Taglit-Birthright Israel: DC Community Trip Day 9

Hiking Masada
By Max Spitulnick (Potomac, MD)

Transitioning from the Bedouin camels to the beauty of the Masada mountain was no easy task at 4:30 in the morning, but well worth it. Black as the night could be, we ascended the “Roman Path” with 4 other group as if we were following Moses out of the desert. I was dehydrated, sleep deprived, and had a blasting headache from the horrible French singing all night long. I kept asking myself, why are we doing this horrible hike?

In the end, it turned out to be one of the most rewarding experiences of my trip. On the top of the mountain, I closed my eyes and was able to hear such a vast array of sounds of the Jews who fled to this mountain in efforts to escape the Romans - screaming, terrorizing everyday living, scrambling footsteps and more.

I sat within the walls of a water cistern and touched with my bare hand a piece of architecture made by the Jews over 2000 years ago. We explored the bath house, the aqueduct filtration system and several other components which were used by the Jews for survival. It really was an inspiring experience for me.

Finally, after hearing the most incredible ending to a story I’ve ever heard (if you don’t know it, you should really check it out) – we made our way back down through the Snake path, crisscrossing through sideways baths and half completed crossings. It was a wonderful experience – ps, we all missed Shaun.


The Dead Sea
By Stephanie Grow (Washington, DC)

We approached the Dead Sea by bus and marched towards the changing rooms filled with trepidation. "I hear it hurts," could be heard by everyone as we assessed our numerous cuts, scrapes and bruises. "Do you think it's worth it?" was asked as we paid our two shekels to change into our bathing suits and headed down to the hot sand. We marched down to the water in 40 degree Celsius heat and looked out at a gorgeous blue body of water. It looked harmless, and inviting, after a long day of hiking Masada.

The members of the group that were the most adventurous stepped in first, navigating the rocks in our brand new water shoes. We took a few more steps, turned our backs to the sea and leaned back. Everyone's jaws dropped as we became instantly buoyant. The water, warmer than bathwater, held us, suspended and floating nearly against our will. If we tried to sink, we couldn't. If you moved around too much, you ran the risk of splashing oily salty water in someone’s eyes. How does floating like that feel? Like laying on a bouncing trampoline, or like we were totally weightless. It was the most amazing feeling. Does it burn? Oh hell yes. Was it worth it? Most definitely.