In Israel this week, people started to pray for rain. The prayer of "geshem" - rain - is recited in the synagogue on Shmini Atzeret, and we immediately start praising G-d as the Provider of Rain in the amidah that same day, we do not actually request that it rains until the seventh of Cheshvan in Israel (or the night of the 4th of December in the Diaspora).

Sukkot was one of the three pilgrimage festivals when Jews from Israel and beyond would travel to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. In Second Temple times this would include Jews who would travel from Babylonia and Persia. This arduous journey would often be made on foot taking many weeks and the prayers for rain would be held off until the last pilgrim had returned home so as not to inconvenience them on their journey.

The mitzvah of prayer is to pray whenever we have a need for something - the obligation to pray at set times is an additional requirement - and so as soon as there was a need for rain the Jewish community should have been obligated to pray for it, whether there were stragglers still returning from their pilgrimage or not.

While it makes no logical sense that the entire community in Israel should suffer from a lack of rain just because a few Jews would get wet, this was the way the community wanted it. Their care for their fellow Jews was such that they preferred to wait for the rain rather than inconvenience the pilgrims. This actually impacted on their requirement to pray - as they did not want it to rain, there was no imperative for them to do so, even though technically it was rainy season.

The seventh of Cheshvan often occurs during the week of Lech Lecha. This is the first of the weekly portions that we spend entirely in the company of our ancestors Abraham and Sarah. In the parshah we read about Abraham's concern for his nephew Lot who had been captured in war. Disregarding his personal safety, Abraham went to battle to save Lot and succeeded in freeing all the prisoners of war. Abraham was known as a man of kindness and this attribute was bequeathed to all his descendants. In fact, Maimonides rules that one can identify a Jew by their three attributes of "mercifulness, kindness and bashfulness" which are inherited from our ancestors.

As we go into the winter months, many in our community will be struggling for heating bills and rising food costs. Think about who you can help support and reach out to see how they are doing. Even – or especially - if they’re views and needs are diametrically opposed to yours, every individual is part of the community.