Weather It Is (Hotter and Cooler, Showers?)

Good Morning:

With all this talk about earthquakes, I suppose it only appropriate that the weather has been "acting" a bit unusual.  I'm not used to see fast moving clouds in summertime, or even to exclaim: "was that a drop of rain?"

Despite the recent cool weather, the mid-week period will turn quite hot, with Thursday being the hottest of the three, as high pressure builds eastward from Africa.  What we seem to be missing this summer is a very strong heat low over the desert to our east. Instead there is a anomalous area of cold air over west-central Russia (or north of Kazakstan).  This will help to create an atmospheric flow pattern that will allow for unusually cool summer air to drop down over the eastern Mediterranean at middle and lower levels of the atmosphere as we head into the Ninth of Av (fast).  The models are actually shown showers over northern and central areas as Shabbat moves into Sunday's fast.

Those who work in the field of atmospheric sciences are much more fortunate than those who study plate tectonics, and dream of some day predicting earthquakes.  Earthquakes are very hard to predict, even when they are happening! (See: https://www.popsci.com/earthquake-harder-to-predict-than-we-thought).  They are also very difficult to predict before they happen because the data required to do so is not complete and hard to get (earthquakes can start 30 km beneath the surface! See: http://theconversation.com/why-it-is-so-hard-to-predict-where-and-when-earthquakes-will-strike-40873).  There are other issues to contend with.  For instance, the equations that describe the ebb and flow of the atmosphere are well-known (although errors in initial data do lead to errors in the forecasts, as well as for other reasons).  Earthquakes can happen when one plate moves below another or to the side.  The action occurs suddenly, which is equivalent to a "Step-Function" in mathematics that is simple to write, but hard to formulate  (like when a bridge or dam suddenly collapses due to a build up of pressure or weakening of the supports).

Others have more obvious predictors.  Shall we blame the strange weather on the plan to possibly build a mixed prayer pavilion at the Western (Kotel) Wall? Or, shall we only blame the recent bout of earthquakes (see:https://www.timesofisrael.com/ultra-orthodox-mk-suggests-earthquake-was-due-to-western-wall-mixed-prayer-area/) on such plans?

Perhaps there is a more obvious reason.  My "Me Am Lo Ez" Torah Anthology (Exodus-II Redemption; translated by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan) notes that one of the reasons the Jewish people were redeemed from Egypt was because they didn't speak LaShon Hara (gossip or say bad things about others).  But, here we have the Knesset lawmaker blaming the Reform movement for Earthquakes.  Then we had a "Kashrut" authority revoke Barkan Wines certificate for employing Ethiopians.  The Eda Haredit claims that there is not enough proof that Ethiopians who immigrated to Israel are actually Jewish (so they are not allowed to touch the wine while it is being prepared).

Widespread questioning of someone else's Jewishness or the Jewishness of Converts is strictly forbidden in the Book of Jewish Law (the Torah).  Yet, here we have a group claiming to be a "congregation of God-fearing" people engaging in actions anathema to proper Jewish Observance.

In my opinion, the best way to demonstrate your goodness as a person is to be kind to others.  Striving for that extra strictness based on the most extreme measure of Jewish law is actually based on selfishness (hoping for extra "brownie-points"), and not charitableness (among which giving money to those is needs is also an important responsibility).

Barry Lynn