29 Oct RAIN SONG

There is a chill in the air. A nippy breeze.
We’re pulling out our jackets, and the days
are getting shorter. In a few days, it will be
getting darker even earlier, as we turn the
clocks back. The fall/winter season is upon
us.
This past week, on Shemini Atzeres, we
said Tefillas Geshem, the prayer for rain.
We also began including “Mashiv HaRuach,
U’morid HaGeshem, He makes the wind
blow and the rain fall” in the daily Amidah.
One not need be a farmer, gardener or
horticulturist to say Geshem. We all need
rain. The world needs rain. Rain water for
crops and vegetation, for flora and fauna.
For drinking and cleansing. And so, we
stand before HaShem on Shemini Atzeres,
and with deep sincerity, recall the merits of
our holy leaders – Avrohom, Yitzchak,
Yaakov, Moshe, Aaron and the Twelve
Tribes.
The closing lines of Geshem are so very
meaningful, powerful, and even chilling, all
at the same time.

“Livracha v’lo l’klala, For blessing and not
for curse. L’chaim v’lo l’mavess, For life
and not for death. L’sova v’lo l’razon, For
plenty and not for scarcity.”
We daven for gishmei bracha, rain of
blessing, and not for devastating drought.
For plenty and not for scarcity.
It is painful when we witness drought in
some places, while others experience
torrential rainstorms, with hurricane force
winds, causing flooding, destruction and
even death. We daven for waters that bring
life and not, chas v’sholom, death.
Tefillas Geshem is everybody’s’ prayer. The
letters in the word geshem – gimmel, shin,
mem – are also found in the word gashmi,
meaning all things material and physical.
As we turn to HaShem with the prayer for
geshem, it encompasses our needs for
sustenance and prosperity, and wellbeing.
We ask HaShem to “shower” us with His
abundant gifts and blessings.
Rainfall, or the lack of, is something we
have no control over. We can only rely on
HaShem. It is with hearts filled with emunah
and bitachon that we say Tefillas Geshem. It

is a reminder to us, as to who is
really in control.
Adam HaRishon was the first
to daven for rain. We tend to
visualize the Gan Eden he
woke up to, as the perfect
paradise. A lush garden filled
with trees bearing succulent
fruits, and colorful, ripe
vegetables all ready to be
picked.
But it was not so. As the
Chumash tells us, “And all the
trees of the field were not yet
on earth, and all the herbs of the field had
not yet sprouted, for HaShem had not yet
sent rain upon the earth, and there was no
man to work the earth.” (Bereishes 2:5)
Rashi explains that while the greenery and
vegetation were created on the third day,
they did not grow and sprout until Adam,
who was created on the sixth day, recognized
the need to turn to HaShem with tefilla.
The seeds were in the ground. The crops
were ready to sprout. The fruits and
vegetables waiting to come alive. Just one
main ingredient was missing – rain.
Adam saw the dry, desolate land. He
understood his need and the world’s need
for rain. It was a matter of survival. He put
his heart and soul, his very being, into
reaching out and connecting with HaShem.
Like a child that turns to a parent and cries
out, I need help… please. Adam turned to
HaShem, Tatty…. My Father in heaven…
I need You. The world needs You. We
need rain… please.
HaShem could have a created a world that
takes care of itself. A world without the
need for man’s involvement or the need
for rain. But, precisely because HaShem
wanted man to realize the importance of
tefilla, He created a world that required
rain to exist. A world where man has to
look upward, and utter words of prayer. To
realize that no matter what, we need
HaShem’s blessings.
Adam realized “first things first”, and
what comes first is turning to HaShem
with tefilla.
My mother a”h, taught me so much
through her ways. Prior to teaching any
class or speaking before any audience, she
would make a silent prayer. The same
words we recite before the Amidah,
“HaShem sefasai tiftach, u’fi yagid
tehilasecha, HaShem, open my lips, that
my mouth may declare Your praise”. My
mother would pray that she would find the
right words for that moment. For that

audience. For that class or speech.
Adam said his personal Tefillas Geshem,
and was answered with rainfall that brought
forth a beautiful Gan Eden. Today, we
continue saying Tefillas Geshem, davening
for rain and sustenance.
Late this past summer, there was an amazing
occurrence in Texas. A travel camp for
teenage yeshiva boys was on a tour of the
south. One of their stops was Eagle Pass,
near the Rio Grande. Unbeknownst to them,
they were walking through a privately
owned pecan farm. The owner, Magali
Urbina, had seen more than her share of
migrants crossing her property. She was
alerted, and confronted the group.
It was an honest error, and leader Shloime
Zionce apologized profusely. Magali
warmed up to the group and shared with
them the difficulties she was experiencing
due to months of drought that was affecting
her pecan crop.
Realizing from their dress and appearance
that this was a religious group, Magali
asked the boys if they could pray for her
farm, for it was classified as being in a state
of “exceptional drought”. The group recited
and sang songs from Tehillim.
That night, Zionce received a text from
Magali. “It rained for about an hour. That
hasn’t happened in four to five months. I
feel so loved by G-d, I want to cry. Thank
you and thank G-d. I am grateful for
meeting you all today.”
A Facebook post by the Eagle Pass Business
Journal reported that the city was drenched
by two to two and a half inches of rain when
a thunderstorm blew in from northern
Mexico at approximately 8:45 PM that
night. According to drought.gov, almost
two more inches of rain fell over the next
few days.
An added point of interest. The farm’s name
is “Heavenly Farms”. How appropriate is
that for a farm where prayers were
answered.