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The Former Rain, the Latter Rain, and the Jewish Festivals

The Former Rain, the Latter Rain, and the Jewish Festivals

Last updated on: September 14, 2026 at 7:02 pm by Beverly R. Green

The Former Rain, the Latter Rain, and the Jewish Festivals 2026-09-14T19:02:57-04:00 Beverly R. Green

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The Former Rain. The Latter Rain, and Jewish Festivals/ image by Vilkasss

The Former Rain and the Latter Rain

It has rained a lot lately. Last week, I was walking to the car after school and the rain was coming down. My umbrella, of course, was in the car. School was out for the day and I was in a good mood, so I started to sing an old chorus that said:

“I feel the rain, I feel the rain, falling down on me

The former and the latter rain together

I’m not talkin’ ‘bout the weather

The Holy Ghost rain is falling down on me.’

It was a fun chorus and seemed appropriate. I was nudged by a bit of curiosity about what “former rain” and “latter rain” meant. I have sung that chorus for decades and never really thought about it. So I researched them and found out that the former (or early) rain (yoreh) falls in autumn, roughly from October to November (months of Tishri/Cheshvan) and the latter (or late) rain (malkosh) falls in spring, roughly from March to April (the month of Nisan/Abib). That was interesting because I would have figured it was the other way around (former for spring and latter for fall). The moment came and went, and I forgot all about the little song and the seasons. Then Sunday morning, my pastor talked about the Hebrew festivals and how they aligned with the spring and fall of each year. I got curious about whether there was a correlation. This is what I learned:

“In Israel, rain is always a blessing much needed for the successful growing and harvesting of crops. There are generally two rainy seasons mentioned in Scripture: the early or former autumn rain (October to November) and the latter spring rain (March to April). With the former rain, farmers begin ploughing and planting seeds. Then, the latter rain, which is even more important, matures the crops for harvesting.”

It seems that the former rain arrives right around the Fall Feasts, including Rosh Hashanah (Trumpets), Yom Kippur (Atonement), and Sukkot (Tabernacles/Ingathering). After the dry summer, this early moisture softens the baked soil so farmers can plow and plant their wheat and barley crops. Sukkot, in particular, historically marks the thanking God for the harvest and praying for the coming rain.

The Fall Festivals

The origin of Rosh Hashanah, known also as the Feast of Trumpets is recorded in Leviticus 23:23-25: “The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present a food offering to the Lord.’”

According to Christianity.com, during the Feast of Trumpets, the Israelites would set aside ten days to consecrate themselves, make sacrifices, repent, and rest. The event began with the sound of the trumpets. This was one of three of the important autumnal festivals and feasts that would take place.

Another of the autumn feasts is Yom Kippur, the Feast of Atonement. “Yom Kippur, is the most holy and solemn day of the Jewish calendar. It is [historically] the only day when the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies, the most sacred place within the Tabernacle and ancient temples. It was the only day when the high priest reconciled Israel with God and symbolically brought them back into the presence of the Lord.” Yom Kippur is instituted in Leviticus 16, where God established the most sacred ritual in ancient Israel.

The ritual goes like this: “Once a year, the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies. The only person, on the only day, who could approach God’s presence directly.

“Two goats were selected: one sacrificed as a sin offering, the other sent into the wilderness as the ‘scapegoat,’ symbolically carrying away the sins of the people.

“This wasn’t just a ceremony; it was God’s visual aid, teaching His people about the seriousness of sin and the necessity of atonement. Every element pointed toward a greater reality that wouldn’t be fully revealed until a Roman cross outside Jerusalem” (Voice of Judah Israel).

The final fall feast is Sukkot. Found in Leviticus 23:33-43 . The seven days of Sukkot are celebrated by dwelling in the sukkah, taking the Four Kinds, and rejoicing. The people expose themselves to the elements in covered huts, commemorating God’s sheltering of the Israelites as they traveled from Egypt to the Promised Land. The Four Kinds blessing expresses unity and the belief in God’s omnipresence. The Four Kinds are a palm branch (lulav), two willows (aravot), a minimum of three myrtles (hadassim) and one citron (etrog). The first three kinds are neatly bundled together. According to Chabad.org, this is how the blessing goes:

Hold the lulav in your right hand (unless you’re a lefty), with its spine facing you. Face east and say:

[Text read right to left] “בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה אֲ-דֹנָי אֱ-לֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו, וְצִוָּנוּ עַל נְטִילַת לוּלָ”

[Phoenetic translation] “Bah-rookh ah-tah ah-doh-noi eh-loh-hay-noo meh-lekh hah-oh-lahm, ah-shehr ki-deh-shah-noo beh-mitz-voh-tahv veh-tzee-vah-noo ahl neh-tee-laht loo-lahv.”

[Translation] “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us regarding taking the lulav.”

Pick up the etrog in your left hand.

[On the first day of Sukkot (or the first time on Sukkot you get to do this), at this point say:]

[Read right to left] “ בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה אֲ-דֹנָי אֱ-לֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לִזְמַן הַזֶּה”

[Phoenetic translation] “Bah-rookh ah-tah ah-doh-noi eh-loh-hay-noo meh-lekh hah-oh-lahm sheh-heh-kheh-yah-noo veh-kee-mah-noo ve-hig-ee-yah-noo liz-mahn hah-zeh.”

[Translation] “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has granted us life, sustained us and enabled us to reach this occasion.”

Bring the lulav and etrog together—you’ve done the mitzvah!

Contained in these three feasts we find a wake-up call to repent, the forgiveness of God’s people, and the provision of God as His people move toward the fulfillment of His promises to them. We find the message of the mission of Jesus Christ, who was yet to come!

The Spring Festivals

The latter (or late) rain (malkosh) falls in spring, roughly from March to April (the month of Nisan/Abib). During this time of year, the heavy rains ripen the crops just in time for the spring harvests. The Spring Feasts are Passover and the Feast of Firstfruits.

“The eight-day Jewish holiday of Passover is celebrated in the early spring, from the 15th through the 22nd of the Hebrew month of Nissan. Passover (Pesach) commemorates the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. Pesach is observed by avoiding leaven, and highlighted by the Seder meals that include four cups of wine, eating matzah and bitter herbs, and retelling the story of the Exodus.

“In Hebrew it is known as Pesach (which means “to pass over”), because God “passed over” the Jewish homes when killing the firstborn of Egypt to convince Pharaoh to “let His people go.”

“Passover is divided into two parts: The first two days and last two days (the latter commemorating the splitting of the Red Sea) are full-fledged holidays. Holiday candles are lit at night, and kiddush and sumptuous holiday meals are enjoyed on both nights and days. We don’t go to work, drive, write, or switch on or off electric devices. We are permitted to cook and to carry outdoors. The middle four days are called Chol Hamoed, semi-festive ‘intermediate days,’ when most forms of work are permitted.”

The Feast of the First Fruits is commanded by God as an everlasting ordinance continuing forever (Leviticus 23:9-14). “The first day of this feast landed on the first day of the week following Sabbath after the Passover Seder. The feast landed on a Sunday because part of the festival involved work for everyone! The farmers were to gather a sheaf of barley and take it to the priest. He would wave the sheaf before the Lord as an offering to Him. The sheaf offering included other sacrifices which were offered to the Lord, these are not possible today but will be resumed in the Millennium. It is also important to see that the farmer was not allowed to harvest any of the crop for personal use until this offering was made. This prohibition clearly designated God as the very first one to consume the first fruit of the crop.

“Barley is the first fruit of the spring crops. The sheaves were taken to the temple as an offering to the Lord. This introduces a second function of the feast that is called ‘counting the Omer.’ During the seven weeks between the two Feasts of First Fruits, the Jews count expectantly down to the final day of the feast which is ‘Shavuot.’ Later the people would harvest wheat and it would be made into loaves which were offered at the second feast of first fruits, Shavuot. (Due to the Greek translation of ‘fifty’ in Acts, this is often referred to as Pentecost.) This introduces the second feast of the first fruits offering, waving the loaves before the Lord. At this time, the celebration of the Feast of First Fruits is completed.”

These feasts represent the passing from slavery into freedom and the bringing in of the harvest. Spiritually, the latter rain represents a final, powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit to ripen the spiritual harvest before the end of the age. According to Ministry Magazine, “We are now living in the time of the ‘latter rain.’ Showers are falling in a few places on earth, but generally this is not so. Generally, ‘as a people, … we are as dry as the hills of Gilboa that had neither dew nor rain’ … As the original disciples prayed for the fulfillment of the promised Spirit, so are we invited to pray: “Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain” (Zech. 10:1).

Verses That Reference the Former and the Latter Rain

Joel 2:23
“Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God; for He has given you the former rain faithfully, and He will cause the rain to come down for you—the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.”

Hosea 6:3
“Let us know, let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the latter rain that waters the earth.”

Deuteronomy 11:14
“He will send rain on your land in season, both autumn and spring rains [former and latter], so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and oil.”

James 5:7
“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late [latter] rains.”

Zechariah 10:1
“Ask rain from the LORD in the season of the latter rain, from the LORD who makes the storm clouds, and he will give them showers of rain, to everyone the vegetation in the field.”

Jeremiah 5:24
“They do not say in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest.'”

In biblical symbolism, rain represents God’s divine provision, covenant blessing, and as my little chorus indicated, “the [Holy Spirit] ‘Holy Ghost’ rain is falling down on me.” As Christians, we may view the fall festivals, the former rain, as the events of the coming of Christ. We may view the spring festivals, the latter rain, as the Holy Spirit’s preparation for His triumphant return when He will gather all His beloved unto Himself.

What a glorious downpour!

God bless you!

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