גשם, גשם, מתי הגשם?

Praying for rain

The other day on שמיני חג עצרת we did תרקון הגשם which, for Sefardim and Mizrachim at least means a change in the introduction of the amedah from מוריד התל to משיב הרוח ומוריד הגשם.

As it happened, that morning we were blessed with a deluge - it came before the "official" appeal for rain, but in Florida, summer is the rainy season.

But there are, again, "for Sefardim and Mizrachim at least," there is another rain change in the amedah.

The problem, if it is a problem, is that the second change doesn't happen in concert with the first change.

The second change, when we go from ברכנו ד' ...בכל-מעשי ידינו to ברך עלינו ד' ... את השנה הזות happens on the 7th of MarHasvan (מרחשון), two weeks after שמיני חג עצרת.

Why?

The rabbis were being considerate. Really.

We have three "pilgrimage" holidays each year, holidays when we would go up to Jerusalem with our offerings.

Since "back in the day" travel was a bit slower - although with all the airline snafus maybe not much slower - time was allowed following a Sukot for people to make it home before we seriously prayed - asked for - rain.

On the flip side. we start to ask for תל (dew) from the end of the first Passover seder - people still had time to bring their Pesach sacrifices without fearing a rain storm on the way. Unlike תרקון הגשם, תרקון התל changes in both places in the amedah on the same day.

Sources:

וזרח השמש של נרה''ג שלום משאש

מחזור לשלש רגלים

While we start to dry out in Florida, the rains have begun in Israel