Dead Sea Dips...

Pastor/Rabbi Jonathan Cahn of Beth Israel Worship Center, Wayne, NJ,

is presently leading a pilgrimage in the Holy Land.

The tour will surely include a dip in the amazing Dead Sea...

Photo credit: pinterest.com

DEAD SEA DIPS—TWO DECADES APART

Israel Pilgrimages—1986 & 2006

Twenty years ago—

At midday, I slipped into

crystal clear salty sea-water

warm as bathwater

Saline stung

my freshly shaved legs

Great salt pillars

like giant white mushrooms

rose above the water

and glistened in the daylight

Some bathers climbed upon the pillars

others floated on their backs

and read a magazine

as depicted in advertisements

in glossy travel mags

The surprising buoyancy

delighted me

as silky natural minerals

caressed my skin—

a luxurious

spa-less spa treatment

Over-exuberance caused me

to disregard caution—

Salt-water splashed into my eyes

blinding me

until washed away

with copious freshwater

This trip—

It’s sunset

Our group enters the sea

(actually a big salt lake)

smaller than it was

twenty years ago

due to steady

evaporation

This time the water

is cool and brown

There are no

salt pillars to climb

We cautiously step

into squishy mud

It oozes between our toes

and swallows our feet

like quicksand

Guarding against sliding

on slick slippery stones

we dip down                                   

and pull up handfuls

of soothing, luxurious mud

and laugh as we

slather it lavishly

over arms, legs

even our faces—

thankful for the cover

of darkness

Later, in the gift shop

we purchase packages

of Dead Sea mud

at five dollars each—

beauty treatments

for our daughters

back home

Maude Carolan Pych