WhatsappTourists travel to Israel from all over the world for many reasons. The most common sites visited by nearly every tourist are the Western Wall and Temple Mount area in Jerusalem, Masada, Tel-Aviv, the Sea of Galilee – and the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is arguably the most unique natural phenomenon in the entire Land of Israel. What is it’s secret?
First of all, the Dead Sea does not just attract millions of tourists each year from abroad. It attracts tourists from within Israel all year round. During the winter months, it is a 1-2 hour ride from the cold of the Judean Hills into the warmth of the Dead Sea. But Israelis from all over travel to bathe in the mud and salt of the Dead Sea for medicinal purposes too. Many people claim that the richness of the Dead Sea minerals soothes their pains and sores better than any other medicine.
The story of the Dead Sea goes back to the very early stories of the Bible, during the time of Abraham. Abraham’s nephew, Lot, chose to live in the area that is today in and around the Dead Sea. But G-d saw that the people in the area were so unkind to each other in every way and decided to destroy the entire area. Abraham pleaded with G-d to preserve the city due to a few righteous people living in the area. But G-d countered that the area lacked righteousness. At the end of the exchange, G-d sent messengers who rescued Abraham’s nephew Lot, who was only righteous in comparison to the rest of the neighborhood’s inhabitants. Then, G-d destroyed the entire area in a wrath filled miracle of destruction.
To this day, the Dead Sea is known as the lowest place on the entire planet. The ride down from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea lasts less than an hour, but it is downhill the entire way. One can drive up from the Dead Sea towards Jerusalem without using the brakes for around 30 minutes straight. The depths of the earth are revealed in the Dead Sea’s rich mineral and salty filled waters. All bathers are instructed to not stick their heads into the water because the saltiness burns the eyes.
The extreme aspects of the Dead Sea reveal to the world that our understanding of the hidden aspects of this world is limited. There are many things beneath the surface and beyond the atmosphere that are filled with energy that is beyond our understanding of the nature of the world. Just like the existence of the internet would seem to a 19th century inhabitant like a science fiction idea, the world today, as we understand it, is actually much more complex than our limited minds can comprehend. The Dead Sea’s richness, which seems like an other worldly phenomenon, serves as a powerful reminder of this for all who are privileged to walk and experience this unique natural phenomenon.
