Reign of the Rain
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Photo Credit: Samyak
A couple of days ago, we substituted, in the opening blessings of the silent Aminda prayer, the phrase describing God as maker of dew to the phrase describing Him as maker of rain. And on the night of the first day when we made the switch, we received the first serious rain of the season, here in Netanya, Israel.
It drenched our sukkah, which is still standing, waiting to be dismantled, in the parking lot of our building. The other tenants are being patient, but I’ll bet we’ll start getting looks if we don’t go about putting it away.
The first rain always reminds me of my late dad, whose biggest pleasure was to lie in bed at night, covered in his thick, goose down blanket, while outside the rain was pouring.
I know it’s a dangerous misconception, but the rain here, in Israel, seems harmless. What’s the worst it can do? Well, it can do a lot of damage, unfortunately, mostly because this is a country ill prepared for serious, menacing rain.
I remember, ions ago, when Nancy and I sat, hand in hand, at the O. Henry’s on Sixth Avenue, when a hurricane was gushing in sheets of water through the streets of the city. Now, that was dangerous rain. O. Henry’s had those large glass windows and we sat, sipping our drinks and staring, bewitched by the ferocious spectacle outside.
O. Henry’s is long gone, we are older and wiser, but we still find ourselves seated in front of a bit of maddened nature, sipping our drinks, glad we’re not in it.
Here’s to a great rainy season. The Kinneret is thirsty!
tell a friendAbout the Author: JewishPress.com Senior Internet Editor Yori Yanover has been a working journalist since age 17, before he enlisted and worked for Ba'Machane Nachal. Since then he has worked for Israel Shelanu, the US supplement of Yedioth, JCN18.com, USAJewish.com, Lubavitch News Service, Arutz 7 (as DJ on the high seas), and the Grand Street News. He has published two fun books: The Cabalist's Daughter: A Novel of Practical Messianic Redemption, and How Would God REALLY Vote.
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An ion is an atom or molecule that allows an electrical current to pass through it. An eon or aeon is a very long period of time, longer than an era, closer to an age.
You do not remember anything ions ago, unless you were struck by lightning in that rain of yours. In addition, it's a dangerous misconception THAT the rain in Israel IS harmless.
But the real question is, of course, why you substituted the phrase in the blessing. Were you praying for rain?