This makes the Book of Psalms a natural fit for a solidarity prayer campaign to help end the Cape drought.
For the past year, residents of Cape Town have been looking to the skies, hoping for a downpour. Last winter was among the driest on record. Summer has hardly broken character.
Even as the collective water conservation efforts of an entire city has helped stave off the apocalyptic-sounding Day Zero, the situation on the ground remains grim. Theewaterskloof Dam, the Western Cape’s primary supply source, is 10.6% full.
And while Capetonians frantically continue their #SaveWater efforts, South Africa’s Chief Rabbi Dr Warren Goldstein has launched a campaign of another kind. The #RainCampaign is a movement aimed at prising open the heavens through the sheer force of conscious, collective prayer.
“At times like these, we need to come together and pray,” says Goldstein. “For the words, we need look no further than the Book of Psalms – a remarkable gift composed by King David thousands of years ago, who, himself, was faced with immense trials and tribulations throughout his life, and poured his heart out to G-d in these prophetic poems.”
Zeesy Deren of Blaauwberg is one of the many hundreds of South Africans who have joined the #RainCampaign. She says: “As difficult as the drought has been, it has been an amazing, experiential way to teach our kids, and to learn ourselves, about true gratitude – not taking things for granted – and about bal tashchis, the importance of not wasting.”
At its heart, the #RainCampaign is about a belief in the power of prayer to change the status quo. “We can use the words of the Book of Psalms to express the deepest yearnings of our soul,” says Goldstein. “May G-d hear our prayers and may He bless us with abundant rain to bring an end to this drought.”
· Sign up for a daily Psalm email reminder at raincampaign.co.za. Or, join the WhatsApp broadcast for daily reminders by sending a WhatsApp message with your name and surname to 066 119 9841
