Thursday, November 18, 2004

Yoreh, Yoreh!

No, I haven't been granted semikha - I'm just excited about the rain!



The first significant rainfall of the season in Israel is called the "yoreh" (the last rains are the "malkosh" - see the second paragraph of Shma).



They're a bit late this year; usually we expect them in Cheshvan. Instead, they arrived yesterday, 4 Kislev. The Talmud discusses on what dates the yoreh should be expected; if it's substantially delayed, public fast days are proclaimed.



Yesterday we had a pretty heavy thunderstorm, continuing intermittently into the night. Sleeping was a challenge. It felt like someone was blasting dynamite just overhead.



I actually used an umbrella yesterday and wore a light denim jacket. Overnight low temperatures are in the 50s now (Fahrenheit; 11-16 Celsius) - a bit low for the time of year.



Yes, winter is setting in.

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