By Jakir Manela

“Blessed are you, G-d ruler of the universe, who is good and does good.”

One of the great things about Judaism is that we say the blessing above whenever it rains.  Something we might consider a normal, natural occurrence, yet being in Israel reminds us of just how precious rain is amidst all of Israel’s water conservation challenges.  We have been blessed this week to witness three or four distinct rainstorms and yesterday evening we even had the pleasure of running through the rain to get to our bus.  It is a privilege to be present in the holyland while such a precious natural resource falls down upon the land from the heavens.  Could it be that the rain has fallen on our merit?  Probably not, but as we head toward Shabbat and finish our work here on the Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership Mission perhaps we can believe that the merit of our partnership is what brings the rains down. 

Together we have seen amazing projects that serve women and families, Ethiopians and Russians and visited community gardens.  We have made tough decisions about where this partnership will go in the future. 

I have not been in Israel for 12 years, since my first experience at the age of 17 on a month-long adventure tour.  My life was transformed by the inspirational experience of discovering Israel for the first time.  Now I am back and so grateful to witness a much different, deeper part of the American-Israeli relations. I would never trade in my experience as a 17-year-old for anything in the world, and in the same token I would never trade in this immensely valuable part of what it means to be part of the Jewish people.

I hope to take many lessons back with me to Kayam Farm, Pearlstone, Baltimore and America.  There are so many ways we can collaborate with Ashkelon on Jewish agricultural and environmental education, community gardening and more.  I look forward to this Shabbat as the time when our two communities become one with shared values and a shared vision for the future.  As the rain continues to fall in Ashkelon I feel great faith and blessings descending on all of us, just as the blessing says. Because Israel is such an arid climate, rain is seen as a great blessing in Judaism, so we thank G-d by saying that He or She is good and does good whenever it rains. 

This Shabbat I think we can all say the blessing not only over the rain but over our Partnership as well.

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