Rain, or "geshem" in Hebrew (Gimel/Shin/Mem) was the word that jumped out at both my daughter and me when reading tonight's Aliyah portion. She inquired as to how the waters stay up in the heavens and what exactly the sky was made of. I have had such an interesting journey finding out, full of spiritual understanding as well as the physical knowledge explaining the mechanics of it all!
First, I want to define the Hebrew word "Geshem." Pictographically, the Gimel is a picture of a foot, meaning "to gather" or "walk." The Shin is a picture of two teeth, typically meant to "separate or divide" (as teeth do), "eat" or "press." And Mem is a picture of water, meaning "chaos, mighty, or blood." (Courtesy of Hebrew Pictographs.) I saw "geshem" as going forth to divide the chaos. Sent from YHVH, He uses water to break forth the chaos on the earth and bring up life in its midst.
Now further in my research, I found out that "geshem" refers to heavier rains as opposed to a light rain. I read a great spiritual discussion on heavy rain here: Trained for Heaven. Specifically, I read pages 37-54. What an outpouring of spiritual blessings!
I read of how the rain can both cleanse and revive us. Rain is both a means of purification and sanctification.
For homeschool lessons on rain, I found several great websites with lesson plans, science experiments, and facts about rain. If we take the time to study the mechanical process Abba designed, we can glean even deeper understanding into His Word in His world. Here are the links:
Planet Pals
Clouds and Rain Young Science Explorers Newsletter

The Science of the Smell of Rain
From what I learned about the smell of rain, when a plant experiences a dry spell, it releases oils. When the rains finally come, it releases a fragrance into our atmosphere from the oil, causing rain to have a distinct aroma! Spiritually speaking, isn't that incredible? If we go through a dry period, we can experience the expressing of oil as well. Don't forget that YOU are releasing an oil. But when the rain comes through His Word, it cleanses us again, refreshes us to grow and sends the pleasant fragrance of that oil throughout the atmosphere. HalleluYah!
May this week's Torah portion bless you exceedingly, and may you receive mighty rains that water you and your families in this season!
Mama Lisa's Israeli Children's Songs-Geshem Geshem MiShamayim
Oh! And a bountiful link of Scriptures regarding rain to use for memorization and further study:
What Does the Bible Say About Rain?
"The heavens declare the glory of God and the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." Psalm 19:1-4 (NIV)
And one more thing: Don't forget...WE will be like little droplets of rain someday, accumulated in the clouds:
"Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord." 1 Thessalonians 4:17 (ESV)
Amen!