Rains of Blessing
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Photo Credit: Jo .
It’s not an easy translation, the Mishna’s notion of “gishmei bracha.” Midrash Rabah (Vayikra 35:10) suggests that the blessing of “I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit” (Lev. 26:4) is fully realized when those rains come down at night.
During the days of King Herod, who endeavored to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, it would only rain at night, and come morning the clouds would disperse, the sun would come out and the workmen would go out to do their labor knowing their actions are favored by their Father in Heaven.
A slightly different view suggests the verse is fully realized when it rains on Shabbat nights (meaning Friday nights). The midrash relates that in the days of Shimon Ben Shatach and his sister, Queen Shlomtzion, the rain would come down only on Shabbat nights, until the wheat grains became the size of kidneys and the rye the size of olive pits and the lentils the size of gold dinars. The sages then harvested and preserved those huge yields for the coming generations, so they would realize how much good they can receive if only they didn’t sin.
It rained early this morning throughout Israel. We received our share in Netanya. Strong, hard, rain, which went on for about an hour and then stopped just before 7 AM, so we could go to shul.
Shabbat Shalom.
tell a friendAbout the Author: JewishPress.com Senior Internet Editor Yori Yanover has been a working journalist since age 17, before he enlisted and worked for Ba'Machane Nachal. Since then he has worked for Israel Shelanu, the US supplement of Yedioth, JCN18.com, USAJewish.com, Lubavitch News Service, Arutz 7 (as DJ on the high seas), and the Grand Street News. He has published two fun books: The Cabalist's Daughter: A Novel of Practical Messianic Redemption, and How Would God REALLY Vote.
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It poured here for a while last night!