Whatever the Weather

What makes some places desert and others fields?

In Parshas Lech Lecha, Avraham travels from place to place, leaving Charan, going to Eretz Canaan, experiencing famine, and heading down to Mitzrayim, traveling through many different climates. A region’s weather is shaped by its latitude (how far it is from the equator), its elevation (how high it is above sea level), and its distance from oceans and mountains. Places near the equator get more direct sunlight, making them warmer. Ocean currents and winds can bring warmth or cold to nearby land. Eretz Yisrael has hot, dry summers and cool, rainy winters. Mitzrayim, in contrast, has the Nile River, but very little rain. They did not depend on davening for rain like Avraham’s descendants would.