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Ismar Schorsch: In rabbinic parlance, water stands for Torah.
Editor: As water contains no carbohydrate or calories, it is the perfect drink for people with diabetes.
Frank Wang: It's a traditional superstition, or folk religion if you will, that burning these "magic scrolls" and drinking the ashes with water can cure disease of drive away evil spirits and what not.
Ron Hoffman: The burnt ashes of the פרה אדומה/pure red calf were mixed into a water solution by the כהנים/Priests in the בית המקדש/Temple and sprinkled on those טמא/impure. A spiritually impure Jew cannot partake of the קורבן פסח/Pascal Sacrifice until they have undergone טהרה/purification drinking this solution containing the red calf's burnt ashes.
Kathleen Hochul: New Yorkers should take steps to conserve water whenever possible in the areas now under a designated drought watch.
JONATHAN NERIL: This promise of abundant rains and prosperity is followed by a warning that, should Israel ignore the Torah, God will "make your skies like iron"–cease all rains and bring drought, according to the Midrash. Praying for rain is a key part of the spiritual life of a Jew.
"Hyman Arluck was the child of a Jewish cantor. His twin brother died the next day."
LAUREN BERKUN: On this Shemini Atzeret, may our prayers for rain remind us of our vulnerabilities and our responsibilities to God, "Who causes the wind to blow and the rain to fall."
OU Staff: In the prayer, we are informed that the "angel" in charge of the distribution of rain is named "Af-Bri." This name alludes to the two ways in which rain can be delivered to the earth. "Af" means "Anger" and represents torrential, flood-provoking rainfall. "Bri" denotes "Health" and corresponds to the gentle rain which is beneficial to humanity and to the environment in general. Af-Bri is designated as the name of the angel of rain; to thicken and to form clouds, to empty them and to cause rain.
