Jonathan Feldstein – Praying for the Rain in Jerusalem
Israel is more used to giving names to military operations than storms, but this week, Israel is welcoming Barbara, a winter storm expected to bring heavy rain and even snow much of the week. Based on the lack of rain so far this season, Barbara is a welcome wet respite, but will it be enough?
Unlike where I grew up, Israel has a very defined rainy season. The season is marked by the bookend festivals of Sukkot (Tabernacles) and Passover, during which we actually pray for rain in the Land, in that season. As a country that’s mostly an arid desert climate, rain is critical. Biblically we know that the rainy season was important since people relied on local produce, and to have water to get through the dry spring and summer months. They planted accordingly.
As early modern Israel was known for its network of agricultural settlements, the kibbutz, water played a critical challenge. In the early years of the restoration of Jewish sovereignty, pioneers suffered malaria and backbreaking work, draining swamps, creating the infrastructure for irrigation that’s now a model to the world, and making the most out of Israel’s one main source of fresh water, the Sea of Galilee.
Today, the almost 75-year-old arid desert country has become a literal water exporter. That’s certainly the case with providing Jordan with 100 million cubic meters of water per year. But there are other ways through which Israel exports water that is more subtle, but no less true. Think about Israel’s incredible quality produce and flowers being shipped around the globe. Tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers make a great salad. Dates and citrus make a tasty and healthy snack. Award-winning wine is served on high-end menus everywhere.
In addition to the exporting of water in its produce, and pumping it across the border to Jordan, there are many technologies that make this all possible. Israel’s drip irrigation system is so simple on its face, but innovative and coveted all around the world. Israeli companies are making water out of air, leading in desalinating sea water, recycling wastewater, and much more. If Israel’s footprint wasn’t already significant, through water Israel is making lifesaving waves around the world for others.
All of this is clearly a product of ingenuity and an unparalleled dedication to making Israel thrive. But it’s also a product rooted in the prophecy that when the people of Israel return to the Land of Israel, the Land will breathe a sigh of relief and prosper. By fulfilling its role as a blessing to the families of the world, water, and water-related technologies make Israel in huge demand.
With all this, you would not be mistaken to think that Israel was a water superpower. However, just like the divinely inspired determination and innovation that’s been rooted in our people, making the desert bloom, and fulfilling the prophecy of Ezekiel, it’s not something that we take for granted. That’s why we pray for rain.
There are many Biblical sources of rain in the Land of Israel being a blessing, in its season. That means my grandchildren, all born and raised in Israel, won’t ever really experience the childhood joy of a cool rain shower in the summer and be able to go outside and play in it, slide in the mud, and feel refreshed because of it. Rain in Israel comes in the fall and winter months when the last thing you want to do is play in the cold and get wet and colder in the process.
In the past few years, Israel experienced higher than average rainfall. The big measure of this is the height of the Sea of Galilee. While we have an abundance of desalination and water recycling, the Sea of Galilee is still the biggest and most important source of fresh water. It is not only pumped from the Sea throughout the country, but it feeds the Jordan River which, in turn, partly feeds the Dead Sea. All this is critical for many reasons, including countering the dangerous evaporation of the Dead Sea which is shrinking by a meter a year, making the lowest body of water on the planet even lower.
This year, rain has been sparce. This past week has been rainy, but in January it was reported that Israel is in the midst of one of the driest winters in 60 years. Through January, the level of the Sea of Galilee increased by just two centimeters. In a good year, the level will increase by some 1.6 meters during the whole rainy season. While this is less alarming than in previous years due to a new desalination system that can take salty Mediterranean water and pump it to supplement the fresh water of the Sea of Galilee, nevertheless lack of rain is concerning.
Jews typically pray for rain as part of our three-times-a-day prayer services. Recently, however, Israel’s chief rabbis called for extra prayers for rain. We know that even the ultra-modern Start-Up Nation relies on rain, so we turn out prayers to the Source of rain that it should be abundant, and safe. As a possible partial answer to prayers, Israel is expecting a major winter snowstorm, which is pretty, fun, and messy, and when it melts will trickle down to the lakes and rivers.
As much as one good rain or snowstorm is a blessing, it’s not enough. Just as we are called to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, this year we need to pray for rain in Jerusalem. And in the Golan and Galilee, in the mountains of Judea and Samaria, the coastal plain, and the desert. We need to pray that rain will be abundant, that it will replenish the Sea, rivers, and aquifers, and that it will be a blessing, not something dangerous.
Please join us wherever you are, in fervent prayer for God’s blessing to be upon the Land and the people. We welcome Barbara’s arrival and pray that it will all be for good, not harm, and maybe that Barbara will bring along some friends. It’s always better to have incoming rain from storms bearing names than incoming rockets from our neighbors which earn themselves the title “Operation” so and so.
As Jews from across Israel convene to pray for rain at the Western Wall, you can send your own prayers from around the world at [email protected] to be placed in the cracks of the Western Wall in Jerusalem alongside the Jewish worshippers, participating virtually as part of the special prayers of people from around the world.
