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Orchard of Delights 18 Va’etchanan
your field for your cattle and you will eat and you will states: “And he did not continue (lo yasaf) to have relations with
be satisfied. Beware for yourselves, lest your heart be her” (Genesis 38:26). Although the literal meaning of the words “lo
seduced and you turn astray and serve other gods and yasaf” in context is “did not continue,” Rashi introduces another
prostrate yourselves to them. Then the wrath of God will explanation for these words that was suggested in the Talmud: “did
blaze against you; He will restrain the heaven so there not cease.” This interpretation provides a diametrically opposed
will be no rain, and the ground will not yield its produce; reading: Judah did not cease having relations with her even after he
and you will be swiftly banished from the goodly land found out. This same Hebrew phrase “lo yasaf” is used to describe
that God gives you. You shall place these words of Mine God’s voice on Mount Sinai (Deuteronomy 5:19), and there too, as
upon your heart and upon your soul; you shall bind them mentioned above, the Torah remains ambiguous about whether the
for a sign upon your arm and let them be an ornament voice or sounds coming from Sinai ever ceased.
between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children When reflecting upon this matter we observe that in both cases,
to discuss them, while you sit in your home, while you the Torah is referring to a onetime event and its ongoing ripple effect.
walk on the way, when you lay down and when you rise While some of the Talmudic Sages may have received a tradition
up. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your that Judah actually continued to have relations with his daughter-
house and upon your gates. In order to prolong your days in-law, the two interpretations of the phrase could be harmonized:
and the days of your children upon the land that God has both traditions may actually agree that he did not continue having
sworn to your forefathers to give them, like the days of relations with her and that the effect of their liaison never in fact
the heaven over the earth. (Deuteronomy 11:13-21)
ceased, as their descendants will ultimately give birth to Mashiach.
Each tradition simply emphasizes half of the message. Similarly, the
In both passages, the implication is the same: rainfall is not a random
event but a blessing that comes directly from God. The section in the Giving of the Torah was a onetime event but its effect is constant
Shema even adds a further caveat – not only does God control the and enduring.
fall of rain, but our continued stay in the Promised Land depends on This process teaches us an important lesson. Sometimes our lives
whether we fulfill His mitzvot. Rain thus becomes God’s instrument seem to be a string of individual, isolated events that have no real
of blessing or curse. lasting consequences or influence beyond the moment. Oftentimes we
have no clue how to fit the puzzle pieces of our lives together or how
Given this connection between rainfall and our actions, the Sages
instituted a series of communal fast days to be performed if rain did these pieces will effect us in the future. Every so often though, we
not begin to fall by a certain date in the rainy season. If the rain still suddenly become aware of the auspiciousness of a certain decision, a
failed to fall, the fasts and public prayers became more frequent and special moment, or a transitional life event and we cherish it, reliving
intense. The tractate of Ta’anit deals extensively with this subject. it or gaining strength from it for years to come. On the other hand,
sometimes decisions we make and events that befall us cast their
There is an important Rashi on the following verse describing shadows over us for the rest of our lives. Although these events are
the creation of the world that provides a precedent for assuming time bound and can never be repeated, their significance can last
that rainfall is the result of human prayer: “And no plant of the a lifetime or even longer, casting their shadows far into the future.
field was yet on the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprouted, Learning to live one’s life aware of the importance of each and every
for God, God, had not sent rain upon the earth and there was no moment and the potential that lies hidden within each and every act
man to work the soil” (Genesis 2:5) Rashi explains that rain had not gives us the opportunity to reach out and touch eternity.
yet fallen because there was no one to work the earth. He continues

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