Yes, everything is okay. Thanks for asking!

Yom shlishi, 7 Adar 5769, Moshe Rabbeinu's birthday and yahrzeit.

Doldrums.  Hibernation.  Call it what you like.  Cold, "yucky" weather seems to quiet my keyboard as much as my body and mind.

When the wind is strong enough to walk the lawn chair across the yard (and to later pitch it on its side, like the table), and the hail is the size of peas, I tend to bundle up in soft fleece, and blink my eyes at the world.  For hours.  With prayers of gratitude that I have a home in Israel in which to bundle up.

This post is dedicated to the very sweet friends and relatives who have expressed concern that something might be wrong.  Thank you for loving us, and for worrying.  We are well, baruch Hashem, and happy.  In a very slow, sleepy way, we are even busy.



Let's talk about what is positive about this intense precipitation.  Israel has been working toward a pretty scary drought all winter, with much too little rainfall to bring the Kinneret up to acceptable levels.  So all of this rain is very welcome.  The Dearly Beloved says that the fact that most of the severe weather has been happening on Shabbat is not a good sign.  But he doesn't call me "Suzy Sunshine" for no reason.  I am certain that the rain on Shabbat means that Hashem is rewarding the Jewish people for pulling together -- finally -- during the Gaza War.  "Better late than never."  And there isn't much time left during the traditional rainy season to acquire our quota of rain -- so what did we leave Hashem, but the relatively homebound days of Shabbat?  Time will tell.  We still need a good five meters of water to fill the Kinneret to a less-than-scary level.  Please G-d, bring on the rain!

Being more-or-less housebound has given me the opportunity to do things I like, albeit at a significantly slowed-down pace.  I have hosted guests.  I have played music with my family.  I have made sushi.

Apropos of nothing, I have been wanting to share the joys of the kum-kum for some time.  Has this marvelous invention made it to America yet?

Nothing says "warm and cozy" to me like that practically instant cup of coffee, tea or cocoa from my turbo-heating kum-kum.  Ever since I first started traveling to Israel, back in the mid-90s, I knew that the first purchase I would make after aliyah would be a kum-kum.  It was; and it still gives me joy, every single day.  (Simple pleasures really are the best.)  I wish each and every one of the members of the Baltimore Chug Aliyah a happy third anniversary -- and his or her own Israeli kum-kum, within the coming year!

To end this slightly disjointed "Hi, I'm still here" love note, here is a short film, for your viewing pleasure.



It is often the young who teach us how to find joy in discomfort.  Bring on the weather!

Glossary:
Yom shlishi:  literally "third day"; Tuesday
Moshe Rabbeinu:  Moses, Our Teacher
Yahrzeit:  date of death; observance of one's passing, to celebrate what he has accomplished in the fullness of his years
Chug Aliyah:  a "club" dedicated to fulfilling the hope and dream of moving to the Land of Israel