[Avodah] Monday Evening begin Prayer for Rain

[Ari Meir Brodsky]

Dear Friends,

	This is a friendly reminder to Jews outside of Israel that our daily
prayers should include the request for rain, beginning with Maariv this
Monday evening, December 5, 2011, corresponding to the evening of 10 Kislev,
5772.  The phrase ותן טל ומטר לברכה "Veten tal umatar livracha" - "Give us
dew and rain for a blessing" is inserted into the 9th blessing of the
weekday shemone esrei, from now until Pesach.  I encourage everyone to
remind friends and family members of this event, especially those who may
not be in shul at that time.

	We begin requesting rain in the Diaspora on the 60th day of the fall
season, as approximated by Shmuel in the Talmud (Taanit 10a, Eiruvin 56a).
For more information about this calculation, follow the link below, to a
fascinating article giving a (very brief) introduction to the Jewish
calendar, followed by a discussion on why we begin praying for rain when we
do: 
http://www.lookstein.org/articles/veten_tal.htm (Thanks to Russell Levy for
providing the link.)

	Also, here is a number-theoretic explanation of why Yaakov sent Esav
220 goats in this week's Torah portion: 
http://cheshbon.weeklyshtikle.com/2010/11/goats-and-amicable-numbers.html


Wishing everyone a happy Chanukka,
-Ari Brodsky.

-----------------------
Ari M. Brodsky
ari.brodsky at utoronto.ca