This is just a friendly reminder to Jews outside of Eretz Yisrael that our daily prayers should include the request for rain, beginning with the Maariv service this Monday evening, December 4, 2006, corresponding to the evening of 14 Kislev, 5767. The phrase "Veten tal umatar livracha" - "Give us dew and rain for a blessing" is inserted into the 9th blessing of the weekday shemone esrei, from now until Pesach.
The request for rain is begun in the Diaspora on the 60th day following the fall equinox, as calculated according to the approximation given by Shmuel in the Talmud. If you are interested in more information about this calculation, you may wish to follow the link below, to a fascinating article giving a (very brief) introduction to the Jewish calendar, followed by a detailed discussion on why the prayer for rain begins when it does. Thanks to SHOMRAI SHABBOS BULLETIN and Russell Levy for the link: [link=http://www.lookstein.org/articles/veten_tal.htm]first click on blue 'To read more click her' and then click here.[/link]
Important Numbers
