Why Judaism Takes Rain Very Seriously

The land given to the Israelites provided ample space for crops and livestock, but there was a catch: the water doesn’t come for free.

Rain water running through a stream near the Dead Sea in southern Israel on April 26, 2018. Maor Kinsbursky/Flash90.

Rain water running through a stream near the Dead Sea in southern Israel on April 26, 2018. Maor Kinsbursky/Flash90.
Atar Hadari
Observation
Atar Hadari
Sept. 28 2018
About the author

Atar Hadari’s Songs from Bialik: Selected Poems of H. N. Bialik (Syracuse University Press) was a finalist for the American Literary Translators’ Association Award. His Lives of the Dead: Poems of Hanoch Levin earned a PEN Translates award and was released in 2019 by Arc Publications. He was ordained by Rabbi Daniel Landes and is completing a PhD on William Tyndale’s translation of Deuteronomy.

Judaism takes rain very seriously. One could go so far as to say that rain is the determining factor in Jews’ relationship both with the Land of Israel and with the Lord Himself.

Create a free account to continue reading

Welcome to Mosaic

Create a free account to continue reading and you'll get two months of unlimited access to the best in Jewish thought, culture, and politics

Register

Create a free account to continue reading

Welcome to Mosaic

Create a free account to continue reading and you'll get two months of unlimited access to the best in Jewish thought, culture, and politics

Register

More about: History & Ideas, Religion & Holidays

 
 
Popular
in Mosaic