Friday, June 3, 2016

Let it rain

Bechukotai
Lev. 26:3 - 27:34

PrĂ©cis: The final parasha in Vayikra begins with a statement promising blessings if the People follow Adonai’s ways. The blessings are discussed in detail. But, if the People disobey, terrible punishments will be visited upon them, and these, too, are listed in agonizing detail. The Book of Leviticus concludes (as it opened) with regulations regarding the upkeep of the Sanctuary, from voluntary tithes, land gifts, firstborn redemption, and the tithes of flocks.

Lev. 26:4-6 "I will give your rains in their time, the Land will yield its produce, and the tree of the field will give forth its fruit... you will eat your food to satiety, and you will live in security in your land, and I will grant peace in the Land."
            Jonathan Neril has written [MyJewishlearning.com (5/13/14)] that praying for rain is a part of the spiritual life of a Jew. From Shmini Atzeret through Passover, our daily liturgy includes a prayer for rain; for the other half of the year, we pray for dew. Praying for rain is not enough, however. In the cited verses, we observe that rain, so necessary for our survival, comes from God. It is only when we do God’s will that we are rewarded with rain. This has been at the core of our tradition.
            Scientifically, ​few can really doubt that human activity has interfered with the natural patterns of rainfall, be it acid rain resulting from manufacturing, or global climate change caused by the enhanced amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane since the start of the Industrial Revolution. (I admit that there are some who do doubt this; I choose to be informed by the facts, instead of by political denials.)
            With the changes in weather patterns, we observe floods in some places, the destruction of coral reefs in others, and decades-long droughts in other areas. Aquifers which provide water for human consumption and for farming are drying out at unprecedented levels. Human interference has upset the natural processes with unexpected and impossible to predict changes.
            As humans continue to urbanize and build roads and other elements of infrastructure, one of the unintended consequences is increased runoff. When there is less land and more concrete, more rain winds up back in the ocean, increasingly contaminated with the detritus of urban life.
            Kabbalists suggested that God established the laws of nature, and that when human beings violate those laws, they are punished by nature. We cannot and should not disregard the connection between our actions and what is happening in the world. We are required by God’s law to live in balance with our physical world if we are to receive the bounty we have been promised.

            Our prayers for rain are important and should lead to actions consistent with our prayers.