A New Season of Prayer
As we mark the new moon of Nisan, I have been thinking about one small but meaningful change that will happen in our liturgy in a few weeks. Near the beginning of the Amida, the personal prayer recited at every occasion for prayer, we recognize the Divine power to grant to the Earth the moisture necessary for life either through rain or dew depending on the time of year. We begin to pray morid hatal, who brings the dew on the first day of Passover in a few weeks. We began to say mashiv haruach umorid hageshem, who causes the wind to blow and the rain to fall, on Shemini Atzeret. In Israel that day is also Simchat Torah and it fell last year in conjunction with the brutal slayings, torture and abductions of October 7th.
A tradition related in the Talmud explicates the difference between these two blessings: The People Israel prayed that G*d would be like the rain to them (Hosea 6:3) In response, the Holy One said “My daughter, you pray for me to be like rain that sometimes is desired, but is sometimes undesired,. However, I will be to you like a matter that is always desired, dew, as it is stated: “I will be as the dew to Israel” (Hosea 14:6), since dew appears in all seasons and is invariably a blessing.
Ever since the season for rain began on October 7th our prayers have been a storm. An urgent cry for whatever it takes to blow way the enemy and send down the precious blessing of bringing home the hostages. Mashiv haruach umorid hagashem. This prayer has accompanied a season of war, bombs raining down and blood being spilled in order to free the hostages and destroy the enemy. This season will last as long as the hostages remain in captivity. Please G*d this season will end, if not today then before we begin to pray for dew so we can pray for peace that drops like the dew and is always a blessing.