[Avodah] Tonight (Monday evening) begin Prayer for Rain

[Ari Meir Brodsky]

Dear Friends,

It's that time of year again, when I know many of you are expecting my
annual friendly reminder....

Jews outside of Israel should include the request for rain in daily
prayers, beginning with Maariv tonight (Monday evening), December 4, 2017,
corresponding to the evening of 17 Kislev, 5778.  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.  [Sephardim replace the entire blessing of ברכנו with the
alternate text beginning ברך עלינו - thanks to Prof. Lasker for the
reminder.]  I encourage everyone to remind friends and family members of
this event, especially those who may not be in shul at that time.

Diaspora Jews begin requesting rain 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.)

Wishing everyone a happy Chanukka,
-Ari Meir Brodsky


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