Praying for Rain During Shmitta: Episode 3: Water Cisterns, Trees, and the Needy

Posted by Levi Cooper on October 3, 2021
Topics: The Maggid of Melbourne

Pardes North America Presents: A Shot of Torah with Rabbi Dr. Levi Cooper

Praying for Rain During Shmitta: Episode 3: Water Cisterns, Trees, and the Needy

With no great rivers coursing through the Land of Israel, we are heavily dependent on rain. This need is expressed in the immemorial Yom Kippur prayers. At the end of Sukkot we start mentioning rain in our daily prayers. Yet with the fields lying fallow during this Sabbatical year, need we ask for rain? Who might we have in mind as we hope and pray for a rainy winter? Thinking more broadly: What might the prayer for rain during Shmitta tell us about the Jewish religious experience and spiritual quest?

This is a 4-part series:

Episode 1: A Land Flowing, but Not with Water
Episode 2: For the Sake of Non-Jews and Sinners
Episode 3: Water Cisterns, Trees, and the Needy
Episode 4: From Theory to Practice

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Credits
Rabbi Dr. Levi Cooper – Pardes Faculty and A Shot of Torah Podcast Host
Adam Titcher – Executive Producer

About Levi Cooper

Levi teaches Bible, Hasidut, Maimonides and Midrash at Pardes. Originally from Australia, Levi holds an LL.B., LL.M. and Ph.D. from the Law Faculty of Bar-Ilan University, and is a member of the Israel Bar Association. He is currently an adjunct professor in the Law Faculty of Bar-Ilan University and post-doctoral fellow in the Law Faculty of Tel Aviv University. Click here to read more. You can find books written by Levi by clicking here

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