First-Rain, First Life

A trough of low pressure should bring the season’s first rain. As the trough dips through Turkey, precipitation should arrive late Thursday and last into Sunday, with the heaviest rain Friday into Shabbat and the strongest winds on Shabbat. The heaviest rain should fall in the northwest, with lesser—but still significant—amounts in the Jerusalem area. Flooding is possible in coastal low-lying areas.

Colder weather should last into early next week, before a return to near- or above-normal temperatures later in the week.

We hope this first rain is followed by many more until the “last rain” in spring—turning our hills from brown to green, and eventually back again. Some call these the yoreh and the malkosh.

In Eretz Israel, the seasons carry meaning: Sukkot marks the harvest, the lights of Chanukah brighten winter, and the warmth of spring brings Passover plantings to life.

Life has its seasons too—birth, childhood, adulthood, and old age. In grief, it’s easy to see only the ending and forget the life that came before: what a person planted, nurtured, and gave.

I’ve thought about this since my father-in-law, Eli Romano, passed away last Sunday. Eli immigrated to Eretz Israel from Egypt shortly after Israel declared independence. Born in 1938, he arrived as a boy, grew up here, and set out to build something new.

That journey came to an end this week, and I had the honor of eulogizing him at the Kfar Etzion synagogue. Funerals are sad, of course—but I wanted to celebrate who he was.

“I met Eli almost twenty-five years ago. At first he felt like the formidable father-in-law—from a different culture. I came from an American/European background; Eli from a Middle Eastern one. We didn’t even speak the same language, but I understood right away that he wanted only the best for his soon-to-be-married daughter. Our early interactions were businesslike, yet beneath that seriousness was a man driven by one purpose: to provide for his family what he himself never had.

“They say you can know the parents by their children. Look at Rachel, Eti, and Avi—teachers and counselors whose life’s work is helping others succeed. That is a credit to both their father, Eli, and their mother, Shula, whom we lost five years ago.

“With time, Eli became a loving father-in-law to me, and then a proud Saba to my children. [Due to a work injury,] he spent many years in a wheelchair, which limited how he could get around, but he made up for it by showing up—visiting whenever he could, sitting with us, listening, and always having something to say.

“He was relentless in his work. After an injury ended his job as a factory foreman, he reinvented himself—going door to door with high-quality towels, linens, and sheets. Many of those pieces are still in our home, and he sent more as gifts to my parents. Providing was his language of love.

“Hence, He was a man of action—in life and in his movies. Give him a good action film and a good meal, and he was content. He enjoyed both with gusto.

“And yes, there could be some gruffness. But beneath it was a kind man who cared deeply and put family first. That purpose guided everything he did.

“Eli’s legacy lives in the values he modeled: responsibility, perseverance, generosity, and love expressed through action. May we honor him by carrying those forward.

יהי זכרו ברוך — may his memory be a blessing.”