Kabbalists connect late rain in Israel, collapse of Ukrainian dam with Biblical Flood

A Hebrew-language Kabbalistic website cited an ancient Midrash that connected summer rains in Israel to the Kakhovka Dam which flooded a large section of southern Ukraine. The connection is the flood of Noah which is predicted to return at the end of days.

UNSEASONAL RAIN IN ISRAEL

Israel has recently been experiencing unusual weather with unseasonal rain storms soaking the country. Most recently, thunderstorms rocked the country’s center while a sandstorm, the second in two weeks, blanketed Eilat in the south. This proved to be a major inconvenience for the Muslim pilgrims passing from Egypt through the Jordanian port of Aqaba on their way to Hajj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Maritime traffic was shut down temporarily.

The Nature and Parks Authority banned any foot or vehicular traffic from entering wadis (dry riverbeds) in the Judean Desert due to the danger of flash floods. Ein Gedi Nature Reserve was closed to hikers, except for the short route in Nahal David.

Last month, unexpectedly heavy rainfall followed the Shavuot holiday, leading to flash flood warnings. The rain came at the same time the country was experiencing a heat wave and brush fires were breaking out across the country.

Israel generally experiences a rainy season from October until April and a dry season from May until September. Precipitation occurs on only about 60 days during the year, spread over the rainy season. The current rains are very unusual indeed.

MIDRASH: COVENANT OF NOAH CANCELED IN THE END OF DAYS

The Hebrew-language Kabbalah site, Sod 1820, suggested that the unusual precipitation in Israel is connected to the collapse of the Kakhovka Dam last Tuesday on the Dnipro River in the Russian-controlled area of southern Ukraine. While it is still unclear which side blew up the dam, the resulting damage caused massive flooding and a humanitarian crisis.

Sod 1820 noted that the day the dam collapsed was the 17th of Sivan on the Hebrew calendar. In Jewish tradition, it was on the 17th of Sivan that Noah’s Ark came to rest on Mount Ararat.

The website quotes Midrash Bereishit Rabbah which states that in the end of days, God will break the covenant he made with the nations of the world after Noah left the ark. Flooding will appear to destroy parts of the world like never before seen since the floods in the days of Noah. At the same time, rains will appear as a comfort for the people of Israel.

The Midrash notes that the covenant God made with Noah was “for the generations of the world” (Genesis 9:12). The Midrash states that this will end when the Messiah arrives to bring the final redemption.

“And the final flood will begin on the same day that the flood of Noah ended; the 17th of Sivan,” the website added.

RAIN BEFORE MESSIAH

Judaism has important roots in agriculture, with many religious customs reflecting the importance of seasonal rain. Jews stopped praying for rain on Passover in mid-April, switching to a request for dew. Those who work in the fields know that rain out of season can be destructive, causing the grain to rot rather than dry in the sun. Similarly, even in season, too much rain can be bad.

Rain in Israel is connected to the Messiah. In the section of prayer praising God for his ability to bring rain, God is also praised for his ability to resurrect the dead as rain is seen as resurrecting the land

Eleven years ago, Israel was suffering from a horrible drought. Someone asked Rabbi Dov Kook, a renowned mystic rabbi, when the Messiah will arrive. Rabbi Kook answered, “When the Messiah arrives, the Kinneret will be full.

But other opinions express precisely the opposite. SOD1820, a Hebrew-language site, posted the current meteorological situation, connecting it to a verse in Isaiah.

Grass withers, flowers fade When the breath of Hashem blows on them. Indeed, man is but grass: Isaiah 40:7

Rabbi Meir Leibush ben Yehiel Michel Wisser, a 19th-century Ukrainian Bible commentator better known as the Malbim, explained this verse, noting that Man is similar to wheat, i.e. grass, that must be dried out before being harvested. He explains that this indicates a dry season will precede the Final Redemption.

Rain in Israel is a reflection of the relationship between the Jews and God.

If, then, you obey the commandments that I enjoin upon you this day, loving Hashem your God and serving Him with all your heart and soul, I will grant the rain for your land in season, the early rain and the late. Deuteronomy 11:13

As the land of Israel is central to Judaism, Jewish prayer reflects this by making the prayers reflect the passage of the seasons in Israel. But the rains in Israel are not entirely set in their seasons and, according to the Bible, are affected by the actions of the Jews.

If you follow My laws and faithfully observe My commandments, I will grant your rains in their season, so that the earth shall yield its produce and the trees of the field their fruit. Leviticus 26:4

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