Israel’s Chief Rabbi says there is no longer a need for the public to pray for rain, but individuals can continue praying for a wet winter.
By: Margot Dudkevitch, World Israel News
Chief Rabbi David Lau called on the public to stop praying for rain, saying there is no longer any need.
His request on Sunday, came just week’s after thousands of Jewish worshipers gathered at the Western Wall, heeding Lau’s request to say a special prayer for rain, fearing the country would suffer a dry winter.
Israel’s chief rabbi noted however that while the public no longer needs to pray for rain, individuals can continue as long as there is a need. “We have been blessed and the gates of heaven were opened, so we must distinguish between the public emissary’s prayer and that of the individual,” Israel National News quoted Rabbi Lau saying.
In recent weeks the country experienced a turnaround in the weather, with rain falling across the Jewish State, replenishing water supplies.
Minister of Agriculture Uri Ariel suggested the unity in prayer brought on the rain. “No one truly knows what that is, and God doesn’t work for us. It’s thanks to all of our prayers – at the Western Wall, at synagogues or any other place, spoken loudly or said in one’s ear, with a kipa or without,” Ynetnews.com quoted Ariel as saying.