Rain Power
Shemini Atzeret 5766
Shmuel Herzfeld
This year we have all learned about the power of rain. It will make it easier for us to recite today the words mashiv har-ruach u-morid ha-geshem, recognizing God for making the wind blow and bringing down rainfall. We now see clearly the potential for devastating, physical power in a rainstorm.
Rain also contains tremendous spiritual power which we do not always see.
The prayer for rain (tefillat geshem) is recited on the holiday of Shemini Atzeret. Why is that the case? Is there a direct connection between rain and Shemini Atzeret?
One understanding of the word Atzeret is that it means “to stop,” la-atzor. The holidays are coming to a close. Indeed, Shemini Atzeret is the holiday at the end of a month of holidays.
This same word atzar appears in the second paragraph of Shema. Hashem tell us that if we anger Him then, “atzar et ha-shamyaim, ve lo yiheyeh matar, He will stop the heavens and there will be no rain.” It’s the same word: atzar—to stop.
The word atzar in Shema is a negative word. God is telling us that even though it is good for us right now, there will come a day where it will stop. He will dry up our fields.
Maybe this is what Shemini Atzeret means also. Shemini Atzeret comes at the end of a long celebration of holidays. Even though it seems so good, even though we are celebrating the holidays and life feels great, the cycles of holidays remind us that even our holidays must also stop; it will all stop one day—maybe today, maybe tomorrow, maybe ten years from now. Life won’t always be a holiday; it won’t always be so good.
We don’t always realize that. When we are riding high; we think we will always ride high.
Do you think that the people who built this shul ever imagined that there would be a day when the building would be empty. There is a picture I love to look at in the memorabilia room. It is of the inauguration of this building. Sixteenth Street was closed; a band was playing on the steps of the shul. Could anyone ever imagine anything other than that? Look at the majesty of all the monuments in DC. America is right now a superpower. Can we even imagine a time in the future where America will be like all the other fallen superpowers—Egypt, Greece, Rome. Could we even imagine a time where those monuments are not majestic symbols of America’s greatness but bitter reminders of what we no longer have?
But that is what we must always realize. This is the message of today’s Haftorah. The haftorah tells of the dedication of Solomon’s Temple—the Beit Ha-Mikdash. It was perhaps the greatest moment in Jewish history. Everyone celebrated. Everyone was enjoying the splendor and majesty of the Temple. This was probably the only time in Jewish history where the Jews had complete peace. And yet, the Book of Kings tells us, “ba-yom ha-shemini shilach et ha-am,” on the eighth day Solomon sent the people away.
They were at the height of their joy—why would he send them away? Solomon was teaching the Jewish people an important lesson. Life won’t always be so good. There will come a day when we will be without success. Learn to contextualize the success because it won’t last forever.
A lesson of rain is that our blessings will not last forever. Rain never lasts forever, and neither will our blessings.
This is a pretty depressing thought. It’s a little bit of a downer to end our holidays with this thought. Thankfully, the power of rain is that it also contains another lesson which helps us to confront this unpleasant reality.
There is another rabbinic teaching about the spiritual power of rain.
The rabbis teach, “gedolah yeridat ge-shamim me-tichiyat ha-metim, rainfall is greater than even the resurrection of the dead.” Why do they rabbis connect rainfall to resurrection? Did you ever notice that in the Amidah the prayer for rain is placed in the blessing of the resurrection?
Rain represents life, success, livelihood, creation—all the good things in the world. Water is called life (mayyim chayyim).
When the rabbis say that rain is greater than even the resurrection of the dead what they are really praising is the greatness of this world. As great a miracle as the resurrection of the dead might be, it is not as great a feat as the beauty of everyday life. As great as the world to come might be, the beauty of our lives today is perhaps even more powerful.
The miracle of sustenance in this world is something sweet which we must savor and nourish.
Since today is yizkor it is appropriate to think of the people who we love and are no longer here. Their presence on this world is comparable to a rainfall in its proper season. Nothing is sweeter.
We enjoyed their laughing, their jokes, and their warmth. Is there anything we wouldn’t give to have an hour or a day to spend with them again? The promise of the resurrection of the dead offers some comfort, but nothing compares to the greatness of their presence on earth.
Gedolah yeridat ge-shamim me-tichiyat ha-metim, the power and beauty of life is greater than even the resurrection of the dead!
I once had to tell a woman in her nineties that her husband of more than 60 years had passed away. When I told her this, she said, “Why me?” Most people would say look how lucky she was to have so many happy years with her husband. But in her deep grief she couldn’t see that. The truth is that she lived such a great life with her husband that nothing could take away the pain of her loss. Her life with her husband was so great that it was even greater than any promise of resurrection.
Gedola yeridat geshamim. Great is the power of life!
So if that’s the case, what are we to do? If we are told that our lives are so beautiful, and yet the beauty will end, how can we go on?
Rain provides us with the answer to this dilemma.
Our rabbis teach us about rain: chayyavim lehodot al kol tipah ve-tipah, we are obligated to give gratitude to God for every single drop of rain. Every drop!
It is easy to give thanks for a rainstorm or for a good crop. It is much harder to show gratitude for every single drop.
Let’s translate this into our own lives. To whom do we most often express gratitude? If our car would break down on the road somewhere and a stranger would give us a ride somewhere, our gratitude would pour out from us. But if a loved on would give us a ride somewhere, the gratitude will surely be less. Such is the way of the world.
But it shouldn’t be that way. Chayyavim le-hodot al kol tipah ve-tipah. For every single act we must show gratitude.
If we truly live this teaching it will guide us in answering our dilemma.
Rain has taught us that our blessings don’t last forever. And it has taught us that the greatness of our blessings is even greater than the pain of their loss. Its final teaching is that we must have eternal gratitude for our blessings.
We must have gratitude to Hashem for providing us with blessings, despite the fact that the pain involved with the loss is so great.
In the end, this is the message of Yizkor. We remember our loved ones and in doing so we give great thanks to Hashem. We are thanking Hashem for every single second that we spent with them. W are declaring to Hashem: Even though we mourn bitterly; even though we feel pain at their absence—Thank you for the gift of life. Thank you for sharing their lives with ours.
Al kol tipah ve-tipah chayyavim le-hodot.