Rain in Tammuz

The town's mikveh was dug deep into the ground and received its water from a natural spring beneath it. Once, at the start of summer in Tammuz, the spring dried up and the water disappeared. How could the town be without a mikveh all summer, when no rain would fall until autumn?

In their despair, the leaders of the community turned to Rav Yisrael Abuchatzeira, the Baba Sali, as he was popularly known. He told them to dig a new mikveh according to the superior specifications that he laid out for them. The village workmen built it as he instructed, and soon it stood ready for use. But without water, no one could immerse in it. A mikveh needs pure rainwater, and in Morocco rain fell only in autumn and winter. Where could they find rainwater in Tammuz?

Again the townspeople came to the Baba Sali. "We have finished building the new mikveh," they reported, "but we have no water to fill it. What shall we do now?" The Baba Sali went to inspect the mikveh. He looked thoughtfully at the bright blue sky and said, "Master of the world, You commanded us to be pure and holy, and we wish to follow Your teachings. We have done everything in our power and built this mikveh as best we could. Now it is up to You, Hashem, to help us, for Your sake."

The short tefillah was hardly out of his mouth when the sky clouded over and rain poured down. Enough fell to fill the mikveh with the required amount of water, so that it could be used.

The Baba Sali returned to his room to continue learning. As he learned, he discovered that the drainpipe leading to the mikveh had not been built to the standard of the strictest opinions. The Baba Sali always sought to do things in the best and strictest way, and it bothered him that the mikveh did not satisfy all the authorities. Although it was kosher, he felt that it lacked perfection.

He went back to the mikveh and told the workmen to drain out all the water and rebuild the drainpipe so that it would meet the most stringent requirements, according to all the authorities. When the rabbonim of the town heard that he had gone to the mikveh again, they came to see what was wrong. They were shocked to hear that he had ordered all the precious, miraculous rainwater to be drained.

His cousin, Rav Yichye Dehaan, said to him, "Isn't the mikveh kosher according to most of the authorities? Why did you order the water drained? Where will we find fresh rainwater to fill it once the fault is corrected? Miracles do not happen every day." But the Baba Sali was adamant, and the workers did as he said.

When the corrections were finished and had won his approval, he went outside, spread his hands toward Heaven and prayed, "Master of the world, it is perfectly clear to You that I did nothing for my own glory or for the glory of my father's house. I did only what I did to increase purity among Your people."

Again the sky clouded over and blessed rains fell. The mikveh filled, and from then on the town kept its high standard of purity. All who were present were overawed by what they saw, and they thanked Heaven for giving them a leader of such saintliness and power that even Hashem saw fit to fulfill his requests.