Q&A: The Time for Requesting Rain
The Time for Requesting Rain
Question
I would be glad to hear your opinion on a question that came up recently in one of my Jewish law classes. There is a dispute among the medieval authorities, both historical and halakhic, over whether there were still pilgrimage visitors after the destruction of the Temple, and whether that affects the time for requesting rain. Quite a few medieval authorities hold that nowadays (in their time as well), the request for rain should begin from the last festival day of Sukkot.
In light of that, nowadays, when modes of transportation have changed, and when, God willing, the last of the pilgrims will one day reach his home much earlier than fifteen days after the festival—would the date change?
[From the standpoint of the “lomdish” style of analysis, it could be that this depends on whether the matter of the pilgrims is a cause or merely a sign.]
Thanks in advance.
Answer
Why assume that the pilgrims are only a sign? A sign of what? That is odd.
To be sure, the same question comes up regarding the second festival day, and especially on Rosh Hashanah. The Talmud links this to “speedily may the Temple be rebuilt,” but clearly even when it is rebuilt there will be no need for this. And similarly regarding the three months of distinction [before remarriage] (since today there are tissue tests, and there is no seven-month pregnancy), and many other cases. All of these really ought to be changed if there were a Sanhedrin, but a matter established by formal count requires another formal count to permit it. And in the case of rabbinic law, we require the later court to be greater in wisdom and number. Therefore, according to the medieval authorities who maintain that even after the destruction one still says it until the 7th of Cheshvan, there seems to be no room to change it even nowadays. According to the other medieval authorities, in any case there is no change here. (Although it still requires investigation how they made the change, there are quite a few examples of this—perhaps because otherwise it looks ridiculous; this could be expanded on with examples. See Neria Gutel’s book The Changing of Nature, in the last chapter.) And in general, regarding the whole issue of rain, Rabbi Moshe Lichtenstein already wrote that nowadays it is not clear why we pray for it at all (especially in drought, when people fast and ask for rain). It is possible to desalinate seawater or import water.
Still, one could discuss whether prayer is different, because requests are not mere words; one really has to ask sincerely, from the heart, and requests are relevant only if we actually mean them. And how can one ask for dew when in truth what we want is rain?! On this one may cite the words of the Talmud: “Because they know their Master hates falsehood, they did not lie to Him”—and therefore they removed “the mighty” and “the awesome” from the Amidah, even though Moses had said them.