Hundreds of Israelis on Monday evening convened at the Kotel (Western Wall) and participated in a special prayer session to give thanks to God to the bountiful rain season Israel has been experiencing this winter.

The thanksgiving prayer session was initiated by Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel and was attended by Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, the Kotel’s rabbi, and Chief Rabbi of Safed Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu.

The prayer session included the recitation of special blessings and chapters from Psalms and joyful dancing.

“We have merited today to give thanks to God for the plentiful rains that have fallen and for those that will come,” Ariel said.

“We have come to congratulate Israel’s wonderful farmers, and we are all happy about the rains and we will continue to pray for the continuation of many good rainfalls,” he added.

Following a five-year-long drought, the water shortage in Israel has worsened. The Hydrological Service at the Water Authority reported that precipitation in 2018 was significantly lower than the multi-year average, and was therefore declared the fifth consecutive year of drought.

However, since the beginning of the rainy season this year, the Lake Kinneret, Israel’s largest body of water, saw a 0.88 meters elevation in its level, according to the Water Authority.

The Kinneret lacks another 4.98 meters.