April 19, 2013 - Masada and the Dead Sea

The name says it all. An early morning start got us traveling through East Jerusalem and into the West Bank. We passed checkpoints we barely noticed, but a Palestinian traveling into Israel proper surely would. We passed several Palestinian towns as well as Israeli "settlements" which, like Maale Adumim, are really suburban towns of Jerusalem which, although over the "Green Line" will be kept by Israel in any future settlement, and a swap of equivalent land will be in a future Palestinian state.


Along the way toward the Dead Sea, as we entered the stunning Negev Desert, we passed several Beduin areas and on our way back Renee explained some of the complication with this community as well.


But our aim was Masada. Several of our stalwart travelers climbed the "snake path" in the heat of the mid-morning sun. Others look the more stately tram to the top. There, with remarkable desert views, Renee gave us the history of the fortress. Although the story is well-known, it is quite different hearing among the very rocks.


After lunch we drove back north along the Dead Sea to Mineral Beach where we floated in the Dead Sea, covered ourselves in mud and some even floated in the mineral springs. All very relaxing!


Then it was time to get ready for Shabbat. Later tonight we will go to services at Kehillat Kol Haneshema led by Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman. Since Renee is a member there, she gave us some history of the congregation beforehand. After, a lovely erev Shabbat dinner at the hotel together as a community. We miss our home at CBI tonight, but very happy and excited to spend our first Shabbat together in Jerusalem!

Shabbat Shalom!