Understanding the Jewish Year through Rain and Dew
There are moments in our liturgy that can pass so swiftly and easily that we barely give them a glance. One such moment passed recently during Pessach shacharit the morning after our Seder. During the Musaf we add a special prayer said once a year that is echoed in a similar prayer also said once a year after Sukkot. “With the knowledge of the Eternal I will speak of secrets / That for this people, by this prayer / There may be joy in dew / May the valley and its flora / be renewed through dew / Flourishing anew under the shade of the Eternal / Sign of regeneration / Shield of future generations: dew.” After we speak this poem and the accompanying blessing, we change our daily prayers. A line in the Amida changes from “mashiv haruach u’morid hagashem,” “You make the wind blow and the rain fall,” to “morid hatal,” “You cause the dew to fall.” This will once again switch back during the morning service of Shemini Atzeret, the “Eighth Day of Gathering” of Sukkot. At first glanc