Rene Kalina

Sunday, 28th October 2001

On Thursday, 25th October, late in the afternoon, around 4:30 p.m, I was working in the garden when I noticed a flock of large black coloured birds soaring high on the thermals without flapping their wings. They were flying from south to north which struck me as odd since it is autumn and birds should be migrating south for the winter.

They often fly south over my town in Israel at this time of year and fly north in the spring . I took a break to lie on the grass for a few moments to watch them. Suddenly I felt the feeling I get when my spiritual antennae start buzzing just before God speaks or shows me something.

My attention was caught by an unusual cloud formation. It was a very thin whispy formation that looked like parts of letters hanging near each other in the sky. I was trying to figure out if they looked like particular letters when a strong wind picked up and within moments the two parts of the letters had joined together to form the Hebrew letter, SHIN. I ran inside to get my camera and took a photo. Within a few more moments other clouds had gathered next to it to form a DALED and a YOD.

This spelled SHADDAI, one of the names of God. However, the unusual thing was that rather than going right to left as Hebrew is written, the letters went from left to right, the way English is written. So it was written backwards. This was in keeping with the birds, flying in a reverse direction, that is, north instead of south. If the letters of the word Shaddai, in Hebrew are reversed, it reads, the Hand of Shaddai.

Even if one writes just a shin by itself, it represents the name, Shaddai. For instance, many mezuzot, placed on the doorjambs of Jewish homes, have only a Shin on it as the abbreviation of Shaddai. I went over to my neighbours who are religious and asked the lady of the house if she would like to see something interesting. We went outside and I pointed out Shaddai in the sky. She was suitably impressed and asked me jokingly if I was a "rabbanit" (a rabbi's wife) and I laughed and said yes.

She asked "how is it that you notice such things"? Also in Hebrew, RUACH is the word for both wind and spirit. So here were birds soaring on the Ruach, the wind or the spirit next to the name Shaddai written in the clouds. I told her it was a sign from God of good things to come.

Shaddai is often translated as "Almighty", or "my provider". But literally, it means "my breast". "Shad" is breast in Hebrew and the "ai" is the suffix indicating the first person personal pronoun. God, my breast, in other words, the place where I draw all my nurture and nourishment from when I am a babe in arms, too small to fend for myself or even to feed on anything more than milk. God is our father, we are his children. We are mere babes, totally dependent on Him for life and all that pertains to life.

In the morning of Oct.25th, I read the Daily Light readings for that day. The theme for the morning was Matt.28:20 - Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. The evening's readings started with

1 Pet. 4:7 - The end of all things is at hand.

Then Rev. 20:11 - I saw a great white throne and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away.

Ps. 46:1-3 - God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in

trouble. Therefore will not we fear…

Matt. 24:6 - Ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled.

The next day, Friday, there was a terrific thunder and lightning storm with a deluge of water pouring from the sky that sent water flowing like a torrent down the street. On Saturday morning around 7:30 a.m. there was a rainbow, the first I have seen for this season, which for me is always a sign of good things to come, a promise of God's blessing and a sign of His glory (Ezek. 1:28). And again there was heavy rainfall.

Today, Sunday, more heavy rain fell and it rained through the night. Israel is having a severe drought and the Sea of Galilee, our main source of drinking water is at its lowest level ever. So every drop of rain is precious and many have been praying and fasting for rain this season. (For those who don't know, it only rains in Israel during the rainy season which is from Sept. or Oct. through to March or April. Generally there is no rain for 6 to 8 months of the year.)