איוב, פרק ל״ו, פסוק כ״ז

The cycle of rain is a familiar, everyday natural phenomenon, yet it serves as a remarkable testimony to God's providence and absolute control over creation. The precise mechanism of water rising from the earth and returning as rain proves that this is not a blind natural process of clouds simply melting away on their own. Instead, it is a deliberate, carefully supervised act by the Creator [אלשיך, מלבי״ם, תקות אנוש].

The primary approach among commentators is that God's involvement in this cycle begins with an act of withholding or stopping [מצודת ציון, רלב״ג, רמב״ן, אבן עזרא]. He holds back the drops of water [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ, תקות אנוש]. Even when the sky is thick with clouds and heavy with moisture, God can intentionally prevent the rain from falling, thereby demonstrating His ultimate mastery over the forces of nature [מצודת דוד, אלשיך]. Conversely, other scholars suggest that this divine action implies an increase, or the active pouring of water from the heavens down to the earth [רש״י, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Offering an interesting critique of the "withholding" concept, [תקות אנוש] argues that a tribute to the wonders of nature would not begin by describing an absence of action. Therefore, he views this as a positive step where God actively detaches the drops from the clouds and sends them downward. Another perspective proposes that this initial action actually refers to the gathering and drawing of moisture upward from the earth into the air [מלבי״ם].

As the process of rain formation continues, the moisture takes the form of clouds [רש״י, מצודת ציון] or vapors rising from the ground, which ultimately serve as the source of the rain [אבן עזרא, מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ, תקות אנוש]. These gathered waters are then poured and spilled downward [רש״י, מצודת ציון, תקות אנוש, אלשיך]. Alternatively, the waters undergo a careful process of refinement, filtering, and melting [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ, אבן עזרא, רמב״ן]. Combining these perspectives reveals a wondrous picture of the water cycle. Vapors rise from the earth, are refined and filtered in the skies, and are prepared to become rain [רלב״ג, אבן עזרא, מלבי״ם]. God alone determines when these vapors will melt into separate, distinct raindrops rather than combining into a single destructive stream, and He directs them to fall in exact locations according to His divine providence [אלשיך].