[Avodah] Monday Evening begin Prayer for Rain

[Zev Sero]

On 4/12/2011 3:53 PM, Ari Meir Brodsky wrote:
> 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.)

The article linked contains a serious error.  It claims that the psak
that Rabbi Chaim Shabbetai of Salonica sent to the Recife community in
1637 "set the precedent by which most of the Jews of South America and
Australia abide to this very day".  This is certainly not the case in
Australia, and I would be astounded if it is the case in South America
either.  To the best of my knowledge all communities in the Southern
Hemisphere follow the same minhag Bavel that the rest of chu"l does,
for the same reason, which boils down to: "We know it makes no sense
but this is what we do, and if the Rosh couldn't change it then you
[whoever asks the question] are certainly not going to."


-- 
Zev Sero        If they use these guns against us once, at that moment
zev at sero.name   the Oslo Accord will be annulled and the IDF will
                 return to all the places that have been given to them.
		                            - Yitzchak Rabin