Various supplications, hymns, and prayers for rain read in thesynagogue, notably on Shemini Atseret, the last day of Sukkot. There are numerous biblical allusions to the importance of rainfall in the Land of Israel; it may be granted to the farmer as a Divine blessing (Lev. 26:4; Deut. 11:13ff., 28:12) or it may be withheld as a punishment (Deut. 11:16-17; I Kings 8:35, etc.). According to the rabbis, all men enjoy the benefits of rain but its timely descent can be affected by their conduct (Ta'an. 7a-8a). It was customary for the High Priest in the Temple to recite a short petition for "a rainy year" on the Day of Atonement (Yoma 53b). Supplications were also prescribed whenever crops might be lost through a drought. This tradition has been maintained by the Jewish communities of Yemen and by Sephardim in Israel, who read special petitions and observe a fast when normal rainfall is delayed.
Talmudic sources mention Sukkot as the time when "the world is judged for water" (RH 1:2). This led to the practice of incorporating two separate passages in the daily Amidah, an appreciative "reference" and a seasonal "request," the "reference" being delayed until Shemini Atseret and the specific "request" until 7 Ḥeshvan, so that premature rainfall would not interfere with observance and enjoyment of the Tabernacles festival (and the journey of the pilgrims homeward from Jerusalem). Mashiv ha-ru'aḥ u-morid ha-geshem ("You cause the wind to blow and the rain to fall") is the first passage, recited from the Additional Service of Shemini Atseret until Passover. Throughout this period, Mashiv ha-ru'aḥ is inserted in the second benediction of every Amidah. The second passage, Ve-ten tal u-matar li-verakhah ("Grant dew and rain for a blessing"), is inserted in the ninth benediction, which gives expression to the hope for a prosperous year. This "request," the length and content of which vary in different prayer rites, is recited in Israeli synagogues from the evening of 7 Ḥeshvan until Passover; in Diaspora congregations, however, several more weeks elapse before it is recited from 4-5 December, the evening of the 60th day following the autumnal equinox.
From the early Middle Ages, with the objective of enhancing the solemnity of these passages, various introductory liturgical poems (piyyutim) were recited at the beginning of the Additional Service on Shemini Atseret. Known as Tefillat Geshem, the Prayer for Rain (or Tikkun ha-Geshem in the Sephardi rite), they closely resemble the Tal sequence read on Passover (see Dew, Prayers for). Few Ashkenazi congregations still read the entire sequence of these old hymns. The standard practice in most Orthodox congregations of the Diaspora is for the cantor to don his white Kitel before the Additional Service and to chant the Prayer for Rain while repeating the first two benedictions of the Amidah. It commences with Af Beri uttat shem sar matar ("Af Beri is the name of the angel of rain"), a two-stanza poem which begs God not to withhold His bounty of rainfall. Then, while the Ark remains open and congregants stand, the cantor proceeds to chant Zekhor av nimshakh aḥarekha ka-mayim ("Remember the Patriarch who followed You like water"), an alphabetical acrostic hymn traditionally composed by Eleazar Kallir. Its six stanzas recall the various miraculous events connected with water that God performed for the Patriarchs, Moses, Aaron, and the twelve Tribes of Israel. After proclaiming "For You are the Lord our God who causes the wind to blow and the rain to fall," the cantor repeats the congregation's threefold prayer that rain will come "as a blessing, not as a curse; for life, not for death; for plenty, not for famine." Apart from Af Beri, this ritual is followed in Conservative synagogues, but Reform congregations recite an abbreviated version of the Prayer for Rain.
In Israel, however, the Sephardi practice of avoiding any "interruption" during the Amidah has been adopted by most congregations that adhere to the Ashkenazi rite. They accordingly omit all the introductory liturgical poems and recite the Geshem hymn immediately prior to the silent Amidah on Shemini Atseret (which is also Simḥat Torah). The Diaspora (Ashkenazi) ritual is chiefly maintained in Israel by Ḥasidic congregations.
