Rain, Rain, Rain

It's the rainy season (aka fake winter). I guess in Israel you never really know what this will mean but this rainy season there's actually been rain! ...a lot of it. A few weeks ago I spent the weekend visiting an Otzma friend in Kiryat Shmona, a beautiful city up north that sits in a mountain valley so that anywhere you walk provides a spectacular view. My friend's adoptive family insisted on taking us on a Shabbat road trip to see a couple waterfalls up north. They insisted, it was urgent. And it wasn't just going to be us, we left at 8 am on Saturday morning because people were coming from all over the country. But it wasn't that us or any of the other people were going to see the waterfalls, instead the huge crowds were going for the excitement of the water itself. The water that had arrived with the pouring rain that to me seemed to be never ending.

We couldn't help laughing how excited these crazy people got over water. A friend of ours was told that he couldn't wait even a day to go see these waterfalls, the water might be gone! But of course in just one day the water would not be gone, why were these people in such a fuss? With full knowledge of the water crisis in Israel it was still difficult to grasp how hordes of people could put their families in a car and drive all the way up north in a hurry for a good view.

I heard someone liken the situation to a minor archeological find in the US. Something so ancient, found in the US! Wouldn't swarms of people come to see this hypothetical discovery? Israeli's wouldn't blink twice...they're not exactly short on ancient history. But water, what a novelty, how exciting for it to pour!

And then we saw the waterfalls. We tried to maintain our American nonchalance but couldn't help getting caught up in the excitement. I found myself giddy with delight as I felt the mist from the waterfall on my face and saw the full rainbow it created (look closely to see it in the second photo!). Look at the water! There was something so special about standing with people from all over the country coming to witness this rarity that I no doubt take for granted.

And by standing with I of course mean everyone pushing in typical Israeli fashion to get the best view.

I started to get it. I always understood: they don't have enough water here, it's a big problem, it rained and people got excited. But standing so close to this waterfall, watching the water rush by, the excitement that causes traffic jams worth of people waiting to see the water...it was just so Israeli.

New Volunteering Site!

As you all know, we have been busy with all of our volunteering here in Yokne'am, from teaching English at Daliyot, to helping out at the youth center, and even coaching a little bit of baseball. As of last week, we added a new site to our repertoire. A man named Yochai Yitzhari has been running a food pantry called Kol Halev since 2002, and his efforts reach around 100 families (about 600 people) in the Yokne'am-Meggido area.

After recieving a $15,000 grant from our very own St. Louis Jewish Federation, our coordinator Arkady wrote an article for the Jewish Agency of Israel detailing his efforts. I won't go into the details of the program here (you can follow the link provided at the end of this entry), but needless to say, once we learned about Yochai we were eager to join him.

The work we do isn't particularly hard, but it is certainly rewarding. If you've worked in a food pantry, you know the drill - gather the food and bag it up. The crew working there is a very warm and inviting group, and they made it easy for us to jump right in and start helping. Even though the work is simple, it's nice to be able to step back and see exactly what you did that day, as opposed to the more abstract results from teaching.

It's also great working with Yochai - the 65 year old former naval commander is full of life and energy, and you can tell how much he truly loves the work he is doing. It hasn't been uncommon for us this year to encounter people who are jaded from years of work, but Yochai is truly passionate. As he told us after driving us home (he personally is driving us to and from Kol Halev each week), his "life is volunteering", and he loves being able to provide the children of the community with food each week. It may just be for a few hours a week, but I think I can speak for Andi and Tali when I say we are excited to join his efforts!

Jewish Agency article: "Former Naval Commander Dedicates His Life to Helping the Needy"

St. Louis Jewish Federation article: "JFed Grant Pays for Food to Poor in Yokne'am"