Geshem & TalThe special attention given to rain and dew in ourliturgy can easily be understood when we recognizethat in the Land of Israel, where most of ourprayers originated, the presence or absence ofwater in these forms is critical to the continuationof life. Israel is a land largely devoid of waterresources. It does not abound in streams and lakes,but is greatly dependent upon the rain and — to alesser extent, the dew — for water to make theland fertile. See Deuteronomy 11:10–11. Further-more, rain in Israel is seasonal. It falls in the wintermonths, seldom starting before the end of Sukkotor continuing beyond Pesah..Thus there are specialinsertions in the Amidah concerning rain and dewthat change with the seasons. One, which is foundonly in the weekday Amidah, is a prayer for rain andfor dew. The other, found in the second Amidahblessing and recited in every Amidah, recognizesthe existence of these natural phenomena as evi-dence of God’s powers as manifest in nature.

In order to mark the beginning of the recitationof each of these references in the second blessingand to impress upon the congregation the need tobegin to recite them, special liturgical poems, piy-yutim, were written and inserted into the Amidah.(In the Land of Israel they are recited separately,prior to the repetition of the Amidah.)

Although these ancient poems have beenretained in their entirety, our approach to themtoday may differ from that of our ancestors. Formany of us it is difficult to believe that the presenceor absence of rain or dew is a sign of God’s favor ordispleasure. Rather we see these phenomena as partof the order of nature, which is not about to changebecause of our words or in response to our moralconduct.

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We are more inclined to accept what is said in the Talmud: “If a man stole a measure of wheat andthen sowed it in the ground, it is only right that it should not grow — but the world pursues its naturalcourse” (Avodah Zarah 54b).We would extend this to other natural phenomena as well, such as rainand dew.They come because of the natural order that exists in the world and governs nature, an orderthat is part of the divine creation.

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Abraham Joshua Heschel, whose devotion toprayer could not be questioned, nevertheless feltthis ambiguity regarding prayer and natural phe-nomena. He wrote:

In the dimension of the holy the spiritual is abridge flung across a frightful abyss, while inthe realm of nature the spiritual hovers likethe wafted clouds, too tenuous to bear manacross the abyss. When a vessel sails into atyphoon and the maw of the boiling mael-strom opens to engulf the tottering prey, it isnot the pious man, engrossed in supplication,but the helmsman who intervenes in theproper sphere with proper means, fightingwith physical powers. What sense is there inimploring the mercy of God? Words do notstem the flood, nor does meditation banishthe storm. Prayer never entwines directlywith the chain of physical cause and effect;the spiritual does not interfere with the nat-ural order of things. The fact that man withundaunted sincerity pours into prayer thebest of his soul springs from the convictionthat there is a realm in which the acts of faithare puissant and potent, that there is an orderin which things of spirit can be of momen-tous consequence. (Man Is Not Alone, pages239–240)

These prayers, then, are reflections of our desireto express our hopes, our needs, our desires, andof our deep faith that in some way, all that we havedepends upon God.We pray for God to help sus-tain us and the world God has created for us andfor all creatures.

Through the phenomena of nature, we sensethe reality of the Divine. As partners with God,we reaffirm our responsibility to protect theworld God has given us and to learn to share itwith all.

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— Remember Abraham. Throughout thispoem the poet does not actually give the names ofthe people referred to. This would be too obvious.Rather he describes them, assuming that it will beclear to the reader. Abraham, for example, isreferred to as av, “Father.” When his name wasenlarged from Avram to Avraham, God said to him:“for I make you the father of a multitude ofnations” (Genesis 17:5). The reference to fire andwater is to midrashic legends that Abraham wasthrown into a fiery furnace when he refused toworship Nimrod, and that he went through amighty stream created by Satan to try to preventhim from fulfilling God’s command concerning thebinding of Isaac. In each stanza, references aremade to the connection between the individualsalluded to and water. Each line concludes with theword “water,” mayim. Note the similaritiesbetween this and the poem on page 210 recited onHoshana Rabbah, which is also connected to theidea of rain and water.

— while angels drank cool water.In Hebrew this is a quotation from Genesis 18:4:“Let a little water be brought.” Three angels, dis-guised as wanderers, appeared to Abraham. Heoffered them water and bread, but in the end gavethem a full meal. This is taken as an example ofAbraham’s fulfillment of the mitzvah of hakhnasator’h. im, caring for guests. Later on in the paragraph,there is a reference to spilling Isaac’s blood likewater. According to the midrash, Abraham actuallywent so far as to shed Isaac’s blood. Some legendseven have it that Isaac was slaughtered and cameback to life only later.

— with a creature of fire andwater. The reference is to the story of the wrestlingmatch between Jacob and a “man,” when Jacob wasreturning from his exile and was about to meet hisbrother Esau (Genesis 32:25). According to themidrash, the man was an angel, “Esau’s guardianangel,” who was made of water and fire (GenesisRabbah 77:2–3 and Pesikta D’Rav Kahana 6).

SUPPLEMENT FOR FESTIVALS — GESHEM 218

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— He struck the rock. At Massah andMeribah, when there was no water, Moses smote therock at God’s command and water issued forth(Exodus 17:6–7). As this paragraph makes clear,water played a central role in Moses’ life. He wasfound by Pharaoh’s daughter floating in a basket inthe waters of the Nile (Exodus 2:5). His very nameis understood to mean “I drew him from the water”(Exodus 2:10). He rescued Jethro’s daughters at thewell and drew water for them (Exodus 2:16–17).The poet could have added Moses’ act of splittingthe Sea of Reeds (Exodus 14:21), but preferred toascribe that to the power of God (below: “Youbrought them through water”) and not to Moses.This is similar to the way in which the Pesah. Hag-gadah avoids mentioning Moses in order to glorifythe role of God in the Exodus. And, of course,Moses’ death was decreed because of his act of lackof faith in God, when he said: “Listen, you rebels,shall we get water for you out of the rock?” (Num-bers 20:10). This would not be mentioned here,since only positive references are included.

— immersed himself inwater. Immersion in water is the method of attain-ing ritual purity. Aaron, the High Priest, had toimmerse himself often as part of the rituals. Seeespecially Leviticus 16, the description of his manyimmersions on Yom Kippur.

— blood was spilled likewater. The final paragraph concerns the Jewish peo-ple. Twice they went through water, once at the Seaof Reeds (Exodus 14) and once at the Jordan River(Joshua 3). Here, however, the reference is to mar-tyrdom. During the period of the Hadrianic perse-cution (second century C.E.), when the practice ofJudaism was forbidden, many Jews chose to bemartyred rather than give up their religion. In thecenturies following the writing of this poem, thou-sands more were added to this list during the Cru-sades in Europe and the Inquisition in Spain. Inmore recent times, millions more perished becausethey were Jews in the most terrible persecution ofall, the Shoah.

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TalThe piyyut concerning dew is very different fromthe one about rain.This is not only because it is areverse alphabetical acrostic — it begins with thelast letter of the alphabet and proceeds to the first— but also because it is written on two levels. Onone level it asks for the blessing of dew; on a sec-ond level it is a prayer concerning the end of exileand the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem. It isnot accidental that this plea for redemption isfound in a prayer recited on Pesah.. Not only isPesah. the feast of our freedom and redemption,but, according to tradition, it is also the time ofthe future redemption.

Each paragraph begins with the Hebrew wordfor “dew” and ends with “with dew.”

— And give Your chosen citysafe foundation. The first lines of this paragraphare concerned with the need for dew in order foragriculture to prosper in the Land of Israel. Thislast line, however, speaks not of dew at all but ofthe restoration of the city of Jerusalem. This is thegeneral pattern of each stanza: beginning withagricultural needs and concluding with a plea forthe rebuilding of Jerusalem and the end of exile.

— the city once so desolate. Inthe Hebrew text the city is compared to a sukkah, adesolate, deserted hut. This is based upon the versein Isaiah 1:8: “Fair Zion is left like a booth in avineyard, like a hut in a cucumber field.”

— the darkness. Literally, “togive light from amidst the darkness.” Anothermessianic reference, asking God to turn the dark-ness of exile into the light of redemption. Forexample: “Arise, shine, for your light has dawned.The Presence of Adonai has shone upon you! Be-hold! Darkness shall cover the earth, and thickclouds the peoples; but upon you Adonai willshine” (Isaiah 60:1–2).

SUPPLEMENT FOR FESTIVALS — TAL 219

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— youthful excesses. Literally, “renewour days.” A quotation from Lamentations 5:21:“Take us back, Adonai, to Yourself, and let us comeback; renew our days as of old!” The Book ofLamentations is a series of dirges concerning thedestruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E. It concludeswith a heartfelt plea to God to restore Israel to itsprevious status.

— Beloved God. The word “beloved” (dod) istaken from the Song of Songs. The rabbinic tradi-tion gave this collection of love poetry a symbolicinterpretation as a love song between Israel andGod, the Beloved.

— who causes the wind to blow. Thisphrase is used in connection with rain, but is notpart of the proclamation of the dew. It is thereforenot clear why the poet uses it here.

— the dew to fall. These words areadded to the Amidah from Pesah. until the end ofSukkot, the dry season in the Land of Israel. Thiscustom is followed throughout the Land of Israel,in all Sephardic congregations and, increasingly, inAshkenazic congregations, strengthening Diasporaties with Israel.

219 SUPPLEMENT FOR FESTIVALS — TAL

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