12 Lectures
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Yam Hamelach – lecture 1
An initial introduction to the Dead Sea – in nature and in the Bible. The story of the global war of the kings in the days of Abraham, takes place, as the Torah describes in “The Valley of the Sidim, which is Yam Hamelach”. So was it a battlefield? Or a sea? A geological explanation will provide the answer
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Yam Hamelach – lecture 2
The spiritual meaning of the geological change. According to the Torah, geographical destruction is a punishment for extreme negative behavior. The place that most symbolizes this principle the most, is the area of Sedom. Is the Dead Sea also part of this punishment? To answer that, we need to answer the question – where exactly is the city of Sedom?
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Yam Hamelach – lecture 3
In this lecture we disprove all the proofs presented in the previous lecture – that Sedom was north of the Dead Sea, and we will bring many proofs that Sedom was actually in the southern region of the Dead Sea: proofs from the prophets, the writings of Josephus, the map of Meidva (Madaba) and a Hebrew inscription on a tombstone, found in “Tzoar”, one of the 5 cities of Sedom.
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Yam Hamelach – lecture 4
Abraham too, overlooked Sedom, when he spoke to God about the destruction of Sedom. Where was he standing? And how does this prove that Sedom is in the south of the Dead Sea? The lecture also discusses the amazing findings of “Bab El Drah”, an ancient city in the southern Dead Sea, where half a million graves were found! Altogether five destroyed cities were uncovered, in exact parallel to the five cities of Sedom.
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Yam Hamelach – lecture 5
How the archaeological finds in the five cities of “Bab el-Drah” exactly reflect our sources on the cities of Sdom. We will start examining the studies on Yam Hamelach sea level throughout history: With their help we can date the Bible and authenticate it against its critics. We can see how different stories in the Bible correspond to the height of the Dead Sea. History and Tanach combine in the Dead Sea!
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Yam Hamelach – lecture 6
Yam Hamelach and Hanukkah! Who is “King Jonathan” mentioned on coins from the Hasmonean period found near Yam Hamelach? And why are there hundreds of coins in an ancient fortress on the shore of Yam Hamelach – “Meitzad Kidron”? What was this fortress used for in the Hasmonean days? And how is all this related to the sea level of Yam Hamelach?
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Yam Hamelach – lecture 7
In this lecture we will see how all the findings fit together: The geological findings on Yam Hamelach sea level, the archaeological findings from the city of “Numera”, and the Tanach itself. Everything leads to the fact that what was called “Yam Hamelach” at the time of Matan Torah, was called “Emek Ha-Sidim” in the days of Abraham – a dry valley where a big war took place! We will also see why this year – 2020, is called by Rav Meidan, the year – 3333, and how this count fits in with all the findings above.
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Yam Hamelach – lecture 8
“And the border went north to the tongue of Yam Hamelach” – what is this “tongue”? When you read in Tanach about the borders of the tribes near Yam Hamelach, according to today’s Yam Hamelach, many questions arise. The geological findings on the Yam Hamelach sea level in the days of Joshua, shed a different light on all the border descriptions in the Tanach. Yam Hamelach once again shows a beautiful harmony between Tanach, history and geology
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Yam Hamelach – lecture 9
Where is “Goren Ha-Atad”, where Jacob was eulogized? And how is this related to “Beit Hogla” and the size of Yam Hamelach at that time? Where is “Gey Melach” (Salt Ravine), which is mentioned as a battlefield in the days of King David and how does this place once again prove the exact correspondence between the stories of the Tanach and the geological findings?
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Yam Hamelach – lecture 10
Yam Hamelach symbolizes the physical transformation of the land in accordance with the spiritual state of the people. Mark Twain describes the destruction of the land (exactly in accordance with the prophecy in Parshat Haazinu: “The foreigner who will come from a far country”) as a punishment for leaving the covenant. And we will see how the prophets describe the redemption of the land in the future : the desert will bloom and the Dead Sea will become the Garden of Eden, and the entire area of the Dead Sea will be filled with water flowing from Jerusalem!
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Yam Hamelach – lecture 11
The Dead Sea: A Prophecy of Re-Creation. The prophets’ descriptions of the transformation of the wilderness into a blooming garden. According to the prophets, the water will come from the Temple after an earthquake, in accordance with ancient evidence that there is much groundwater under the Temple Mount, and recent research that an earthquake is indeed expected in the area. A detailed description in Ezekiel 47, tells about the transformation of the Dead Sea into the Sea of Life: the salt water will become fresh water, which will be filled with multitudes of fish and vegetation
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Yam Hamelach – lecture 12
The connection between Yam Hamelach and Beit Ha-Mikdash The final meaning of Yam Hamelach Israel is a land without superlatives. Except, in the case of, Yam Hamelach. This symbolizes the connection between the highest spiritual place and the lowest place in the world. Yam Hamelach expresses the great destruction expected when we leave the covenant, and the great redemption when we return to the covenant. The return to life of Yam Hamelach is beautifully described in Herzl’s vision, which connects our days with Ezekiel’s prophecy – the transformation of the land of Israel from desolation to the Garden of Eden.