On Wednesday, Breaking Israel News reported to the world the discovery of freshwater ponds teeming with fish and wildlife on the shores of the Dead Sea, precisely as written in the Prophets, with a viral article that was viewed over 140,000 times and shared 22,000 times in 24 hours. This inexplicable phenomenon has gone entirely unnoticed by scientists and the media, and no mention of it can be found on the internet. The story behind the story is a Jew, a young woman of simple faith and a love of the Land of Israel, who had the eyes to see what no one else could.
Samantha Siegel, a remarkable young woman originally from America, lives in the Nachlaot neighborhood in Jerusalem, an enclave where artists and Orthodox Jews live side-by-side in ancient buildings. A frequent visitor to the Dead Sea, Siegel related to Breaking Israel News how she first realized she was witnessing a realization of prophecy.
“Last year, when I saw the fish in the pond, I remembered the prophecy, but I didn’t realize the significance,” Siegel explained. “I wasn’t really blown away. I just thought, ‘Gee, that is pretty cool. The Dead Sea is coming back to life.’
“A few months later, when I reread the prophecy, it clicked,” she continued. “Once you see it, the connection is so undeniable. It is right in front of your face.”
Like Isaac Newton’s apocryphal discovery of gravity by way of an apple falling on his head, or Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin, a serendipitous accident which occurred after a petri dish was mistakenly left open in his lab, Siegel’s discovery was unlooked for but earth-shattering.
The prophecy was apparent down to the smallest detail.
And it shall come to pass that every living creature wherewith it swarmeth whithersoever the rivers shall come shall live; and there shall be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters are come thither that all things be healed and may live whithersoever the river cometh. Ezekiel 47:9
“Not only are there fish, but a family of ducks comes to greet me every time I go there,” Siegel related to Breaking Israel News. “Scientists in the media say the Dead Sea is dying, which is a double negative that means the opposite. They are really saying the Dead Sea is coming back to life. So it is really like the prophesied resurrection of the dead. It shows how much power for life is coming out into the world.”
Samantha visits the Dead Sea frequently in order to escape from the city and soak in the serenity of the desert.
“I won’t go to Tel Aviv. It’s full of people. In the desert, you can really feel God,” Siegel told Breaking Israel News. “That’s where the Jews received the Torah.”
This is also the path Siegel took to connect with the Torah.
“For my first five years in Israel, I lived outdoors, in abandoned train-cars, teepees, greenhouses. I was a nomadic wanderer,” said Siegel. “I spent a lot of time outdoors reading the Torah by candlelight.”
The Talmud (Baba Kama 17A) compares Torah to water. Siegel understands water in a way that would be lost on most city dwellers.
“There’s nothing better in the world than water in the desert,” Siegel enthused. “It is the most beautiful thing, the best of both worlds.”
The Dead Sea is especially so: a sea in the desert, it is its own world of contradictions. It is only a half-hour drive from the bustling streets of Jerusalem, but hiking the barren hills surrounding the sea is like exploring a different planet.
“It’s very difficult to get to, and maybe even a little dangerous. You have to jump down and walk down some difficult trails,” Siegel said. “It is otherworldly, with deep craters, full of sand in so many colors, yet it is so close to my home in Jerusalem.”
The experience has influenced Samantha in many ways, making her strong belief even stronger. She sees the fulfillment of the prophecy as a life lesson.
“The Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth and you float in the water. Even if you don’t know how to swim, or even tried to drown, you couldn’t,” she explained. “You can fall so low, to the lowest you’ve ever been, but God will always be there to lift you up.”
