Parashat Yitro A weekly feature of Torah Tidbits to help clarify practical and conceptual aspects of the Jewish Calendar, thereby better fulfilling the mitzva of HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem... The time for Kiddush L'vana for this month is long past, and NEXT week is Shabbat M'vorchim (and Machar Chodesh). This is that (approx.) one Shabbat a month that doesn't have the "standard" comments and reminders that usually find there way into this column. So here are responses to some TT-reader comments. More than one reader expressed surprise that there was no mention of the lunar eclipse of last Thursday night (actually, it was early, early Friday morning). Embarrassed to say, I let that one slip by. Turns out that nothing was visible (from Jerusalem, at least) because of clouds. We were scheduled to see the first part of the eclipse before dawn, and then lose it in progress with the rising of the sun. On another note, some people have been asking about VA'ANEINU, the addition to the Amida for lack of rain. There seems to be a consensus that we stop saying it. This does not mean that we have yet received enough rain this year, but we have had enough not to consider the situation "a lack of rain". May we continue to get more beneficial rain during the remainder of the rainy season. [The Yitro Homepage]
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