Yes, on today's rained out Jerusalem Day, I had one of those great "only in Israel" experiences on the way home while riding the bus.
It was pouring. None of us could remember such a rain storm so late in the spring. Yes, we discussed the weather, but we discussed it as the "hand of G-d" and wondered out loud what message G-d is giving us.
Does the rain have anything to do with next year being Shemitta? Or is it "just" because next year is also a leap year? In Judaism "leap years" add an extra month. Even if that's the case, and we said that maybe the extra month should have had been added this year, the rain would still be after Pesach, which is late for such a heavy rainfall.
Of course, everyone had an opinion, and we were captives in the bus. The streets were flooded, and there was so much hail in some places, it looked like snow. We had to talk to try to drown out the pounding on the roof of the bus. Yes, the hail wouldn't let up in Jerusalem.
Considering the attitudes of the politicians, maybe it is punishment.
Far be it from me to know the thoughts of the Divine.
ReplyDeleteI thought to myself however that this rainy Jerusalem Day should remind us that rockets are falling on our brothers in Sderot.
It rained up in the Golan last week and as one farmer put it, "this is Gishme Klalah."
ReplyDeleteYep, there's no way around it, the rain is bad. Back in the former good days, this is the type of rain that would wipe out an entire season's crop. Thankfully, farmers have ways to prevent that from happening nowadays and they (and people who got soaked in the downpour) should manage.
We need blue skies!
thanks
ReplyDeleteYOu've both brought up great points. The quantity, like in a normal winter's month, but only a few hours--that's serious.
I've been thinking about starting a blog called "Only In Israel" for a long time. The only thing is, I'm afraid people would think I'm making the stuff up!
ReplyDeleteEven better--
ReplyDeleteDo it as a jblog carnival, once a month. Gather "only in Israel" posts!