Aneinu OU Torah Blog Averting Hurricane Irma: The Power of Prayer By Rabbi Jack Abramowitz

This is a very unusual edition of The Torah Blog. As you are no doubt aware, Houston is still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Harvey (read about how New Jersey NCSY went down to help here and see how you can help here!). As I write this, Hurricane Irma is battering Puerto Rico and the Bahamas, and threatening the southeast coast of America. In response to this threat, I received the following question: Q. Are there any tehillim or tefilot to say to prevent this hurricane from hitting us in Florida? To which I responded as follows: A. Most of our rain-related prayers are to make it come, not to keep it away (see Talmud Taanis 19a, where Choni refused to pray to make the rain stop), but here are some Psalms typically recited for the noted occasions: For general protection: Psalm 91 For protection against a flood: Psalm 24 For protection from a sudden or unusual death: Psalm 116 For protection from danger: Psalm 11 For protection from evil: Psalm 36 For protection from harm: Psalm 119 For protection from tragedy: Psalm 13 For the protection of the city: Psalm 88 To be saved from any difficulty: Psalm 30 To be saved from water or fire: Psalm 76 I hope this is useful for you – stay safe and dry!