Note: Picture credited to the Israeli Ministry of Tourism (www.goisrael.com)
About the Dead Sea
And so we continued on our trek. Leaving Netanya behind, we headed in the direction of the Dead Sea. This time we knew where we were going. That was a change. My husband’s relatives were able to make a hotel reservation for us near the Dead Sea for several nights.
The Dead Sea region is the lowest point on Earth. The Dead Sea is a lake located in the desert area. It is known to have many therapeutic qualities and have attracted many people in search of healing and beauty remedies. The lake is also considered to contain the most minerals in the world. Even the air in that area is considered to be very healthy because of the minerals. Because it is the lowest point on Earth, the oxygen level in the air is very high, which makes it easier to breathe.
Once again, we traveled by bus. As our bus started its approach to the Dead Sea region, I began to sense a very strange feeling inside of me. I did not know what it was, but it was very different.
The feeling was new to me; it felt like something was waking up inside of my soul. It felt as if I was transitioning from being in a black-and-white movie into a colored movie. You know, when for the first time we can see more details and different dimensions that we did not even notice before. Something was coming to life.
It will take several days before all the colors will get manifested. With that, something else happened. My son became more than a voice that I could hear; now I could see his image as a hologram. It took several days before that hologram became more vivid and sharp.
It was as if someone was working to perfect the hologram. Or maybe they were working on me, on my “instruments,” on my antennas, so to speak. Whatever the case, it was slowly developing, and as it developed, it shifted from a grayish, fog-looking color to a full-spectrum color.
This process also reminded me of an old-fashioned way of developing photos, which I used to do with my dad as a child sitting in the dark room and watching and waiting for the photo to become alive. There was something magical in that whole process, when the image slowly develops after being washed in different baths of chemicals.
The hologram, the screen with my son, became extremely real, to the point of creating the feeling of being tangible. Yet in later days when I tried to hold my son’s hand, my hand went through his hand.
Then it hit me again, the realization that I would never be able to touch the solidity of my son. Do not ask me how I felt. But I can tell you that only at the Dead Sea was I able to see my son that clearly. Only there and nowhere else the ability to see a hologram was available for me. Only there, at the Dead Sea.
Right there, in the bus, I knew right away that this will be a very special place. We arrived in the afternoon. Checked ourselves into the hotel.
That day was extremely hot, over 100 degrees. We rested for a while and went to catch a sunset and have an evening swim.
The Sunset at the Dead Sea
From the first moment we came close to the area of the Dead Sea till our last moment there at every corner, something else was waiting for us, something else was happening. I will never forget our first sunset there. Never.
Here we were, being immersed in so salty waters, watching as the sun started its descent. Right there, I noticed a silver lining with soft blues and grays. I was glued to the vision and kept looking and looking and looking when suddenly I so clearly saw angels standing on the border of the Dead Sea, singing. They were so large, so magnificent.
I now have no idea what I noticed first, their singing or them, just standing there. I could hear the sun setting in, the same way as we can hear and see every particle of sand in an hourglass falling independently and hitting the bottom.
I could see every single movement of the sun as if it was framed and then enlarged. As I was watching in awe, a thought entered my mind:
“If there is a place for G-d on Earth, not Heaven, but here with us on Earth, and if Earth is the home of G-d, just as for us, then here must be his bedroom/boudoir. The Dead Sea must be the place where he comes to unwind and enjoy a cup of coffee.”
It was something majestic, something very calming, something soothing, and something magnetic in that sunset. You must see it. You must witness it. The words pale in the face of what I saw that day.
During our stay at the Dead Sea, I was continuously able to see and hear angels at every sunrise and sunset. I was fortunate to have seen many sunrises and sunsets in my life at different parts of the world.
I saw those sunrises and sunsets at different stages of my life, whether in sorrow or in happiness. However, none of those sunsets and sunrises were able to affect me in such a profound level as the ones here at the Dead Sea.
There was subtle calmness in the milky, silvery, and pinkish brushes of color in the sky. There I saw the true magic of a day being brought to Earth on the wings of angels and carried back to Heaven later on. Never before have I experienced days and hours, being accompanied by heavenly orchestra, delivered to us on the wings of angels.
Staying at the Dead Sea
The Dead Sea happened to be for us an incredibly special place. We stayed in the Dead Sea for a long time because it was the only place where I could hear, see, and get in touch with my son in such a deep way. I did not want to leave.
There was something so special about this area that when my son spoke to me, it felt as if he was physically present. It felt as if the layer between Heaven and Earth did not exist. It was almost to the point that my visions of my son were close to becoming a physical manifestation.
His spiritual presence almost equaled his physical presence. I still do not know why that was the case, but what I experienced there has left a profound and lasting impression on me.
I remember, that few days before leaving, I told my husband I was going to steal a spoon from the kitchen and dig a cave so I won’t have to leave.:) After we left that area, I never again experienced anything close to what I was witnessing then.
After we left, the vividness of my son’s presence and clarity within our communication once again became more distant. I dreamed of returning to the Dead Sea again one day.
Therefore, we ended up staying at the Dead Sea for almost three weeks. Since we did not have hotel reservations for all the weeks, we moved from one room to another, from one hotel to another throughout the three weeks. The maître d’hôtel of all the hotels got to know us and would call us whenever they had a cancellation.
All the cancellations happened to be one of the best suites in the hotels. And with every cancellation, the prices were also adjusted. Tell me if this is not a pure manifestation of the grace of G-d!
At one point, we stayed in a two-bedroom suite for the same price as a one-bedroom suite. With an amazing view! Pure luxury. So we were in the position to invite my husband’s relatives, who were so kind to us, to stay with us for a day or so. They too were happy to join us. Why not?
Every day we were pushed to trust that our needs would be provided. We had to trust that as long as we needed to stay in that area, we would have a place to stay.
The only inconvenience was that for every three to five days, we would have to walk to another hotel. Or just change a room. In the end, we had stayed in four to five different hotels. They were all nice and pleasant.
“G-d has a plan for you”
As I was lying in the shades in another very hot day on the Dead Sea, I saw my son approaching me from the site of the sea. It looked as if he was walking on the water. He was walking in my direction. I watched his every step.
He stood next to me and looked in my eyes, and when our eyes met, he quietly asked me to repeat after him. Repeat what? What?
Only one phrase: “God has a plan for me.” That is all.
“Just that,” he said. “Nothing else. Just this.”
He waited. He was patient. I could not bring myself to say so.
I could hear the tearing of my insides, as if it was some kind fabric. I struggled. With what? Old life programming? The breaking of a paradigm?
He still was waiting. My son was waiting. The tears were rolling as a river. I was silently crying. Could not talk.
Really could not do anything at the moment. Could not speak. My tongue was numb. Was I paralyzed? Was I under a spell? What was it?
My lips started to move. It seemed as if I was a fish on the floor of the boat. Still no sound.
My soul started to scream. No sound. No voice. I had no voice. In my pain, I had no voice!
My soul had no speaking ability. My brain, my mind, was living life by itself. My soul could not verbalize what my son asked me to. He was waiting.
Then he said, “Say, Mom, say, ‘God has a plan for me.’ Repeat after me. ‘God has a plan for me.’”
I tried to grasp his hand, took a deep breath, and was able to whisper, “G-d has a plan for me.”
The struggle was over. When I said the words aloud, something snapped inside. It was as if this was my first time hearing this line. This statement.
It felt to me as if I NEVER heard that before. I actually thought at that time, “What a profoundest notion! How did I not know that before?”
It was very weird. It felt like this was the first time I truly recognized the powerful meaning behind this line.
It’s like hearing “I love you” from many different people, many times . . . but then . . . one day hearing it from a very specific person . . . the one you too truly love . . . and that special moment . . . hearing “I love you” changes your life forever.
That is exactly how I felt. That is exactly how special all these sounded to me, and it had a meaning. I knew it was true! I knew that my son told me the truth!
Hearing the same phrase NEVER felt as truth to me. So overused, nothing more than a popular saying. It was an empty phrase. Without a true meaning attached. Something that we, people, usually say. You get that? Yes?
However, that day, I felt through the shakiness inside my body and soul that that sentence, “G-d has a plan for you,” was alive and full of meaning and substance. It was alive and it was breathing. I felt its energy inside every bone and every cell of my body. As if I became a physical manifestation of that phrase.
It was not only a spiritual-emotional level of experience but was also a somatic-cognitive level of experience. It had such an effect on me at that time that I wished I could call every single human, look into their eyes, and say, “G-d has a plan for you.” It is true. You know . . . it is true.
To this day, I still cannot fully comprehend what exactly happened and how a simple rock under my feet that I stood over so many times became a shining diamond that emitted so much light that I am still closing my eyes in its brightness.
In the most challenging moments, I remember that G-d has a plan for me. As he has a plan for you too.
I also do not know how my son knew that my soul was absolutely numb and deaf to the meaning of that statement before. Why did he ask me to say so in the first place? From all the statements and beliefs that we have and hold, only this one phrase, only this one notion, only this one belief was presented to me then. Why?
Even today I have no answers to that. But I do know that having my son standing next to me in the middle of the day, looking into my eyes, and having me repeat that line over and over again with my voice created a break in the rock and brought the diamond to life.
That diamond became a tool that broke the stickiness of the web and the matrix of lies and brought down the projected paradigm of thinking that suggested otherwise. With every day, every moment I was becoming more and more metaphysically aware of my shortcomings and blind spots. Indeed, the Dead Sea became a very special place for us.
The odd thing remains that the most profound experiences I have had in Israel were in Tzfat, the highest point, and then the Dead Sea, which was the lowest point. Go figure!