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May my discourse come down as the rain - It can be explained by likening [speech] to rain and dew. Just as there are plants that can easily survive on dew alone, there are plants that require rain. Some grasses thrive on heavy rainfall while other vegetation thrives on occasional showers. It is the same with human beings: Some need gentle speaking; others require hard talk. Rabbi S. Z. Ulman from Sparks Beneath the Surface [ed.] Kushner and Olitzky.
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Although we have already begun the Jewish new year 5766, we're still finishing up the annual cycle of Torah reading from 5765. Ha'azinu is the last regular Torah portion read on a Shabbat; the final two chapters (V'zot Habracha) will be read on Simchat Torah, when we rewind the Torah to the beginning and start over. (Next Shabbat there is no regular weekly portion and a special Sukkot passage is read from the Torah instead).
Next week we begin the holiday of Sukkot, and one of the themes of Sukkot is water, as Sukkot and Simchat Torah mark the beginning of the rainy season in Israel. Remember, in Israel it has not rained for six months, and rain is critical for Israel's crops. In the days of the Temple, there was a special joyous ceremony of pouring out water that expressed the wish that God pour down rain. On the last day of Sukkot, we recite Tefilat Hageshem, the prayer for rain, and at the conclusion of the festival, we begin to insert the words: 'who makes the wind blow and the rain fall' (replacing the words: who makes the dew fall) into our regular Amidah prayer. The mention of water and rain that open our parashah connect us to the theme of Sukkot.
When it is raining, most of us look outside and think, "Oh no, it's raining," and view the rain as "good" or "bad" depending on whether we plan to be outdoors or not. Typically, we see rain as an inconvenience and an impediment to enjoying the day. In literature, "pathetic fallacy" is when the weather mirrors the emotional state of the characters: in Western culture, we would say rain matches a sad scene. My friend and teacher and master guide at Neot Kedumim, Beth Uval, suggests that the familiar words of Longfellow's poem capture this idea that rain is synonymous with gloom.
The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
...
My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
...
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.
There are several popular songs that contain this phrase: "into every life some rain must fall", and the sense is that rain is a necessary evil. Some good might come of it, but it is something that needs to be endured. Hardly a positive image. Contrast this with the lyrics of one of Israel's recent hit singles 'Boi' (from HaProyect shel Idan Reichel): "Don't ask me about happiness-- maybe that'll come, too; and when it comes, it will descend on us like rain."
Our ancestors viewed rain very differently. They would wake up, look outside and say, "Thank you, God, for your life-giving blessing of rain." They realized that rain was the key to their survival and to the survival of the world. They knew that too little rain or too much rain could destroy the crops that provided their food. God was seen as the source of rain, and rain was therefore also linked to obedience to God and the performance of the mitzvot (Deut. 11:14).
Rain, in Jewish tradition, is far more than just a natural resource. It is considered nothing less than a magnificent blessing. "Rabbi Tanchum ben Chiyya taught: The sending of rain is an event greater than the giving of the Torah. The Torah was a joy for Israel only, but rain gives joy to the whole world, including birds and animals, as it is said: You take care of the earth and irrigate it (Psalm 65:10) (Midrash Psalms 117)." The Bostoner Rebbe once taught: "... it is especially effective to pray when it is raining. With a twinkle in his eye, he would say, "When the Creator is giving out b'rachot (blessings), take advantage of it."
Lessons for Today
Rain is usually a blessing, but as the recent hurricane demonstrated, extreme weather and torrential floods can cause destruction as well. And hopefully the metaphor that rain is a blessing can still work even when today our pollution causes acid rain that is killing our forests and lakes.
On Sukkot we take four species (lulav and etrog) and hold them together and make a kind of 'Jewish rain stick' (listen when you shake it). One of the most familiar interpretations likens the four species to four different kinds of Jews. Similarly, our parasha begins with four different terms that compare the words of Torah (or Moses' discourse) to water: rain, dew, showers and droplets. Just like rain and dew, sun showers, and torrential thunderstorms, Torah comes in different forms for different people as well. Rabbi Ulman teaches that just like different plants have different water requirements, people need different words.
And so, even though our wish is for a year filled with different words of Torah and [the blessings of] rain, may it not rain too much in our Sukkah!
Shabbat Shalom & Hag Same'ach
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