The Double-Edged Sword of Precipitation

Today we had a so-called “yom kef” at work. That’s a “fun day”, designed to boost morale and foster team-spirit at work — basically a field-trip for adults. We were supposed to enjoy a guided tour through the picturesque German Colony in Jerusalem, but for meteorological reasons we had to reshuffle our plans and went to the Bible Lands Museum instead. We had a lovely guided tour of their small but artfully displayed collection of artifacts as the winter rains poured down over the Holy City.

It was less lovely to move about in the city before and after the tour, since it was raining cats and dogs the whole day, and everything and everyone was soaked through and through, and even less cheerful than on a regular Wednesday when you have to work even though the rest of the world is off. Unfortunately, one isn’t allowed to complain about rain fall in this part of the world. We’ve hardly had any rain this winter, and they’re coming up with new red lines for how low the Kinneret can be drained almost on a daily basis. Besides, devout Jews pray for it three times aday during the winter, so bitching about it when it actually falls from time to time might be perceived as slightly ungrateful.

And in these days, one has to be grateful that the only thing that rains down from the sky is water. Unfortunately, it can’t be taken for granted anymore.