Woodside Park Synagogue

Simchat Torah Rain

by Maxine Zeltser

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My daughter, Penina, recently had to complete an essay on the conflict between the prevention of poverty and saving the environment. Which should take priority? My immediate response was to argue that, of course, our most pressing concern should be to stop poverty and save human life. However, after some thought I realised that the issue is not so clear cut. Climate change has led to increased flooding in some areas and extended droughts in others. Both cause devastation for poor farmers by destroying their crops and causing them to become reliant on charity as they have no other means to support themselves or their families.

 

When one considers this, one realises the importance of rain. It needs to fall at the right time and in the right amounts otherwise devastation can occur. From this we can see the significance of the recital of the Prayer for Rain on Shemini Atzeret. Rabbi Yonatan ben Uziel explains that the name Atzeret means assembly which indicates that on this day Jews should assemble together to pray for rain.

 

I thought that I would talk about some aspects of this prayer and then look at what we can learn from the source of rain - water.

 

1. Why do we pray for rain now?

 

The Talmud teaches that there are different types of judgment at various times of the year. On Succot we are judged with regard to water and rainfall. Autumn and winter are the rainy seasons in Israel, which is dependent on rainfall for the success of its crops. As Succot is the pilgrimage festival nearest to the rainy season, the Rabbis proclaimed that the Prayer for Rain should be recited at this time. But wait, Succot is the festival celebrated mainly outside in the succah where we are subject to the vagaries of the weather. Indeed, it is regarded as a sign of Divine displeasure for rain to prevent people from eating and living there (hopefully this only applies to Israel, for in this country rain at this time of year is the norm! ), so surely it would be incongruous for us to pray for rain at a time when we did not want it to fall. For this reason, we recite the prayer for rain on Shemini Atzeret when there is no Torah command to eat in the succah and so we can recite the prayer without any reservations.

 

The Rabbis compare rainfall on Succot to a servant who brings a decanter of water in order to mix it with wine and pour a cup for his master. The master pours the decanter out into to the servant's face, showing that the servant's actions are not acceptable. Likewise, rain on Succot is a sign that Hashem is dissatisfied with our service and wishes us to leave the Succah. The Mishnah explains this parable by stating that the servant represents Israel trying to water down the severe judgment of the High Holy Days with mercy. Hashem, by not allowing the Jews to fulfil the mitzvah of succah shows that He is not ready to temper justice with mercy. In view of this the Vilna Gaon suggests that it is particularly appropriate to offer prayers for rain on Shimini Atzeret.

 

Although we do not pray directly for rain on Succot, we are involved in mitzvoth which allude to rain and serve as a silent prayer for it. The taking of the Arba Minim, all of which require plenty of water for their growth serve as a form of prayer that Hashem should have mercy upon His people and provide its land with timely and beneficial rainfall.

 

2. Another question you might ask, is why do we only recite the prayer for rain based on the rainy season in Israel?

 

Surely, if you lived in, say, Australia you should recite this prayer prior to the rainy season of that country. Rabbi Aryeh Tzvi Frommer explains: The Torah refers to Eretz Yisrael as a 'land that Hashem your G-d seeks out; the eyes of Hashem, your G-d, are always upon it from the beginning of the year to year's end'. Although Hashem is all powerful and oversees the entire Universe, His principal attention is centred on Israel, while the rest of the world enjoys His blessing on a secondary level. Israel serves as a channel for Hashem's beneficence on Earth and only after attending to it does He bless other lands. The key to rain and prosperity around the globe lies, therefore, in Hashem's blessing the Land of Israel. Our prayers should, therefore, be that Hashem grants rain in the Holy Land and that through this, the whole world will merit the blessing of rain, each area in its own time.

 

3. Are we just praying for rain?

 

It is important to pray for the right things at the right times. During Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur we pray for spiritual growth. Even during Succot, offerings were brought altruistically on behalf of the nations of the world. It is only on Shemini Atzeret that we focus on our practical concerns. Indeed the Hebrew word 'Geshem' meaning 'rain', is related to the word 'Gushmioot' which translates as 'the physical'. The morning of Shemini Atzeret is such a propitious time for prayer that even those entreaties which do not merit a response may receive consideration. As the Zohar teaches about Shemini Atzeret, 'When one has a private audience with the King, he may ask for his heart's desires and they will be granted.'

 

4. What is so important about rain?

 

On Shemini Atzeret, we begin to add the phrase

 

'He makes the wind blow and the rain descend'

 

to the second paragraph of the Amidah. This is the paragraph which speaks of Hashem's powers as shown on Earth. Rain is deemed to be the greatest of such powers as it brings forth produce and life is brought to the world; parched plants are revived; dead seeds buried in the ground are resurrected and the population is sustained. We cannot live without water. For this reason it was ruled that Hashem's gift of rain should be mentioned first.

So you can see that Judaism really does appreciate how critical the wellbeing of the environment is to our existence.

 

5. Water

 

I would like to conclude by looking at the characteristics of rain and considering what we can learn from them. This was brought to my attention by a fascinating book called Intergalactic Judaism by Rabbi David Lister. Rabbi Lister describes in detail the many forms of rain. From water droplets to water vapour, from hailstones to mist, from snow to solid ice. Water can even take on different colours. Sunlight hitting a water droplet can split up into its constituent colours of red, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet - the colours of the spectrum- and form a rainbow. That is not all water forms steam, foaming waterfalls, crashing waves, stagnant ponds, whirlpools and glaciers, mighty rivers that flow down mountainsides and carve valleys out of solid rock, sweeping away everything in its path. Water can travel thousands of miles from trickling streams along winding rivers to raging seas.

 

These incredible abilities are highlighted in Psalm 147:

 

'sends His utterance to Earth; His word runs very swiftly. He gives snow like wool, and scatters frost like ashes. He throws His ice like crumbs - who can stand before His cold? He sends out His word and it melts them; He makes His wind blow, and they flow along as water. He tells His word to Jacob, and His statutes and judgments to Israel.'

 

Rabbi Lister questions why the text changes from a meditation on Hashem's word to a discussion of the various forms of water. The Psalmist is inviting us to look at the wonders of water as a guide to how much we can adapt ourselves in order to do Hashem's will. Just as water travels thousands of miles and takes many forms we, too, should be prepared to change ourselves according to Hashem's commands. As people who aspire to be servants of Hashem and the bearers of His word in this world, we can discard our prejudices about what we can and cannot do, and be ready to find ourselves developing in unimaginable ways.