Variantly: "My taking shall drip as the rain": not as the rain that comes from the south, which is all for blast, mildew, and curse; but as the rain which comes from the west, which is all for blessing. R. Simai was wont to say: Whence is it derived that just as Moses called heaven and earth to bear witness over Israel, so, he called the four winds of heaven? From "ya'arof as rain, etc." — This refers to the west wind, which is at the "back (oref [west]) of the world, and which is entirely a blessing; "My word shall flow as the dew" — This refers to the north wind, which renders the firmament pure as gold; "as winds (se'irim) upon the herbage" — This refers to the east wind, which stirs up ("mesa'ereth") the world as a demon (sair); "as showers upon the grass" — This refers to the south wind, which brings showers.