Prayers for pregnancy TB Taanit 2

We begin massekhet Taanit today with daf TB Taanit 2. There are only two seasons in Israel. The rainy season in the fall/winter and the dry season in the spring/summer. Since Israel has no other source of water to irrigate the crops, rainfall is essential in its due season for a successful yield. This massekhet deals with the prayers recited for rain and the fasts that are enjoined when drought threatens the land.

What is this massekhet doing here in the Seder Moed, the Order of Holidays? Unlike all the other massekhtot in this Seder, the Gemara doesn’t concern itself with a specific holiday like Rosh Hashanah Yom Kippur, or Sukkot. The first sugiya of the Gemara answers the above question. “: The Gemara asks: Where does the tanna of the mishna stand, that he teaches: From when? The mishna’s opening question indicates that it has already been established that there is an obligation to mention rain at this time of the year. Where is this obligation stated?… Rather, the tanna interrupted a discussion from tractate Rosh HaShana. As we learned in a mishna there: 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.” (Sefaria.org translation)

We mentioned rain in the second blessing of the Amida which praises God’s awesome mighty powers with the words “He makes the wind blow and the rains fall- מַשִּׁיב הָרוּחַ וּמוֹרִיד הַגֶּשֶׁם” In this blessing we knowledge that God is the source of life for He revives the dead and provides life giving rain to the world.

“The Gemara asks: And from where do we derive that rain must be mentioned specifically in the Amida prayer? The Gemara answers: As it was taught in a baraita with regard to the verse: “To love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart” (Deuteronomy 11:13). Which is the service of God that is performed in the heart? You must say that this is referring to prayer. And, afterward, it is written: “And I shall give the rain of your land in its due time, the first rain and the last rain” (Deuteronomy 11:14). This juxtaposition teaches that it is appropriate to request rain while engaged in the service of the heart, i.e., prayer.

The Gemara cites related statements concerning the idea that rainfall provides evidence of God’s might. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: There are three keys maintained in the hand of the Holy One, Blessed be He, which were not transmitted to an intermediary, i.e., God tends to these matters Himself. And they are: The key of rain, the key of birthing, and the key of the resurrection of the dead.” (Sefaria.org translation)

I have just been blessed with another grandchild, a grandson Nadav Eliyahu. Acknowledging how fortunate my children are to be parents once again that God opened the key of birthing for them, they recited a prayer on behalf of infertile women that they if they so choose they may become parents. Here are two prayers for couples who are having trouble conceiving.

“A prayer for pregnancy

Dear God, and God of our ancestors, You have blessed untold loving couples across time, providing each with children in a tumble of generations. May it be your will that we join their lot tonight. Make tonight a night of joy and tenderness, a night in which my beloved and I conceive a child. Hold us close in your embrace, God, just as we hold each other tightly. Remember us as you remembered Sarah. Care for us as you cared for Rebecca. Tend to us as you tended to our mothers, Leah and Rachel.

You alone hold the key to the womb. Open our chambers of life. Choose from your sacred treasury of souls, and send us a child who is wise and caring, healthy and whole. With your help, may our family grow through the years, and through your kindness may we be a blessing to all who know us.

May the words of our mouths and the desires of our hearts please You, our Strength and our Deliverer.” https://www.myjewishlearning.com/.../how-to-pray-to-have.../

“Eternal God, You alone know how much we have longed for children: how we have dreamt of loving them; of playing with them; of teaching them; and of watching them grow "into the study of Torah, the blessing of marriage, and the practice of goodness". You alone know how we have watched other families growing, with pleasure and with pain. "To everything there is a season... a time to keep hold and a time to let go". Is this the time to [seek medical treatment/offer a home to children whose parents cannot care for them]? Is this the time to accept what we cannot change? God of our ancestors, help us to find fulfilment in our lives together. Guide us to do Your will.” https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA503270345...