For the source text click/tap here: Taanit 8
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Our daf returns to the topic of rain. And Rabbi Ami said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “If the serpent [naḥash] bites [yishokh] before it is charmed [laḥash], then the charmer has no advantage” (Ecclesiastes 10:11)? If you see a generation for whom the heavens corrode [meshatkhin] like copper [neḥoshet], which prevents them from bringing down dew and rain, this is due to the lack of those who whisper quiet [loḥashei leḥishot] prayers in the generation.
Who are these "whisperers" and how do they differ from those who pray in the regular manner? and why are they successful in tweaking the divine to produce rain?
We explore the issue of petitionary prayer and its efficacy and the struggle between the ease of study and the difficulty of davening..especially for atheists who must say kaddish!