Sh'mini Atzeret The Jewish Rain Festival

(34) Say to the Israelite people: On the fifteenth day of this seventh month there shall be the Feast of Booths to G-d, [to last] seven days. (35) The first day shall be a sacred occasion: you shall not work at your occupations; (36) seven days you shall bring offerings by fire to G-d. On the eighth day you shall observe a sacred occasion and bring an offering by fire to G-d; it is a solemn gathering: you shall not work at your occupations.

(35) On the eighth day you shall hold a solemn gathering; you shall not work at your occupations. (36) You shall present a burnt offering, an offering by fire of pleasing odor to G-d; one bull, one ram, seven yearling lambs, without blemish; (37) the meal offerings and libations for the bull, the ram, and the lambs, in the quantities prescribed; (38) and one goat for a sin offering—in addition to the regular burnt offering, its meal offering and libation.

(2) At four times the world is judged: On Pesach, for the crops. On Shavuot, for the fruits of the tree. On Rosh Hashnah, all the world passes before G-d like sheep, as it says, "G-d that fashions the hearts of them all, that considers all their doings." (Psalms 33:15) And on Sukkot, they are judged for the water.

MISHNA: From when, i.e., from which date, does one begin to mention the might of the rains by inserting the phrase: G-d makes the wind blow and rain fall, in the second blessing of the Amida prayer? Rabbi Eliezer says: The phrase is inserted from the first Festival day of the festival of Sukkot. Rabbi Yehoshua says: From the last Festival day of the festival of Sukkot. Rabbi Yehoshua said to Rabbi Eliezer: Since rain is nothing other than a sign of a curse during the festival of Sukkot, as rainfall forces Jews to leave their sukkot, why should one mention the might of rain during this period? ...The mishna states a general principle: One requests rain only immediately preceding the rainy season.

....And on the festival of Sukkot all creatures are judged for water. Since the tanna taught: And on the festival of Sukkot all creatures are judged for water, from which it can be inferred that one should request rain near the time of this judgment, he taught here: From when does one mention the might of the rains. ...

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: There are three keys maintained in the hand of the Holy One which were not transmitted to an intermediary, i.e., God tends to these matters alone. And they are: The key of rain, the key of birthing, and the key of the resurrection of the dead.

In the West, Eretz Yisrael, they say: The key of livelihood is also in God’s hand, as it is written: “You open Your hand and satisfy every living thing with favor” (Psalms 145:16). The Gemara asks: And what is the reason that Rabbi Yoḥanan did not consider this key of livelihood in his list? The Gemara answers that Rabbi Yoḥanan could have said to you: Rain is the same as livelihood in this regard, as rain is indispensable to all livelihoods.