Winter, Finally?

Here in Israel winter means rain. It only rains here from about October until March, rarely any other time. Those of us who live in the mountainous regions where it gets relatively cold, and occasionally snows, the lightweight raincoats I grew up with in New York, for spring and summer rains, aren't needed. By the time we get the succah stored away, early to mid-October, we're usually in waterproof winter coats and carrying umbrellas.

Unfortunately this year, it stayed warm and dry, with the exception of a day or two. This was fun for the kids and great for drying clothes outside, but my little vineyard was getting very confused. You can see that fresh new leaves began to grow months before spring. A neighbor of mine who works in agriculture told me a while ago, that without sufficient periods of cold, many fruits won't grow properly. And he also insists that the purified water which is touted by the government as the perfect solution to drought does not produce the same sweet fruit as rainwater does. No doubt that is the reason I'm not able to get myself to eat oranges yet. They taste awful.

Thank Gd, the last couple of days have been cold and rainy, although with enough sun to still get out a bit. A truly blessed winter would provide Gd given rain in great quantities every night and then mixed rain and sun during the day.

For that we need to obey Gd. Our rain is not due a scientific technique like seeding clouds.  This is the Holy Land where things work very differently from any place else.

The quantity, timing and location of rain are the barometer of the Jewish People's following of Gd's Mitzvot. This dry, unseasonably warm weather makes it very clear that we have a long way to go in improving ourselves.

Winter sky in Jerusalem yesterday