Shemoneh Esrei 14: Growth Through Rain
משיב הרוח ומוריד הגשם
He makes the wind blow and He makes the rain descend
What is rain doing in this brachah, and how do we appreciate the beauty contained in the rain?
We know that it never rained until Adam HaRishon was created, because Hashem wanted man to recognize the need for rain and to daven for it (Rashi, B’reishis 2:5).
Why is the rain different from all other creations (which did not require man to recognize their need and daven for them before they were created)?
Additionally, the Gemara in Shabbos (31a) states that the first order in the Mishnah – Seder Z’ra’im (which deals primarily with agriculture and our related obligations, such as ma’aser, t’rumah, etc.) – represents emunah. How so?
To answer both of these questions, the Gryz [HaGaon Rav Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik], uses the explanation of the Gra in B’rachos (33a). The Gemara there states that the mentioning of rain (“מוריד הגשם”) was placed in the brachah of T’chiyas HaMeisim (reviving the dead) because rainfall is the equivalent of T’chiyas HaMeisim, but the Gemara does not state how this is so. The Gra explains that just as T’chiyas HaMeisim is obviously not something natural but is beyond nature, so too is rainfall beyond nature. It is not natural for something to decompose in the ground for a very long time and then come back to life. So too, rainfall is beyond what is natural. It does not have a set schedule. There is no rhyme or reason why it can rain in one spot and a few feet away it is not raining. Sometimes the rain comes down hard and at other times it drizzles. The rain is different from the sun, moon, etc., which are fixed in their patterns and are part of “nature.” The rain is beyond nature, and for the world to receive something beyond nature, man must daven for it. This is why the rain could not come down until Adam recognized the need for rain. Since rain is outside of nature, it can only come through man’s t’filos. Thus, says the Gryz, when one plants his seeds, his planting is based on emunah because in truth the rainfall necessary for the crops to grow is outside of nature and totally dependent on his t’filos and emunah.
The Ritva in B’rachos 33a and Taanis 7a explains the similarity between a seed germinating and T’chiyas HaMeisim. Both body and seed rot in the ground before sprouting forth. The Ramban (Shaar HaG’mul – See ArtScroll’s Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Feuer in his sefer, Shemoneh Esrei, on the brachah of Atah Gibor) says that the body rots and then, as T’chiyas HaMeisim nears, “the seed germinates” and a new body is sculpted to perfectly conform to the n’shamah.
Perhaps we can say that the galus is our rotting in the ground. We have endured and continue to endure many communal and personal tzaros without seeing the “light at the end of the tunnel.” We see little open growth above ground in terms of signs of Mashiach’s imminent arrival. However, ישועת ה' כהרף עין (“Y’shuas Hashem k’heref ayin”): One day very soon, our y’shuah will sprout forth (מצמיח ישועה – matzmiach y’shuah).
The Aish HaTorah website contains a very moving and meaningful two-minute video titled “Bamboo Tree.” During the growth of this large tree, we do not see anything above ground for the first five years of rain and nurturing. Then, in the sixth year, the tree suddenly grows to 90 feet in six weeks. It seems as if it only took six weeks for this huge tree to grow. However, in reality, if one looked at what is occurring underground, huge thick roots are being formed during those five years to support the tree when it finally grows to full height.
This is a great consolation for klal Yisrael in galus and for anyone undergoing a long period of pain, challenge, or difficulty. Hashem is nurturing us throughout. Our roots are growing strong underground, until one day, b’ezras Hashem, when Hashem knows the time is right, we will sprout forth out of our galus/difficulties and grow miraculously “overnight” to the highest height of heights and recognize that HaKadosh Baruch Hu was supporting us all along. May that day come very soon, b’ezras Hashem.