[img]96|left|||no_popup[/img]Dateline Jerusalem – My sinuses work overtime when the barometric pressure changes. I seem to know a day or two in advance of an upcoming rainstorm.

Two days this week were sunny and warm with the perfect blue sky unique to Israel, the color not even a box of crayons or palette of oil paints could create. Only perfection could create perfection. G-d created the perfect sea of blue above. The remainder of the week reminded me of Noah's Ark, the torrential rain falling so hard that the streets in Rehovot were like rivers with a fast flowing current. For Israel, the prayer for rain was answered, but for those of us who had to wade through it to cross the street, well, we were just thankful it was not hurricane Sandy.

Israel is mostly a desert turned oasis since the Jewish people returned to the land from exile. The once arid and barren land, neglected for almost 2,000 years, once again has become flourishing, fertile and an agricultural triumph as had been prophesied. Of course, the ingenious Israeli mind has helped transform this country with its inventions and discoveries. Drip irrigation systems were refined by the Israeli invention of a non-clogging plastic emitter. Even a new type of cherry tomato that ripens slowly and resists rotting, called the tomaccio, was developed in Israel. One innovation is a machine that turns canola oil into organic pesticide for farmers who want to protect their crops without harming the environment. Another invention for Israel's dry climate is a machine that allows planting seeds in wet soil with just the right amount of moisture. Since Israel has a water shortage, many methods have been used to overcome this problems, especially the successful desalination of sea water into fresh water. Irrigation, fertilization, high-tech greenhouses and shade-houses enable 60 percent of Israeli exports of fresh vegetables to be grown in the desert. Development of methods, technology and products that address the country's arable land and water shortage have made Israel a world leader in agro-technology.

Welcome to Rationing

With all the recent rain, it is hard to conceive of a water shortage. It really is a major problem, though, for Israel. There is water rationing to an extent. Usually it is in the form of paying a hefty sum if going beyond your water allowance. My landlord has been indifferent to the dripping faucet in the “renovated” bathroom of my new apartment. After waiting for a week for him to fix it, and another week since the time he said he would be here and never showed up, I took the initiative to call a plumber. It seems the renovation is not quite renovated because the sink needs a new faucet. My plumber spoke with my landlord who immediately called his less expensive plumber. Now I have a promise that another plumber will come to fix it. In the meantime, the drip keeps me up at night, has rust stained the sink, and I dread the water bill that likely will punish me, not the landlord, for wasting water.

But, this is Israel. I am waiting over three weeks for my new oven to be fixed, the electrician had to work on every light in the apartment and told me to return one of the new light fixtures that had defective wiring, my Israeli phone line rings and rings to all those calling me but the sound never reaches inside my apartment, my new sofa and bed were not delivered this week as promised, my washing machine flooded the laundry floor, it takes over two hours to dry clothes in the new dryer, the first time I showered in the newly renovated bathroom I froze because the hot and cold faucets were installed incorrectly, and I finally have figured out that light switches do not turn on adjacent lights but those across the room. It is as though everything here is backward. Perhaps it is because Hebrew is written from right to left, not left to right like most of the rest of the world. Whatever the reason, it has been Murphy's Law here, “Whatever can go wrong will go wrong”.

Despite all the hassles and inconveniences, I love living in Israel. There is no place in the world like it.

L'hitraot. Shachar (Dawn)