Taanit 19

אותה העיר מתענה ומתרעת וכל סביבותיה מתענות ולא מתריעות רבי עקיבא אומר מתריעות ולא מתענות וכן עיר שיש בה דבר או מפולת אותה העיר מתענה ומתרעת וכל סביבותיה מתענות ולא מתריעות רבי עקיבא אומר מתריעות ולא מתענות

In a case of this kind, that city fasts and cries out by blowing the shofar, and all of its surrounding areas join them in their fast, but they do not cry out. Rabbi Akiva disagrees and says: They cry out but they do not fast. The mishna continues: And likewise, if a city is afflicted by pestilence or collapsing buildings, that city fasts and cries out, and all of its surrounding areas fast but they do not cry out. Rabbi Akiva says: They cry out but they do not fast.

איזהו דבר עיר המוציאה חמש מאות רגלי ויצאו ממנה שלשה מתים בשלשה ימים זה אחר זה הרי זה דבר פחות מכאן אין זה דבר

The mishna inquires: What is considered a plague of pestilence? When is a series of deaths treated as a plague? The mishna answers: If a city that sends out five hundred infantrymen, i.e., it has a population of five hundred able-bodied men, and three dead are taken out of it on three consecutive days, this is a plague of pestilence, which requires fasting and crying out. If the death rate is lower than that, this is not pestilence.

על אלו מתריעין בכל מקום על השדפון ועל הירקון ועל הארבה ועל החסיל ועל החיה רעה ועל החרב מתריעין עליה מפני שהיא מכה מהלכת

For the following calamities they cry out in every place: For blight; for mildew; for locusts; for caterpillars, a type of locust that comes in large swarms and descends upon a certain place; for dangerous beasts that have entered a town; and for the sword, i.e., legions of an invading army. The reason that they cry out about these misfortunes in every place is because these are calamities that spread.

מעשה שירדו זקנים מירושלים לעריהם וגזרו תענית על שנראה כמלא פי תנור שדפון באשקלון ועוד גזרו תענית על שאכלו זאבים שני תינוקות בעבר הירדן רבי יוסי אומר לא על שאכלו אלא על שנראו

An incident occurred in which Elders descended from Jerusalem to their cities throughout Eretz Yisrael and decreed a fast throughout the land because there was seen in the city of Ashkelon a small amount of blight, enough to fill the mouth of an oven. This fast was observed throughout Eretz Yisrael, as blight spreads quickly. And furthermore, they decreed a fast because wolves had eaten two children in Transjordan. Rabbi Yosei says: This fast was decreed not because they ate the children, but because these wolves were merely seen in an inhabited area.

על אלו מתריעין בשבת על עיר שהקיפוה נכרים או נהר ועל הספינה המיטרפת בים רבי יוסי אומר לעזרה ולא לצעקה שמעון התימני אומר אף על הדבר ולא הודו לו חכמים

For the following calamities they cry out even on Shabbat: For a city that is surrounded by gentile troops, or for a place in danger of being flooded by a river that has swelled its banks, or for a ship tossed about at sea. Rabbi Yosei said: One may cry out on Shabbat to summon help, but it may not be sounded for crying out to God. Shimon the Timnite says: One may cry out on Shabbat even for pestilence, but the Rabbis did not agree with him.

על כל צרה שלא תבוא על הצבור מתריעין עליהן חוץ מרוב גשמים מעשה שאמרו לו לחוני המעגל התפלל שירדו גשמים אמר להם צאו והכניסו תנורי פסחים בשביל שלא ימוקו התפלל ולא ירדו גשמים

§ The mishna adds: In general, they cry out on account of any trouble that should not befall the community, a euphemism for trouble that may befall the community, except for an overabundance of rain. Although too much rain may be disastrous, one does not cry out over it, because rain is a sign of a blessing. The mishna relates: An incident occurred in which the people said to Ḥoni HaMe’aggel: Pray that rain should fall. He said to them: Go out and bring in the clay ovens used to roast the Paschal lambs, so that they will not dissolve in the water, as torrential rains are certain to fall. He prayed, and no rain fell at all.

מה עשה עג עוגה ועמד בתוכה ואמר לפניו רבונו של עולם בניך שמו פניהם עלי שאני כבן בית לפניך נשבע אני בשמך הגדול שאיני זז מכאן עד שתרחם על בניך התחילו גשמים מנטפין אמר לא כך שאלתי אלא גשמי בורות שיחין ומערות התחילו לירד בזעף אמר לא כך שאלתי אלא גשמי רצון ברכה ונדבה

What did he do? He drew a circle on the ground and stood inside it and said before God: Master of the Universe, Your children have turned their faces toward me, as I am like a member of Your household. Therefore, I take an oath by Your great name that I will not move from here until You have mercy upon Your children and answer their prayers for rain. Rain began to trickle down, but only in small droplets. He said: I did not ask for this, but for rain to fill the cisterns, ditches, and caves with enough water to last the entire year. Rain began to fall furiously. He said: I did not ask for this damaging rain either, but for rain of benevolence, blessing, and generosity.

ירדו כתקנן עד שיצאו ישראל מירושלים להר הבית מפני הגשמים באו ואמרו לו כשם שהתפללת עליהם שירדו כך התפלל שילכו להן אמר להם צאו וראו אם נמחית אבן הטועין

Subsequently, the rains fell in their standard manner but continued unabated, filling the city with water until all of the Jews exited the residential areas of Jerusalem and went to the Temple Mount due to the rain. They came and said to him: Just as you prayed over the rains that they should fall, so too, pray that they should stop. He said to them: Go out and see if the Claimants’ Stone, a large stone located in the city, upon which proclamations would be posted with regard to lost and found articles, has been washed away. In other words, if the water has not obliterated the Claimants’ Stone, it is not yet appropriate to pray for the rain to cease.

שלח לו שמעון בן שטח אלמלא חוני אתה גוזרני עליך נידוי אבל מה אעשה לך שאתה מתחטא לפני המקום ועושה לך רצונך כבן שהוא מתחטא על אביו ועושה לו רצונו ועליך הכתוב אומר ישמח אביך ואמך ותגל יולדתך

Shimon ben Shetaḥ, the Nasi of the Sanhedrin at the time, relayed to Ḥoni HaMe’aggel: Were you not Ḥoni, I would have decreed that you be ostracized, but what can I do to you? You nag [mitḥatei] God and He does your bidding, like a son who nags his father and his father does his bidding without reprimand. After all, rain fell as you requested. About you, the verse states: “Let your father and your mother be glad, and let her who bore you rejoice” (Proverbs 23:25).

היו מתענין וירדו להם גשמים קודם הנץ החמה לא ישלימו לאחר הנץ החמה ישלימו רבי אליעזר אומר קודם חצות לא ישלימו לאחר חצות ישלימו

The mishna teaches another halakha with regard to fast days: If they were fasting for rain, and rain fell for them before sunrise, they need not complete their fast until the evening. However, if it fell after sunrise, they must complete their fast. Rabbi Eliezer says: If rain fell before midday, they need not complete their fast; but if it rains after midday, they must complete their fast.

מעשה שגזרו תענית בלוד וירדו להם גשמים קודם חצות אמר להם רבי טרפון צאו ואכלו ושתו ועשו יום טוב ויצאו ואכלו ושתו ועשו יום טוב ובאו בין הערבים וקראו הלל הגדול

The mishna relates: An incident occurred in which the court decreed a fast in Lod due to a lack of rain, and rain fell for them before midday. Rabbi Tarfon said to the people: Go out, and eat, and drink, and treat this day as a Festival. And they went out, and ate, and drank, and treated the day as a Festival, and in the afternoon they came to the synagogue and recited the great hallel, to thank God for answering their prayers.

גמ׳ סדר תעניות האלו האמור ברביעה ראשונה ורמינהי רביעה ראשונה ושניה לשאול שלישית להתענות

GEMARA: The mishna taught: The order of these fasts is stated only when the fast concerns the first rainfall. And the Gemara raises a contradiction between this statement and the following baraita: If the periods of the first and second rainfall pass without rain, this is the time to ask and pray for rain; if the third passes without rain, this is the time to fast.

אמר רב יהודה הכי קאמר סדר תעניות האמור אימתי בזמן שיצאה רביעה ראשונה ושניה ושלישית ולא ירדו גשמים אבל ירדו גשמים ברביעה ראשונה וזרעו ולא צמחו אי נמי צמחו וחזרו ונשתנו מתריעין עליהן מיד

Rav Yehuda said that this is what the mishna is saying: When does the order of these fasts that is stated apply? When the periods of the first, second, and third rainfall have passed and rain has not fallen. However, if rain fell in the time of the first rainfall, and the people sowed but the plants did not sprout, or, alternatively, if they sprouted a little, but their appearance changed back for the worse, as no rain fell after the first rainfall, they cry out about it immediately.

אמר רב נחמן דוקא נשתנו אבל יבשו לא פשיטא נשתנו תנן לא צריכא דאקון מהו דתימא אקנתא מילתא היא קמשמע לן

Rav Naḥman said: This applies specifically if their appearance changed. However, if they dried out entirely, they do not cry out, as this condition cannot be improved. The Gemara asks: It is obvious that this is the case, because in the mishna we learned the word changed. The Gemara answers: No, it is necessary for Rav Naḥman to issue his statement with regard to a case where they produced stalks after they dried out. Lest you say that producing stalks is a matter of significance, as it is a sign of strengthening, and the crops might be saved through prayer, Rav Naḥman therefore teaches us that this is not the case.

וכן שפסקו גשמים בין גשם לגשם כו׳ מאי מכת בצורת אמר רב יהודה אמר רב מכה המביאה לידי בצורת אמר רב נחמן נהרא אנהרא

The mishna further taught: And likewise, if rain ceased for a period of forty days between one rainfall and another, they cry out about this, because it is a plague of drought. The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of the phrase: A plague of drought? Isn’t this simply a drought? Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: The mishna means that a period of forty days between one rainfall and the next is a plague that may cause a drought. In this regard, Rav Naḥman said: When crops do not grow in one place due to lack of rain and must be imported by means of one river to another river,

בצורתא מדינתא אמדינתא כפנא ואמר רבי חנינא סאה בסלע ושכיחא בצורתא ארבעה ולא שכיחא כפנא

this is considered a drought. If produce must be brought from one province to another province, this is considered a famine. And Rabbi Ḥanina said: If a se’a of grain is sold for a sela, but it is available, this is considered a drought. Although prices have risen, there is still grain for those who can afford it. However, if four se’a of grain is sold for a sela, and it is not available, this is considered a famine.

אמר רבי יוחנן לא שנו אלא בזמן שהמעות בזול ופירות ביוקר אבל מעות ביוקר ופירות בזול מתריעין עליה מיד דאמר רבי יוחנן נהירנא כד הוו קיימי ארבעה סאין בסלע והוו נפישי נפיחי כפן בטבריא מדלית איסר

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: They taught this only with regard to a time when money is cheap and everyone has it, and produce is expensive. However, when money is expensive, i.e., unavailable, and produce is cheap, they cry out about it immediately, as this is considered a famine. As Rabbi Yoḥanan said: I remember when four se’a of produce were sold for one sela, and yet there were many swollen by famine in Tiberias, as they did not have even one issar with which to purchase food.

ירדו לצמחין אבל לא לאילן בשלמא לצמחים ולא לאילן משכחת לה דאתא ניחא ולא אתיא רזיא לאילן ולא לצמחין דאתיא רזיא ולא אתיא ניחא

§ The mishna taught: If sufficient rain fell for the vegetation but not enough fell for the trees; if it was enough for the trees but not for the vegetation; or if sufficient rain fell for both this and that, i.e., vegetation and trees, but not enough to fill the cisterns, ditches, and caves with water to last the summer, they cry out about it immediately. The Gemara comments: Granted, with regard to rain that fell in sufficient quantities for the vegetation but not for the trees, this case can be found, e.g., if gentle rain fell but heavy rain did not fall, this is insufficient for the trees. Furthermore, it is possible for enough rain to fall for the trees but it is not effective for the vegetation, if heavy rain fell but gentle rain did not fall.

לזה ולזה אבל לא לבורות ולא לשיחין ומערות משכחת לה דאתיא רזיא וניחא מיהו טובא לא אתיא אלא הא דתניא ירדו לבורות לשיחין ולמערות אבל לא לזה ולזה היכי משכחת לה דאתיא בשפיכותא

Likewise, in the case of rain that benefits both this and that, trees and vegetation, but not cisterns, ditches, and caves, you can find this too, if both heavy and gentle rain fell, however, they did not fall in abundance, and therefore the water in the cisterns will not last through the summer. However, that which is taught in a baraita: If sufficient rain fell for cisterns, ditches, and caves, but not for either this or that, i.e., trees or plants, how can you find these circumstances? If the rain is enough to fill cisterns, how could it not be enough for plants and trees? The Gemara answers: Where rain comes in a single downpour, it will fill the cisterns but will provide no benefit to plants and trees.

תנו רבנן מתריעין על האילנות בפרוס הפסח על הבורות ושיחין ומערות בפרוס החג ואם אין להן מים לשתות מתריעין עליהן מיד

The Sages taught: They cry out about trees that have not received enough rain, until near Passover, as beyond that time any rain will no longer benefit trees. However, they sound the alarm over cisterns, ditches and caves that have not been filled until before the festival of Sukkot. And at any time, if they have no water to drink, they sound the alarm over them immediately.

ואיזהו מיד שלהן שני וחמישי ושני ועל כולן אין מתריעין עליהן אלא באפרכיא שלהן

And what exactly is the meaning of their use of: Immediately, in these cases? Monday, Thursday, and Monday of the week in which the court became aware of the crisis, but not necessarily on the very day that it became evident. And in all of these cases of interrupted rainfall, they sound the alarm over them only in their district [iparkheya], but not in other areas where rain is falling normally.

ואסכרא בזמן שיש בה מיתה מתריעין עליה בזמן שאין בה מיתה אין מתריעין עליה ומתריעין על הגובאי בכל שהוא רבי שמעון בן אלעזר אומר אף על החגב

And with regard to a plague of diphtheria, when it has the potential to cause death they sound the alarm over it, but when it does not have the potential to cause death they do not sound the alarm over it. And they sound the alarm over the arrival of locusts, for any amount, as it is likely that more locusts are on the way. However, they do not sound the alarm over the arrival of grasshoppers. Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: They sound the alarm even over grasshoppers, as they too can cause a great deal of damage if they swarm in large numbers.

תנו רבנן מתריעין על האילנות בשאר שני שבוע על הבורות ועל השיחין ועל המערות אפילו בשביעית רבן שמעון בן גמליאל אומר אף על האילנות בשביעית מפני שיש בהן פרנסה לעניים

The Sages taught in a baraita: They sound the alarm over trees during the other six years of the seven-year Sabbatical cycle, when the earth is tilled, but not during the Sabbatical Year, when one must refrain from working the land. However, for cisterns, ditches, and caves, they sound the alarm even in the Sabbatical Year. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: Even for trees they sound the alarm in the Sabbatical Year, because they serve as sustenance for the poor. Since the poor rely on these trees for their food in the Sabbatical Year, they will lose their means of subsistence if it does not rain.

תניא אידך מתריעין על האילנות בשאר שני שבוע על הבורות על השיחין ועל המערות אפילו בשביעית רבן שמעון בן גמליאל אומר אף על האילנות מתריעין על הספיחין בשביעית מפני שיש בהן פרנסה לעניים

It is taught in another baraita: They sound the alarm over trees during the other years of the Sabbatical cycle, and for cisterns, ditches and caves they sound the alarm even in the Sabbatical Year. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: Even for trees. Furthermore, they sound the alarm for aftergrowths of crops that have grown of their own accord in the Sabbatical Year, because they serve as sustenance for the poor, as it is permitted to eat aftergrowths.

תניא אמר רבי אלעזר בן פרטא מיום שחרב בית המקדש נעשו גשמים צימוקין לעולם יש שנה שגשמיה מרובין ויש שנה שגשמיה מועטין יש שנה שגשמיה יורדין בזמנן ויש שנה שאין גשמיה יורדין בזמנן

§ It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Elazar ben Perata said: Since the day that the Temple was destroyed, rain has been meager, i.e., overall, not enough has fallen in the world. There are years whose rains are abundant, and there are years whose rains are scare. There are years whose rains fall in their proper time, and there are years whose rains do not fall in their proper time.

שנה שגשמיה יורדין בזמנן למה הוא דומה לעבד שנתן לו רבו פרנסתו באחד בשבת נמצאת עיסה נאפית כתיקנה ונאכלת כתיקנה שנה שאין גשמיה יורדין בזמנן למה הוא דומה לעבד שנתן לו רבו פרנסתו בערב שבת נמצאת עיסה נאפית שלא כתיקנה ונאכלת שלא כתיקנה

With regard to a year whose rains fall in their proper time, to what may it be compared? To a servant whose master gave him his weekly portion on Sunday. It is thereby found that his dough is baked properly throughout the week, and it is eaten properly, as he has a sufficient amount. Conversely, with regard to a year whose rains do not fall in their proper time, to what may it be compared? To a servant whose master gave him his portion on Shabbat eve, when there is insufficient time to prepare it fully. It is thereby found that his dough is baked improperly, and it is eaten improperly.

שנה שגשמיה מרובין למה הוא דומה לעבד שנתן לו רבו פרנסתו בבת אחת נמצאו ריחים טוחנות מן הכור מה שטוחנות מן הקב ונמצאת עיסה אוכלת מן הכור כמו אוכלת מן הקב

With regard to a year whose rains are abundant, to what may it be compared? To a servant whose master gave him his portion for a long period of time all at once. He performs all of his milling at one time, and it is therefore found that the mill grinds and produces waste from a kor of produce in the same amount as it grinds and produces waste from the much smaller kav of produce. During each milling process, the same amount of flour goes to waste. Consequently, milling a large amount of flour in a single milling process preserves flour. And similarly, it is found that dough is diminished from a kor, as it diminishes from a kav.

שנה שגשמיה מועטין למה הוא דומה לעבד שנתן לו רבו פרנסתו מעט מעט נמצאו ריחיים מה שטוחנות מן הכור טוחנות מן הקב נמצאת עיסה כמה שנאכלת מן הכור אוכלת מן הקב

In contrast, with regard to a year whose rains are scarce, to what may it be compared? To a servant whose master gave him his portion little by little. It is thereby found that the amount that the mill would have ground from a kor of produce is that which in practice it grinds and produces from each kav. It is likewise found that the dough that would have been diminished from a kor is the same amount that is diminished from a kav. In sum, one retains less dough when given his sustenance little by little.

דבר אחר בזמן שגשמיה מרובין למה הוא דומה לאדם שמגבל את הטיט אם יש לו מים רבים מים אינן כלין והטיט מגובל יפה אם יש לו מים מועטין מים כלים והטיט אינו מתגבל יפה

Alternatively, when its rains are abundant, to what may this year be compared? To a person who kneads clay. If he has a lot of water, his water is not used up and the clay will be well kneaded. If he has only a little water, the water will be used up and the clay will not be well kneaded.

תנו רבנן פעם אחת עלו כל ישראל לרגל לירושלים ולא היה להם מים לשתות הלך נקדימון בן גוריון אצל הגמון אחד אמר לו הלויני שתים עשרה מעיינות מים לעולי רגלים ואני אתן לך שתים עשרה עינות מים ואם איני נותן לך הריני נותן לך שתים עשרה ככר כסף וקבע לו זמן

§ The Sages taught: Once all the Jewish people ascended for the pilgrimage Festival to Jerusalem and there was not enough water for them to drink. Nakdimon ben Guryon, one of the wealthy citizens of Jerusalem, went to a certain gentile officer [hegemon] and said to him: Lend me twelve wells of water for the pilgrims, and I will give back to you twelve wells of water. And if I do not give them to you, I will give you twelve talents of silver. And the officer set him a time limit for returning the water.

כיון שהגיע הזמן ולא ירדו גשמים בשחרית שלח לו שגר לי או מים או מעות שיש לי בידך שלח לו עדיין יש לי זמן כל היום כולו שלי הוא בצהריים שלח לו שגר לי או מים או מעות שיש לי בידך שלח לו עדיין יש לי שהות ביום במנחה שלח לו שגר לי מים או מעות שיש לי בידך שלח לו עדיין יש לי שהות ביום לגלג עליו אותו הגמון אמר כל השנה כולה לא ירדו גשמים

When the set time arrived and no rain had fallen, in the morning the official sent a message to Nakdimon: Send me either the water or the coins that you owe me. Nakdimon sent a message to him: I still have time, as the entire day is mine. At noontime the official again sent a message to him: Send me either the water or the coins that you owe me. Nakdimon sent a message to him: I still have time left in the day. In the afternoon he sent a message to him: Send me either the water or the coins that you owe me. Nakdimon sent a message to him: I still have time left in the day. That officer ridiculed him, saying: Throughout the entire year rain has not fallen,