Ask for the Rain in Its Time
From Maariv on Motzei Shabbat, 17 October 2026 (7 Cheshvan 5787), the Land starts asking for rain. A one-page guide.
By Aryeh Leib Thorne Toren
Since Shemini Atzeret we have been praising G-d as the One “who makes the wind blow and the rain fall.” But praising rain is not asking for it. In Eretz Yisrael, the request itself, v’ten tal u’matar livracha, “give dew and rain for a blessing,” enters the weekday Amidah on 7 Cheshvan. This year that is Maariv on Motzei Shabbat, 17 October 2026.
WHY THE SEVENTH?
The Mishnah (Taanit 1:3) records Rabban Gamliel’s opinion: we begin on the seventh of Marcheshvan, “fifteen days after the festival, so that the last of Israel reaches the Euphrates River.” In Temple times, pilgrims from Bavel walked home after Sukkot, and nobody wanted rain to fall on them on the road. The halachah in the Land follows Rabban Gamliel (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 117:1).
Outside Israel the request starts later, in early December, because the agricultural season there follows a different count.
Think of what that means. For two weeks, an entire people holds back its own prayer for the thing it needs most, because one traveler is still on the road. Need does not cancel consideration.
RAIN IN ITS TIME
The Torah promises, “I will give the rain of your land in its time” (Devarim 11:14). Rashi explains “in its time” as at night, so that the rain should not trouble people. The blessing comes in a way that doesn’t get in anyone’s way. That is a model for us, too.
THREE PRACTICAL NOTES
1. From Maariv on Motzei Shabbat, 17 October 2026, in the blessing “Barech Aleinu,” say “v’ten tal u’matar livracha” instead of “v’ten bracha.”
2. If you forget and remember before finishing the blessing, go back and say it. If you have already finished it, add the words in “Shema Koleinu” before “ki Atah shomea.” If you have finished the Amidah, ask your rabbi. Many people keep a note in the siddur for the first weeks.
3. Teach it to the children with the story of the last pilgrim walking home to the Euphrates.
FOR THE TABLE
Who is “the last traveler” in your life, the person whose needs you should wait for? And what blessing could you bring “at night,” quietly, so it doesn’t trouble anyone?
May G-d open His good storehouse, the heavens, and give rain to our Land in its time, for blessing.
Prepared in deep partnership and cooperation with Grok and xAI
All glory to the Ribono shel Olam · Errors are mine.
Also published on Substack.