Rain

Flowing through desert sands, the river Hapi—the ancient Egyptian name for the Nile and its god—mysteriously overflowed each year, bringing fertility and life to Egypt’s people. The dependability of the Nile made Egypt a source of food during regional famines, though Deuteronomy reassures that Israel has YHWH to rely on for its rain.

The Torah’s adaptation of a polytheistic ancient West-Semitic custom of sacrificing to seventy gods.

The Rabbis describe the ritual of “water libation,” ניסוך המים, performed during Sukkot in the Temple, as a major point of contention between the Pharisees and Sadducees. Why was this seemingly obscure ritual so contentious, and what was really at stake in performing it?