert is speaking to us.