JERUSALEM – Israel’s chief rabbis have called for a public day of fasting and prayer in order to bring rain to the parched country.

Thursday has been designated as a day of fasting and prayer to atone for sins that the rabbis believe could be contributing to the lack of rain, the Jerusalem Post reported Tuesday.

Israel is in its seventh year of drought, with this winter predicted to be the driest of them. In fact, dry, warm weather has been the norm in Israel despite the fact that winter officially began weeks ago.

“The summer is gone, as is most of the winter, and we are yet to be redeemed by the downfall of rains of blessing, and the state of the waters in the Land of Israel is under duress and great distress, especially since this is not the first year of drought, and the land is dry due to our many sins, and this is a troubling matter,” Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger and Chief Sephardi Rabbi Shlomo Amar wrote in an official letter calling for the fast.