A winter storm dubbed “Carmel,” hit Israel this week, bringing lots of rain, heavy winds, and some ice pellets to Israel this week. It’s not exactly what we pray for when we ask for rain. What we want is “gishmei bracha” when it rains at night, without causing damage or inconvenience. But Hashem is King, and we can only pray and do mitzvot.

Lucky for Israel, Carmel only lasted for two days, after which it began to peter out and become merely a regular rainstorm, closer to what we want, this time of year. The Haifa Municipality prepared for flooding, and bolstered trees and lampposts. Nahariya followed suit. These cities have some unfortunate experiences with winter storms.