Shemini Atzeret

Our ancestors did not want Sukkot to end, so they added an extra day to this festival—one more day to linger over the joys the holiday offered. Our celebrations look quite different now, but we too appreciate this day—and the special prayers for rain associated with it.

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A presence that bursts forth from the emptiness

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What went before cannot remain

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A prayer for rain during the Amidah on Shemini Atzeret in memory of those fallen during the Yom Kippur War

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A complete ritual featuring a prayer for rain, packing boxes of food for a food pantry, and an optional text study.

rain falling on a sidewalk

On Shemini Atzeret, Jews offer a special prayer for rain (it is the beginning of the rainy season in Israel). The traditional version of this prayer refers obliquely to each of the forefathers and their relationship to water; this version highlights the foremothers.

a person with outstretched arms in the water

Women’s prayer for rain

Feminine Stanzas for the Prayer for Rain

The Reconstructionist Network

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