Nature Unleashed. Torrents of drought-obliterating rain. Widespread flooding, impassable roads. As my kids coined it; a rain blizzard.
It reminded me of a story from the Talmud:
Israel had seen no rain that year and it was nearly spring. The crops were suffering. They approached a sage known as Choni the Circle-Maker, and asked him to pray for rain.
With faith that his prayers would be answered, he instructed them to bring their Passover ovens indoors so that they don't get ruined by the (hopefully) coming rains.
He prayed, but nothing happened. At this point, he drew a circle in the sand around him and promised not to budge from the circle until it had rained.
It begins to drizzle. Unsatisfied, he turns heavenward and asks that the rain fill the trenches and reservoirs. Now it starts coming down as a torrential downpour. Once again, he lifts his eyes and insists "That’s not what I asked for. I asked for rains of goodwill, blessing, and generosity".
Finally, a pleasant rain begins to fall.
So, I was thinking, during the drought we kvetched (Yiddish for complained) about higher water prices, forest fires, and water shortages. We finally get 12" of rain, and we kvetch about flooding, traffic, and mudslides. Will we ever stop kvetching?
The truth is, that it's a beautiful thing. It shows a deep, familiar connection that we have with Hashem (G-d). It's like a child who feels comfortable making all sorts of requests from his or her parent. And the mom or dad, in their love for their child, comes through and fulfills their wish.
So keep on kvetching. If something isn't right, if you need blessings of health, success in your business or maybe it's just raining too hard, go for it. Reveal that special connection. Pray. Kvetch out of love.
Good Shabbos!
Rabbi Dovid Bush
This week we start a New Season of the Torah Studies classes. Classes and materials are all in English. Come to one or come to all. Try it out. It's weekly on Wednesday evenings.
We delve into the age-old stories of the Torah and find relevant meaning to our life today in 2017.
(If the schedule or topic doesn't work for you, but you'd like to study, let us know).
ב"ה