Only then would God hear his prayers and bring rain. Rachamim comes to the front of the synagogue, carrying a clay pitcher with two spouts. In this pitcher he had collected his tears produced by seeing his children frequently going to bed hungry and he had asked his wife, at his death, to put this tear-collector with him in his grave. Standing in front of the Holy Ark, Rachamim whispers with great sorrow into one of the spouts and tells God that he will break the clay pitcher in front of the congregation if God does not bring rain. Then the answer comes, Do not break the pitcher.
Clouds form in the sky and it begins to rain.
The story ends with, As our Sages say, The Gates of Tears are never closed. We can see there is a mythical connection between tears and rain, not only in the Syrian story, but also in aggada and in midrash. At this, the people broke into sobbing, and rain began to fall. Perhaps it was the tears of Joseph that were needed to help release the rains. Perhaps during these years of famine Joseph s heart was hardened and dried without nourishment since it was a time without rain, a time without tears, a time when he was alone without family and love and experiencing such a sense of betrayal by those whom he trusted and loved.