Drought brings three faiths together in prayer

December 4, 2008 - 10:47 AM by · 2 Comments
Filed under: Environment, General, Life, Religion 

There were three men standing beside the Kinneret, a rabbi, a priest and an imam. Sounds like the start of a joke, but you can be sure it wasn’t a laughing matter for any of the three. They were praying for rain.

And when you look at the state of the Kinneret, you can’t blame them. I was there for the round the Kinneret cycle ride just a few weeks ago, and the water had receded an alarming distance from the shore. People were sitting close to the water’s edge, next to signs hammered into the ground reading Deep Water.

Where has the water gone?

Where has the water gone?

And it’s not that we’re seeing any signs of a wet winter to come. On the contrary, the weather in Israel right now resembles, well, a desert. Hot and dry during the day, cold during the night. Lips are chapped, skin is dry and itchy, and who knows what’s happening to agriculture – it’s horrible.

So that’s why Rabbi Shlomo Didi of the Jordan Valley, Ian Clark – the priest of the Scottish church, and Muhammad Dahamshe, the Imam of Kfar Kana, got together to try to ease the situation with a little combined prayer and a whole lot of artwork from the dozens of artists who came to paint the service.

“A joint prayer does not consider differences of religion,” Didi told a reporter from an Israeli newspaper. “There is one god, we are all human beings and are all praying to the same god.”

“The dismal condition of the Kinneret threatens each and every one of us,” added Shimon Kipnis, general manager of the Scots Hotel, which offered up its beach for the prayer service.

“We see how the shoreline is receding and that the water level is nearing the ‘black line.’ The purpose of this event was to unite all the religions and offer a joint prayer to the creator of the universe, that he bless us with a rainy season.”

Well, let’s hope their prayers are answered. It sure doesn’t seem that way right now. The forecast for the next few days according to Israel’s Meteorological Service: Warmer and drier than usual.

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First rains

September 28, 2008 - 1:39 PM by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: General, Life 

It was the first rain yesterday. In Israel we take our rain seriously. My children were out there quick as a flash, dancing around the garden as if…, well as if they hadn’t seen rain for six months.

Their education in water conservation was immediately apparent. Every container they could find was pressed into use catching raindrops and run off water from the roof. When the rain stopped they began diligently watering all the pots.

rain B.jpg

It may have been short, and it was definitely filthy (the first rain always leaves you wiping down your windows, car, garden furniture, and the floor, if you unluckily left your window open), but yesterday’s rain was a welcome sight for everyone.

rain A.jpg

Last year’s dry, warm winter compounded three previous years of drought, leaving Israel facing its worst water crisis in years.
With the red line of the Galilee – Israel’s main reservoir of natural water – already breached, pumping looks as if its set to reach the black line, beyond which point many believe the damage to the lake is irreversible.

With the government seemingly doing little to reverse the crisis – even water rates haven’t gone up in price – we desperately need rain this year, and many will be hoping that Saturday’s early shower will be an indication of a rainy winter to come. Around Jerusalem at least, up to half an inch fell yesterday, while in Tel Aviv and other areas of the country, the rain was fairly light and drizzly, allowing the parched earth to absorb some of the run off.

No forecasters are willing to give any predictions of rainfall this winter, but the rain did set in motion one important yearly tradition, known and dreaded by parents – mostly mothers – everywhere: the autumn switch to winter clothes, an exhausting job that involves trailing through the dark recesses of children’s wardrobes, and boxes stashed under the bed.

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