Questions tagged [weather]
The weather tag has no usage guidance.
30
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Praying for rain in the Diaspora
Why on this year (and on other years that precede civil leap years) do we start praying for rain in the Diaspora (by inserting the phrase 'Vetein tal umatar") at maariv of December 5 and not maariv of ...
11
votes
1
answer
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Is there an exhaustive list of astronomical/environmental events for which there are blessings?
Inspired by:
What Bracha should you say on a Hurricane?
What Blessing Does One Make on a Solar Eclipse?
Bracha for the transit of Venus?
What b'racha do you say on seeing the Aurora Borealis (if ...
18
votes
3
answers
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What Bracha should you say on a Hurricane?
What Bracha should you say on a hurricane? Oseh Ma'aseh Vereishis?
You say Birchas Gomel if you travel over the sea; do you also say it if the sea travels over you?
10
votes
2
answers
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Bracha on thunder and lightning - how often?
If you are in a rainstorm with thunder and lightning - you make the Brachos for them. What happens if the storm ends and then a few hours later (same day) it is raining again. Do you make another ...
9
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3
answers
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Rainbow as a bad omen
There is a popular idea that seeing a rainbow is a bad sign, as if the world is deserving of a deluge (c"v) and the only reason Hashem does not do so is because of His promise. Is there any source for ...
5
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2
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"Oseh ma'aseh braishis” on a rainbow. Is this a brocho levatoloh?
Someone made the brocho of “oseh ma'aseh braishis” on a rainbow. Is this a brocho levatoloh? What sources deal with this issue please? (I have posed the shaaloh to my Rav.)
4
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1
answer
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What's the bracha for a circumzenithal arc?
Upon seeing a rainbow, we say,
זוכר הברית, ונאמן בבריתו, וקים במאמרו
...who remembers the covenant, is faithful in his covenant, and fulfills his word.
I recently witnessed a natural event ...
14
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1
answer
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Mandatory evacuation on Shabbat: what can and can't you do?
A major storm hit New England starting this past Friday. While people knew this was coming and precautions were already in place, apparently (according to a news article I read tonight) some areas ...
13
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3
answers
555
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Dew distinct from water among the shiva mashkim
The seven mashkim are blood, water, milk, honey, wine, oil, and dew. What is the difference between water and dew? Isn't dew a type of water?
10
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3
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Do you make a new bracha on lightning & thunder when catching up to the same storm?
This M.Y. question cites Shulchan Aruch O.C. 227 that states that as long as it is overcast, one recites the blessing on lightning / thunder once (unless the storm continues into the next day.) If it ...
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Plans for building a sukkah shlock
A sukkah roof has to be open to the sky, and made of loose, plant-based material. Practically speaking, this means that everything inside gets wet when it rains.....unless your sukkah has a "shlock," ...
6
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2
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How to determine what a "normal wind" would do to a sukka
What a "normal wind" ("ruach metzuya") would do affects various laws of sukka construction. For example, in this guide from the Star-K to using sechach mats, they require that sechach-eligible ...
5
votes
1
answer
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Bracha on Lightning without Thunder
Does anyone have a modern day psak on lightning without thunder colloquially known as "heat lightning"? The Chaye Adam says it's caused by heat and he suggests that maybe is not what the gemara was ...
4
votes
1
answer
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Rainbow: Making a Bracha on a bad Omen
As discussed in some earlier questions Rainbows are a bad Omen yet we are Halachicly commanded to make a Bracha on it. The Gemara in Chagigah (16A) says you may not gaze at one so how do you make the ...
2
votes
1
answer
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Do communities set public fast days for hurricanes or other natural disasters?
I hear occasionally about fast days in Israel when there's no rain. Some examples are in this answer. From one of the links there, R' Mosheh Lichtenstein is not in favor of fasting for rain in a ...
11
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1
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Why don't we say "Misod" for Geshem and Tal?
On Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, the Shat"z says a short paragraph at the beginning of his repetition that starts with the words "מסוד חכמים ונבונים," which is an explanation for the insertion of extra ...
10
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Why don't we follow the Shulchan Aruch's nusach of the blessing on a rainbow?
Background:
The Talmud (Berachot 59A) and the Rambam (Berachot 10:17), and Tur 229 tell us the blessing of the Rainbow is as follows:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֶלוֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם זוֹכֵר ...
8
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5
answers
254
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Why strong wind when splitting the sea?
The verses describing the splitting of the Yam Suf (Reed Sea) say a strong wind blew overnight before the sea split. To me, this implies a gradual process of moving a great deal of water.
On the ...
8
votes
1
answer
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Why does Lubavitch eat in the Sukkah when it rains?
I have always heard that while we do not eat in the Sukkah while it rains, those of Chabad do. Why is this so?
Found it on wikipedia too:
Though the halakha doesn't obligate one to eat or sleep in ...
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4
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Rainbow, telling a friend
We know The rainbow is a bad Omen. Is one allowed to tell a friend when he sees one, in order to allow him to make a Bracha or should he hold back as it is a bad sign?
6
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2
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Bracha on an indirect view of lightning
The general practice is to make a bracha on the sky illuminating from lightning without actually seeing the bolt.
Does anyone know a source for this? Is this the most appropriate practice?
Also, ...
5
votes
1
answer
558
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Is Snow Muktza?
Does anyone know good sources that talk about this issue? Perhaps we can divide this into 3 categories:
Is snow generally muktza since it has no practical use (as opposed to rainwater which has uses)...
5
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1
answer
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What to do if Shabbat candles go out
What should a lady do if, after kindling the candles, a gust of wind blows them out, or they tip over and are extinguished?
4
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2
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Tal UMatar - for whom?
According to the build-up in this question the point of Tal UMatar is to pray for good rains in one's local area. The same seems to be assumed in other questions and especially a couple of different ...
4
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0
answers
71
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Glass boxes and Hadlaka Oseh Mitzvah [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Fish Tank Menorahs
I think this is a familiar question, but since I don't have an answer, I'll ask it here. Since the halacha is that Hadlaka Oseh Mitzva (the conditions at ...
4
votes
1
answer
236
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Bracha on seeing indirect light from lightning?
As this question mentions, one should say the bracha if the sky lights up, even if one does not see the bolt.
What if one is facing away from the window when lightning strikes and the light fills the ...
4
votes
10
answers
370
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Snow in Halacha [closed]
Name the many references in different contexts in Halacha to snow?
2
votes
2
answers
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Seuda Hoshanah Rabah
If I recall correctly the reason we eat a Seuda on Hoshanah Rabah is it is the last day we have a Chiuv to eat in the Succah. Suppose it is raining and you can not eat in the Succah do you still have ...
1
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1
answer
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Can a person say the bracha for thunder if he hasn't seen the lightning?
Can someone say the bracha upon hearing thunder without having seen the lightning bolt (in any form, i.e. he didn't notice any light at all?) Scientifically, lightning causes the thunder. (Most of the ...
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2
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If it rains on succot what does it signify [closed]
If it rains on succot meaning one cannot eat in the succah and must therefore stay in the house. Is this 'rain' just coincidence, or is hashem telling you 'I dont want you to keep my mizvot' perhaps ...