Today's Daf Yomi
December 6, 2021 | ב׳ בטבת תשפ״ב
This month's shiurim are dedicated by the Hadran Women of Minneapolis in memory of the father of their organizer Shira Krebs, Jerry Katz, Gershon Pinya ben Yitzchak Lev haCohen z”l who will be greatly missed.
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This month's learning is sponsored by Sami Groff in honor of Shoshana Keats Jaskoll and Chochmat Nashim.
Taanit 24
Today’s daf is sponsored by Earl Norman in honor of his wife Tamara Norman. “To my wife who is the embodiment of eishet chayyil.”
Today’s daf is also sponsored by Gabrielle and Daniel Altman in honor of the 85th birthday of their father and grandfather, Hon. Herbert Altman.
Stories are told of Rabbi Yosi from Yokrat. Rabbi Yosi son of Rabbi Avin was his student but leaves him to learn with Rav Ashi as he was scared of him after he showed no sympathy for his children. One day when Rabbi Yosi didn’t return in time to feed his workers, his son prayed to God to have the fruits ripen early in order to have food for them. When Rabbi Yosi heard what his son did, he got angry at him for bothering God to ripen the fruits early and said that as a result, he will die before his time. His daughter was beautiful and there was a man who was looking at her through the fence saying, “If I can’t marry her, at least I can look at her.” Rabbi Yosi got upset that she was causing men to be tormented and told her to return to the ground. His donkey was rented out to others and was sent back to him daily with money from the rental but if any amount was missing or added, the donkey would refuse to move. Elazar Ish Birta would give all his money to charity so the charity collectors would avoid him so as not to leave him with no money. One day he was in the market shopping for his daughter’s dowry and saw the charity collectors and gave them all the money but one zuz that he used to buy wheat for the wedding. A miracle happened from the small amount of wheat that he bought, but he wouldn’t let his family benefit from it as he declared that it was sanctified since it came from a miracle. A number of stories are told where the rabbis pray for rain and yet it doesn’t help at first. Only after giving up does the rain come. Rabbi Oshaya blames the house of the Nasi and the people for the fact that the rain doesn’t come and gets the Nasi’s servants very upset and they try to torture him. However, the people stand up for him. Other stories are told of rabbis who pray for rain and their prayers are not answered but then a chazan comes and due to his merits, the rains come. What deeds did they do that enabled this? Raba’s prayers for rain go unanswered and he wonders why Rav Yehuda was able to bring rain so easily and he was not. Rava also was unsuccessful at bringing rain even after the people fasted so he has them fast through the night and from a dream someone has, he realizes the time is ripe for prayer and he prays and the rains come. Rava gave lashes to someone who slept with a non-Jewish woman and the person died from the lashes. This upset Shavor Malka, the Persian ruler and he wanted to punish Rava, but his mother, Ifrah Hermiz, warns him not to start up with the Jews as God answers their prayers. Upon his mother’s suggestion, he gives them a test to see if this is in fact the case. Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa asks God to stop the rain so he can get home safely, even though the rest of the world needs the rain. When he arrives at home, he asks God to bring the rain for those who need it and the rains come. Rav Yosef points out how strong his prayers were as they overrode the prayer of the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur when he asks that God not heed the prayers of the travelers. Even though Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa brought rain for others, he himself lived in extreme poverty.
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יומא חד שמעיה דקא גריס אמר שמואל השולה דג מן הים בשבת כיון שיבש בו כסלע חייב אמר ליה ולימא מר ובין סנפיריו אמר ליה ולא סבר לה מר דההיא רבי יוסי בן רבי אבין אמרה אמר ליה אנא ניהו
One day Rabbi Yosei bar Avin heard Rav Ashi studying and reciting the following statement. Shmuel said: With regard to one who removes a fish from the sea on Shabbat, when an area on the skin of the fish the size of a sela coin has dried up, he is liable for violating the prohibition against slaughtering an animal on Shabbat. A fish in that condition cannot survive, and therefore one who removed it from the water is liable for killing it. Rabbi Yosei bar Avin said to Rav Ashi: And let the Master say that this is the case provided that the skin that dried is between its fins. Rav Ashi said to him: And doesn’t the Master maintain that Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Avin said this ruling? Why didn’t you state it in his name? Rabbi Yosei bar Avin said to him: I am he.
אמר ליה ולאו קמיה דרבי יוסי דמן יוקרת הוה שכיח מר אמר ליה הין אמר ליה ומאי טעמא שבקיה מר ואתא הכא אמר ליה גברא דעל בריה ועל ברתיה לא חס עלי דידי היכי חייס
Rav Ashi said to him: And didn’t the Master sit before and frequent the study hall of Rabbi Yosei from Yokrat? Rabbi Yosei bar Avin said to him: Yes. Rav Ashi said to him: And what is the reason that the Master left him and came here? Rabbi Yosei bar Avin said to him: I was concerned and departed because he is so severe and unforgiving. He is a man who has no mercy on his own son, and no mercy on his daughter. How, then, could he have mercy on me?
בריה מאי היא יומא חד הוו אגרי ליה אגירי בדברא נגה להו ולא אייתי להו ריפתא אמרו ליה לבריה כפינן הוו יתבי תותי תאינתא אמר תאנה תאנה הוציאי פירותיך ויאכלו פועלי אבא אפיקו ואכלו
The Gemara asks: What is the incident involving his son? One day Rabbi Yosei from Yokrat hired day laborers to work his field. It grew late and he did not bring them food. The workers said to the son of Rabbi Yosei from Yokrat: We are starving. They were sitting under a fig tree, so the son said: Fig tree, fig tree. Yield your fruits, so that my father’s workers may eat. The fig tree yielded fruit, and they ate.
אדהכי והכי אתא אבוה אמר להו לא תינקטו בדעתייכו דהאי דנגהנא אמצוה טרחנא ועד השתא הוא דסגאי אמרו ליה רחמנא לישבעך כי היכי דאשבען ברך אמר להו מהיכא אמרו הכי והכי הוה מעשה אמר לו בני אתה הטרחת את קונך להוציא תאנה פירותיה שלא בזמנה יאסף שלא בזמנו
In the meantime, his father came and said to the workers: Do not be angry with me for being late, as I was engaged in a mitzva, and until just now I was traveling for that purpose and could not get here any sooner. They said to him: May the Merciful One satisfy you just as your son satisfied us and gave us food. He said to them: From where did he find food to give you? They said: Such-and-such an incident occurred. Rabbi Yosei from Yokrat said to his son: My son, you troubled your Creator to cause the fig to yield its fruit not in its proper time, so too, you will die young. And indeed, his son died before his time.
ברתיה מאי היא הויא ליה ברתא בעלת יופי יומא חד חזיא לההוא גברא דהוה כריא בהוצא וקא חזי לה אמר לו מאי האי אמר ליה רבי אם ללוקחה לא זכיתי לראותה לא אזכה אמר לה בתי קא מצערת להו לברייתא שובי לעפריך ואל יכשלו ביך בני אדם
The Gemara asks: What is the incident involving his daughter? He had a very beautiful daughter. One day Rabbi Yosei from Yokrat saw a certain man piercing a hole in the hedge surrounding his property and looking at his daughter. Rabbi Yosei said to him: What is this? The man said to him: My teacher, if I have not merited taking her in marriage, shall I not at least merit to look at her? Rabbi Yosei said to her: My daughter, you are causing people distress. Return to your dust, and let people no longer stumble into sin due to you.
הויא ליה ההוא חמרא כדהוו אגרי לה כל יומא לאורתא הוו משדרי לה אגרה אגבה ואתיא לבי מרה ואי טפו לה או בצרי לה לא אתיא יומא חד אינשו זוגא דסנדלי עלה ולא אזלה עד דשקלונהו מינה והדר אזלה
§ The Gemara relates another story involving Rabbi Yosei from Yokrat. He had a certain donkey that people hired each day for work. In the evening they would send it back with the money for its hire on its back, and the animal would go to its owner’s house. But if they added or subtracted from the appropriate sum, the donkey would not go. One day someone forgot a pair of sandals on the donkey, and it did not move until they removed the sandals from its back, after which it went off.
אלעזר איש בירתא כד הוו חזו ליה גבאי צדקה הוו טשו מיניה דכל מאי דהוה גביה יהיב להו יומא חד הוה סליק לשוקא למיזבן נדוניא לברתיה חזיוהו גבאי צדקה טשו מיניה
The Gemara cites more stories about miracles that occurred to righteous individuals. Whenever the charity collectors would see Elazar of the village of Birta, they would hide from him, as any money Elazar had with him he would give them, and they did not want to take all his property. One day, Elazar went to the market to purchase what he needed for his daughter’s dowry. The charity collectors saw him and hid from him.
אזל ורהט בתרייהו אמר להו אשבעתיכו במאי עסקיתו אמרו ליה ביתום ויתומה אמר להן העבודה שהן קודמין לבתי שקל כל דהוה בהדיה ויהב להו פש ליה חד זוזא זבן ליה חיטי ואסיק שדייה באכלבא
He went and ran after them, saying to them: I adjure you, tell me, in what mitzva are you engaged? They said to him: We are collecting money for the wedding of an orphan boy and an orphan girl. He said to them: I swear by the Temple service that they take precedence over my daughter. He took everything he had with him and gave it to them. He was left with one single dinar, with which he bought himself wheat, and he then ascended to his house and threw it into the granary.
אתאי דביתהו אמרה לה לברתיה מאי אייתי אבוך אמרה לה כל מה דאייתי באכלבא שדיתיה אתיא למיפתח בבא דאכלבא חזת אכלבא דמליא חיטי וקא נפקא בצינורא דדשא ולא מיפתח בבא מחיטי אזלא ברתיה לבי מדרשא אמרה ליה בא וראה מה עשה לך אוהבך אמר לה העבודה הרי הן הקדש עליך ואין לך בהן אלא כאחד מעניי ישראל
Elazar’s wife came and said to her daughter: What has your father brought? She said to her mother: Whatever he brought he threw into the granary. She went to open the door of the granary, and saw that the granary was full of wheat, so much so that it was coming out through the doorknob, and the door would not open due to the wheat. The granary had miraculously been completely filled. Elazar’s daughter went to the study hall and said to her father: Come and see what He Who loves You, the Almighty, has performed for you. He said to her: I swear by the Temple service, as far as you are concerned this wheat is consecrated property, and you have a share in it only as one of the poor Jews. He said this because he did not want to benefit from a miracle.
רבי יהודה נשיאה גזר תעניתא בעי רחמי ולא אתא מיטרא אמר כמה איכא משמואל הרמתי ליהודה בן גמליאל אוי לו לדור שכן נתקע אוי לו למי שעלתה בימיו כך חלש דעתיה ואתא מיטרא
The Gemara returns to the topic of fasting for rain. Rabbi Yehuda Nesia decreed a fast and prayed for mercy, but rain did not come. He said, lamenting: How great is the difference between the prophet Samuel of Rama, for whom rain fell even when he prayed for it in summer, and myself, Yehuda ben Gamliel. Woe to the generation that is stuck with this leadership; woe to him in whose days this has occurred. He grew upset, and rain came.
דבי נשיאה גזר תעניתא ולא אודעינהו לרבי יוחנן ולריש לקיש לצפרא אודעינהו אמר ליה ריש לקיש לרבי יוחנן הא לא קבילנא עלן מאורתא אמר ליה אנן בתרייהו גררינן
The Gemara relates another story involving a Nasi’s decree of a fast for rain. In the house of the Nasi a fast was declared, but they didn’t inform Rabbi Yoḥanan and Reish Lakish of the fast the day before. In the morning they informed them. Reish Lakish said to Rabbi Yoḥanan: What are we to do? We did not accept this fast upon ourselves the evening before, and a fast must be accepted in the afternoon service of the day preceding the fast. Rabbi Yoḥanan said to him: We are drawn after the community, and therefore, when the Nasi declares a public fast there is no need for an individual to accept it upon himself the day before.
דבי נשיאה גזר תעניתא ולא אתא מיטרא תנא להו אושעיא זעירא דמן חברייא והיה אם מעיני העדה נעשתה לשגגה
The Gemara further states that on another occasion, a fast was declared in the house of the Nasi, but rain did not come. Oshaya, the youngest member of the group of Sages, taught them a baraita. It is written: “Then it shall be, if it shall be committed in error by the congregation, it being hidden from their eyes” (Numbers 15:24). This verse indicates that the leaders are considered the eyes of the congregation.
משל לכלה שהיא בבית אביה כל זמן שעיניה יפות אין כל גופה צריכה בדיקה עיניה טרוטות כל גופה צריכה בדיקה
Oshaya continued: There is a parable that illustrates this, involving a bride who is in her father’s home and has not yet been seen by her bridegroom. As long as her eyes are beautiful, her body need not be examined, as certainly she is beautiful. However, if her eyes are bleary [terutot], her entire body requires examination. So too, if the leaders of the generation are flawed, it is a sign that the entire generation is unworthy. By means of this parable, Oshaya was hinting that rain was withheld from the entire nation due to the evil committed by the household of the Nasi.
אתו עבדיה ורמו ליה סודרא בצואריה וקא מצערו ליה אמרו להו בני מאתיה שבקיה דהא נמי מצער לן כיון דחזינן דכל מיליה לשום שמים לא אמרי ליה מידי ושבקינן ליה אתון נמי שבקוהו
The servants of the Nasi came and placed a scarf around his neck and tormented him as punishment for insulting the house of the Nasi. His townsmen said to them: Let him be, as he also causes us pain with his harsh reproof, but since we see that all his actions are for the sake of Heaven we do not say anything to him and let him be. You too should let him be.
רבי גזר תעניתא ולא אתא מיטרא נחית קמיה אילפא (ואמרי לה רבי אילפי) אמר משיב הרוח ונשב זיקא מוריד הגשם ואתא מיטרא אמר ליה מאי עובדך אמר ליה דיירנא בקוסטא דחיקא דלית ביה חמרא לקידושא ואבדלתא טרחנא ואתינא חמרא לקידושא ואבדלתא ומפיקנא להו ידי חובתייהו
§ The Gemara relates: Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi declared a fast but rain did not come. Ilfa descended to lead the service before him, and some say it was Rabbi Ilfi. He recited: He Who makes the wind blow, and the wind indeed blew. He continued to recite: And Who makes the rain come, and subsequently, the rain came. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to him: What are your good deeds, in the merit of which your prayers are answered so speedily? He said to him: I live in an impoverished city, in which there is no wine for kiddush or havdala. I go to the effort of bringing the residents wine for kiddush and havdala, and I thereby enable them to fulfill their duty. In reward for this mitzva, my prayers for rain were answered.
רב איקלע לההוא אתרא גזר תעניתא ולא אתא מיטרא נחית קמיה שליחא דצבורא אמר משיב הרוח ונשב זיקא אמר מוריד הגשם ואתא מיטרא אמר ליה מאי עובדך אמר ליה מיקרי דרדקי אנא ומקרינא לבני עניי כבני עתירי וכל דלא אפשר ליה לא שקלינא מיניה מידי ואית לי פירא דכוורי וכל מאן דפשע משחדינא ליה מינייהו ומסדרינן ליה ומפייסינן ליה עד דאתי וקרי
The Gemara relates a similar incident. Rav happened to come to a certain place where he decreed a fast but rain did not come. The prayer leader descended to lead the service before him and recited: He Who makes the wind blow, and the wind blew. He continued and said: And Who makes the rain fall, and the rain came. Rav said to him: What are your good deeds? He said to him: I am a teacher of children, and I teach the Bible to the children of the poor as to the children of the rich, and if there is anyone who cannot pay, I do not take anything from him. And I have a fishpond, and any child who neglects his studies, I bribe him with the fish and calm him, and soothe him until he comes and reads.
רב נחמן גזר תעניתא בעא רחמי ולא אתא מיטרא אמר שקלוה לנחמן חבוטו מן גודא לארעא חלש דעתיה ואתא מיטרא
The Gemara further relates: Rav Naḥman decreed a fast, prayed for mercy, but rain did not come. In his misery, he said: Take Naḥman and throw him from the wall to the ground, as the fast he decreed has evidently had no effect. He grew upset, and rain came.
רבה גזר תעניתא בעי רחמי ולא אתא מיטרא אמרו ליה והא רב יהודה כי הוה גזר תעניתא אתא מיטרא אמר להו מאי אעביד אי משום תנויי אנן עדיפינן מינייהו דבשני דרב יהודה כל תנויי
The Gemara relates: Rabba decreed a fast. He prayed for mercy, but rain did not come. They said to him: But when this Rav Yehuda decreed a fast, rain would come. He said to them: What can I do? If the difference between us is due to Torah study, we are superior to the previous generation, as in the years of Rav Yehuda all of their learning
בנזיקין הוה ואנן קא מתנינן בשיתא סדרין וכי הוה מטי רב יהודה בעוקצין האשה שכובשת ירק בקדירה ואמרי לה זיתים שכבשן בטרפיהן טהורין אמר הוייות דרב ושמואל קא חזינא הכא
was connected to the order of Nezikin, while they were largely unfamiliar with the rest of the Mishna, and we learn all six orders of the Mishna. And when Rav Yehuda reached tractate Uktzin, which discusses the extent to which various fruits and vegetables are considered an integral part of the produce in terms of becoming ritually impure, which is the basis for the halakha that a woman who pickles a vegetable in a pot, etc. (Teharot 2:1), and some say that when he reached the halakha that olives that are pickled with their leaves are ritually pure, etc., as they are no longer considered part of the fruit (Uktzin 2:1), he would say: Those are the disputes between Rav and Shmuel that we see here. He felt it was an extremely challenging passage, as difficult as the most complex arguments between Rav and Shmuel.
ואנן קא מתנינן בעוקצין תליסר מתיבתא ואילו רב יהודה כי הוה שליף חד מסאנא אתי מיטרא ואנן קא צווחינן כולי יומא וליכא דאשגח בן אי משום עובדא אי איכא דחזא מידי לימא אבל מה יעשו גדולי הדור שאין דורן דומה יפה
And we, in contrast, learn tractate Uktzin in thirteen yeshivot, while, with regard to miracles, after declaring a fast to pray for a drought to end, when Rav Yehuda would remove one of his shoes as a sign of distress, the rain would immediately come, before he could remove his second shoe. And yet we cry out all day and no one notices us. Rabba continued: If the difference between the generations is due to inappropriate deeds, if there is anyone who has seen me do anything improper, let him say so. I am not at fault, but what can the great leaders of the generation do when their generation is not worthy, and rain is withheld on account of the people’s transgressions?
רב יהודה חזא הנהו בי תרי דהוו קא פרצי בריפתא אמר שמע מינה איכא שבעא בעלמא יהיב עיניה הוה כפנא אמרו ליה רבנן לרב כהנא בריה דרב נחוניא שמעיה מר דשכיח קמיה ניעשייה דליפוק בפתחא דסמוך לשוקא עשייה ונפק לשוקא חזא כנופיא
The Gemara explains the reference to Rav Yehuda’s shoe. Rav Yehuda saw two people wasting bread, throwing it back and forth. He said: I can learn from the fact that people are acting like this that there is plenty in the world. He cast his eyes angrily upon the world, and there was a famine. The Sages said to Rav Kahana, son of Rav Neḥunya, the attendant of Rav Yehuda: The Master, who is frequently present before Rav Yehuda, should persuade him to leave by way of the door nearest the market, so that he will see the terrible effects of the famine. Rav Kahana persuaded Rav Yehuda, and he went out to the market, where he saw a crowd.
אמר להו מאי האי אמרו ליה אכוספא דתמרי קיימי דקא מזדבן אמר שמע מינה כפנא בעלמא אמר ליה לשמעיה שלוף לי מסאניי שלף ליה חד מסאנא ואתא מיטרא כי מטא למישלף אחרינא אתא אליהו ואמר ליה אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא אי שלפת אחרינא מחריבנא לעלמא
He said to them: What is this gathering? They said to him: We are standing by a container [kuspa] of dates that is for sale. He said: If so many people are crowding around to purchase a single container of dates, I can learn from this that there is a famine in the world. He said to his attendant: I want to fast over this; remove my shoes as a sign of distress. He removed one of his shoes and rain came. When he began to take off the other shoe, Elijah came and said to him: The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: If you remove your other shoe, I will destroy the entire world so that you will not be further distressed.
אמר רב מרי ברה דבת שמואל אנא הוה קאימנא אגודא דנהר פפא חזאי למלאכי דאידמו למלחי דקא מייתי חלא ומלונהו לארבי והוה קמחא דסמידא אתו כולי עלמא למיזבן אמינא להו מהא לא תיזבנון דמעשה נסים הוא למחר אתיין ארבי דחיטי דפרזינא
Rav Mari, son of Shmuel’s daughter, said: At that moment, I was standing on the bank of the Pappa River. I saw angels who appeared as sailors bringing sand and filling ships with it, and it became fine flour. Everyone came to buy this flour, but I said to them: Do not purchase this flour, as it is the product of miracles. Tomorrow, boats filled with wheat will come from Parzina, and you may purchase that produce.
רבא איקלע להגרוניא גזר תעניתא ולא אתא מיטרא אמר להו ביתו כולי עלמא בתעניתייכו למחר אמר להו מי איכא דחזא חילמא לימא אמר להו רבי אלעזר מהגרוניא לדידי אקריון בחלמי ׳שלם טב לרב טב מריבון טב דמטוביה מטיב לעמיה אמר שמע מינה עת רצון היא מבעי רחמי בעי רחמי ואתי מיטרא
§ The Gemara relates another story. Rava happened to come to the city of Hagrunya. He decreed a fast, but rain did not come. He said to the local residents: Everyone, continue your fast and do not eat tonight. The next morning he said to them: Whoever had a dream last night, let him say it. Rabbi Elazar of Hagronya said to them: The following was recited to me in my dream. Good greetings to a good master from a good Lord, Who in His goodness does good for His people. Rava said: I can learn from this that it is a favorable time to pray for mercy. He prayed for mercy and rain came.
ההוא גברא דאיחייב נגדא בבי דינא דרבא משום דבעל נכרית נגדיה רבא ומית אשתמע מילתא בי שבור מלכא בעא לצעורי לרבא אמרה ליה איפרא הורמיז אימיה דשבור מלכא לברה לא ליהוי לך עסק דברים בהדי יהודאי דכל מאן דבעיין ממרייהו יהיב להו
The Gemara relates another story that deals with prayer for rain. There was a certain man who was sentenced to be flogged by Rava’s court because he had relations with a gentile woman. Rava flogged the man and he died as a result. When this matter was heard in the house of the Persian King Shapur, he wanted to punish Rava for imposing the death penalty, as he thought, without the king’s permission. Ifra Hormiz, mother of King Shapur, said to her son: Do not interfere and quarrel with the Jews, as whatever they request from God, their Master, He gives them.
אמר לה מאי היא בעין רחמי ואתי מיטרא אמר לה ההוא משום דזימנא דמיטרא הוא אלא לבעו רחמי האידנא בתקופת תמוז וליתי מיטרא שלחה ליה לרבא כוין דעתך ובעי רחמי דליתי מיטרא בעי רחמי ולא אתי מיטרא
He said to her: What is this that He grants them? She replied: They pray for mercy and rain comes. He said to her: This does not prove that God hears their prayers, as that occurs merely because it is the time for rain, and it just so happens that rain falls after they pray. Rather, if you want to prove that God answers the prayers of the Jews, let them pray for mercy now, in the summer season of Tammuz, and let rain come. Ifra Hormiz sent a message to Rava: Direct your attention and pray for mercy that rain may come. He prayed for mercy, but rain did not come.
אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם אלהים באזנינו שמענו אבותינו ספרו לנו פעל פעלת בימיהם בימי קדם ואנו בעינינו לא ראינו אתא מיטרא עד דשפוך מרזבי דמחוזא לדיגלת אתא אבוה איתחזי ליה בחלמיה ואמר ליה מי איכא דמיטרח קמי שמיא כולי האי אמר ליה שני דוכתיך שני דוכתיה למחר אשכחיה דמרשם פורייה בסכיני
He said before God: Master of the Universe, it is written: “O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what work You did in their days, in days of old” (Psalms 44:2), but we have not seen it with our own eyes. As soon as he said this, rain came until the gutters of Meḥoza overflowed and poured into the Tigris River. Rava’s father came and appeared to him in a dream and said to him: Is there anyone who troubles Heaven so much to ask for rain out of its season? In his dream, his father further said to him: Change your place of rest at night. He changed his place, and the next day he found that his bed had been slashed by knives.
רב פפא גזר תעניתא ולא אתא מיטרא חלש ליביה שרף פינכא דדייסא ובעי רחמי ולא אתא מיטרא אמר ליה רב נחמן בר אושפזתי אי שריף מר פינכא אחריתי דדייסא אתי מיטרא איכסיף וחלש דעתיה ואתא מיטרא
The Gemara relates: Rav Pappa decreed a fast, but rain did not come. His heart became weak from hunger, so he swallowed [seraf] a bowl [pinka] of porridge, and prayed for mercy, but rain still did not come. Rav Naḥman bar Ushpazti said to him: If the Master swallows another bowl of porridge, rain will come. He was mocking Rav Pappa for eating while everyone else was fasting. Rav Pappa was embarrassed and grew upset, and rain came.
רבי חנינא בן דוסא הוה קא אזיל באורחא אתא מיטרא אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם כל העולם כולו בנחת וחנינא בצער פסק מיטרא כי מטא לביתיה אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם כל העולם כולו בצער וחנינא בנחת אתא מיטרא
The Gemara tells another story about prayer for rain. Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa was traveling along a road when it began to rain. He said before God: Master of the Universe, the entire world is comfortable, because they needed rain, but Ḥanina is suffering, as he is getting wet. The rain ceased. When he arrived at his home, he said before God: Master of the Universe, the entire world is suffering that the rain stopped, and Ḥanina is comfortable? The rain began to come again.
אמר רב יוסף מאי אהניא ליה צלותא דכהן גדול לגבי רבי חנינא בן דוסא דתנן היה מתפלל תפלה קצרה בבית החיצון מאי מצלי רבין בר אדא ורבא בר אדא דאמרי תרוייהו משמיה דרב יהודה יהי רצון מלפניך ה׳ אלהינו שתהא השנה הזו גשומה ושחונה שחונה מעלייתא היא אדרבה גריעותא היא
Rav Yosef said, in reaction to this story: What effect does the prayer of the High Priest have against that of Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa? As we learned in a mishna: After leaving the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur, the High Priest would recite a brief prayer in the outer chamber. The Gemara asks: What would he pray? Ravin bar Adda and Rava bar Adda both say in the name of Rav Yehuda that this was his prayer: May it be Your will, Lord our God, that this year shall be rainy and hot. The Gemara expresses surprise at this request: Is heat a good matter? On the contrary, it is unfavorable. Why should he request that the year be hot?
אלא אם שחונה תהא גשומה וטלולה ואל יכנס לפניך תפילת עוברי דרכים רב אחא בריה דרבא מסיים משמיה דרב יהודה לא יעדי עביד שולטן מדבית יהודה ואל יהו עמך ישראל צריכין להתפרנס זה מזה ולא לעם אחר
Rather, say that he recited the following: If the upcoming year is hot, may it also be rainy and moist with dew, lest the heat harm the crops. The High Priest would also pray: And let not the prayer of travelers enter Your presence. Rav Aḥa, son of Rava, in the name of Rav Yehuda, concluded the wording of this prayer: May the rule of power not depart from the house of Judea. And may Your nation Israel not depend upon each other for sustenance, nor upon another nation. Instead, they should be sustained from the produce of their own land. Evidently, the High Priest’s prayer that God should not listen to the prayer of individual travelers was disregarded in the case of Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa.
אמר רב יהודה אמר רב בכל יום ויום בת קול יוצאת ואומרת כל העולם כולו ניזון בשביל חנינא בני וחנינא בני דיו בקב חרובים מערב שבת לערב שבת הוה רגילא דביתהו למיחמא תנורא כל מעלי דשבתא ושדייא אקטרתא
§ The Gemara continues to discuss the righteous Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa and the wonders he performed. Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: Each and every day a Divine Voice emerges from Mount Horeb and says: The entire world is sustained by the merit of My son Ḥanina ben Dosa, and yet for Ḥanina, My son, a kav of carobs, a very small amount of inferior food, is sufficient to sustain him for an entire week, from one Shabbat eve to the next Shabbat eve. The Gemara relates: Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa’s wife would heat the oven every Shabbat eve and create a great amount of smoke,
This month's shiurim are dedicated by the Hadran Women of Minneapolis in memory of the father of their organizer Shira Krebs, Jerry Katz, Gershon Pinya ben Yitzchak Lev haCohen z”l who will be greatly missed.
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Taanit 24
The William Davidson Talmud | Powered by Sefaria
יומא חד שמעיה דקא גריס אמר שמואל השולה דג מן הים בשבת כיון שיבש בו כסלע חייב אמר ליה ולימא מר ובין סנפיריו אמר ליה ולא סבר לה מר דההיא רבי יוסי בן רבי אבין אמרה אמר ליה אנא ניהו
One day Rabbi Yosei bar Avin heard Rav Ashi studying and reciting the following statement. Shmuel said: With regard to one who removes a fish from the sea on Shabbat, when an area on the skin of the fish the size of a sela coin has dried up, he is liable for violating the prohibition against slaughtering an animal on Shabbat. A fish in that condition cannot survive, and therefore one who removed it from the water is liable for killing it. Rabbi Yosei bar Avin said to Rav Ashi: And let the Master say that this is the case provided that the skin that dried is between its fins. Rav Ashi said to him: And doesn’t the Master maintain that Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Avin said this ruling? Why didn’t you state it in his name? Rabbi Yosei bar Avin said to him: I am he.
אמר ליה ולאו קמיה דרבי יוסי דמן יוקרת הוה שכיח מר אמר ליה הין אמר ליה ומאי טעמא שבקיה מר ואתא הכא אמר ליה גברא דעל בריה ועל ברתיה לא חס עלי דידי היכי חייס
Rav Ashi said to him: And didn’t the Master sit before and frequent the study hall of Rabbi Yosei from Yokrat? Rabbi Yosei bar Avin said to him: Yes. Rav Ashi said to him: And what is the reason that the Master left him and came here? Rabbi Yosei bar Avin said to him: I was concerned and departed because he is so severe and unforgiving. He is a man who has no mercy on his own son, and no mercy on his daughter. How, then, could he have mercy on me?
בריה מאי היא יומא חד הוו אגרי ליה אגירי בדברא נגה להו ולא אייתי להו ריפתא אמרו ליה לבריה כפינן הוו יתבי תותי תאינתא אמר תאנה תאנה הוציאי פירותיך ויאכלו פועלי אבא אפיקו ואכלו
The Gemara asks: What is the incident involving his son? One day Rabbi Yosei from Yokrat hired day laborers to work his field. It grew late and he did not bring them food. The workers said to the son of Rabbi Yosei from Yokrat: We are starving. They were sitting under a fig tree, so the son said: Fig tree, fig tree. Yield your fruits, so that my father’s workers may eat. The fig tree yielded fruit, and they ate.
אדהכי והכי אתא אבוה אמר להו לא תינקטו בדעתייכו דהאי דנגהנא אמצוה טרחנא ועד השתא הוא דסגאי אמרו ליה רחמנא לישבעך כי היכי דאשבען ברך אמר להו מהיכא אמרו הכי והכי הוה מעשה אמר לו בני אתה הטרחת את קונך להוציא תאנה פירותיה שלא בזמנה יאסף שלא בזמנו
In the meantime, his father came and said to the workers: Do not be angry with me for being late, as I was engaged in a mitzva, and until just now I was traveling for that purpose and could not get here any sooner. They said to him: May the Merciful One satisfy you just as your son satisfied us and gave us food. He said to them: From where did he find food to give you? They said: Such-and-such an incident occurred. Rabbi Yosei from Yokrat said to his son: My son, you troubled your Creator to cause the fig to yield its fruit not in its proper time, so too, you will die young. And indeed, his son died before his time.
ברתיה מאי היא הויא ליה ברתא בעלת יופי יומא חד חזיא לההוא גברא דהוה כריא בהוצא וקא חזי לה אמר לו מאי האי אמר ליה רבי אם ללוקחה לא זכיתי לראותה לא אזכה אמר לה בתי קא מצערת להו לברייתא שובי לעפריך ואל יכשלו ביך בני אדם
The Gemara asks: What is the incident involving his daughter? He had a very beautiful daughter. One day Rabbi Yosei from Yokrat saw a certain man piercing a hole in the hedge surrounding his property and looking at his daughter. Rabbi Yosei said to him: What is this? The man said to him: My teacher, if I have not merited taking her in marriage, shall I not at least merit to look at her? Rabbi Yosei said to her: My daughter, you are causing people distress. Return to your dust, and let people no longer stumble into sin due to you.
הויא ליה ההוא חמרא כדהוו אגרי לה כל יומא לאורתא הוו משדרי לה אגרה אגבה ואתיא לבי מרה ואי טפו לה או בצרי לה לא אתיא יומא חד אינשו זוגא דסנדלי עלה ולא אזלה עד דשקלונהו מינה והדר אזלה
§ The Gemara relates another story involving Rabbi Yosei from Yokrat. He had a certain donkey that people hired each day for work. In the evening they would send it back with the money for its hire on its back, and the animal would go to its owner’s house. But if they added or subtracted from the appropriate sum, the donkey would not go. One day someone forgot a pair of sandals on the donkey, and it did not move until they removed the sandals from its back, after which it went off.
אלעזר איש בירתא כד הוו חזו ליה גבאי צדקה הוו טשו מיניה דכל מאי דהוה גביה יהיב להו יומא חד הוה סליק לשוקא למיזבן נדוניא לברתיה חזיוהו גבאי צדקה טשו מיניה
The Gemara cites more stories about miracles that occurred to righteous individuals. Whenever the charity collectors would see Elazar of the village of Birta, they would hide from him, as any money Elazar had with him he would give them, and they did not want to take all his property. One day, Elazar went to the market to purchase what he needed for his daughter’s dowry. The charity collectors saw him and hid from him.
אזל ורהט בתרייהו אמר להו אשבעתיכו במאי עסקיתו אמרו ליה ביתום ויתומה אמר להן העבודה שהן קודמין לבתי שקל כל דהוה בהדיה ויהב להו פש ליה חד זוזא זבן ליה חיטי ואסיק שדייה באכלבא
He went and ran after them, saying to them: I adjure you, tell me, in what mitzva are you engaged? They said to him: We are collecting money for the wedding of an orphan boy and an orphan girl. He said to them: I swear by the Temple service that they take precedence over my daughter. He took everything he had with him and gave it to them. He was left with one single dinar, with which he bought himself wheat, and he then ascended to his house and threw it into the granary.
אתאי דביתהו אמרה לה לברתיה מאי אייתי אבוך אמרה לה כל מה דאייתי באכלבא שדיתיה אתיא למיפתח בבא דאכלבא חזת אכלבא דמליא חיטי וקא נפקא בצינורא דדשא ולא מיפתח בבא מחיטי אזלא ברתיה לבי מדרשא אמרה ליה בא וראה מה עשה לך אוהבך אמר לה העבודה הרי הן הקדש עליך ואין לך בהן אלא כאחד מעניי ישראל
Elazar’s wife came and said to her daughter: What has your father brought? She said to her mother: Whatever he brought he threw into the granary. She went to open the door of the granary, and saw that the granary was full of wheat, so much so that it was coming out through the doorknob, and the door would not open due to the wheat. The granary had miraculously been completely filled. Elazar’s daughter went to the study hall and said to her father: Come and see what He Who loves You, the Almighty, has performed for you. He said to her: I swear by the Temple service, as far as you are concerned this wheat is consecrated property, and you have a share in it only as one of the poor Jews. He said this because he did not want to benefit from a miracle.
רבי יהודה נשיאה גזר תעניתא בעי רחמי ולא אתא מיטרא אמר כמה איכא משמואל הרמתי ליהודה בן גמליאל אוי לו לדור שכן נתקע אוי לו למי שעלתה בימיו כך חלש דעתיה ואתא מיטרא
The Gemara returns to the topic of fasting for rain. Rabbi Yehuda Nesia decreed a fast and prayed for mercy, but rain did not come. He said, lamenting: How great is the difference between the prophet Samuel of Rama, for whom rain fell even when he prayed for it in summer, and myself, Yehuda ben Gamliel. Woe to the generation that is stuck with this leadership; woe to him in whose days this has occurred. He grew upset, and rain came.
דבי נשיאה גזר תעניתא ולא אודעינהו לרבי יוחנן ולריש לקיש לצפרא אודעינהו אמר ליה ריש לקיש לרבי יוחנן הא לא קבילנא עלן מאורתא אמר ליה אנן בתרייהו גררינן
The Gemara relates another story involving a Nasi’s decree of a fast for rain. In the house of the Nasi a fast was declared, but they didn’t inform Rabbi Yoḥanan and Reish Lakish of the fast the day before. In the morning they informed them. Reish Lakish said to Rabbi Yoḥanan: What are we to do? We did not accept this fast upon ourselves the evening before, and a fast must be accepted in the afternoon service of the day preceding the fast. Rabbi Yoḥanan said to him: We are drawn after the community, and therefore, when the Nasi declares a public fast there is no need for an individual to accept it upon himself the day before.
דבי נשיאה גזר תעניתא ולא אתא מיטרא תנא להו אושעיא זעירא דמן חברייא והיה אם מעיני העדה נעשתה לשגגה
The Gemara further states that on another occasion, a fast was declared in the house of the Nasi, but rain did not come. Oshaya, the youngest member of the group of Sages, taught them a baraita. It is written: “Then it shall be, if it shall be committed in error by the congregation, it being hidden from their eyes” (Numbers 15:24). This verse indicates that the leaders are considered the eyes of the congregation.
משל לכלה שהיא בבית אביה כל זמן שעיניה יפות אין כל גופה צריכה בדיקה עיניה טרוטות כל גופה צריכה בדיקה
Oshaya continued: There is a parable that illustrates this, involving a bride who is in her father’s home and has not yet been seen by her bridegroom. As long as her eyes are beautiful, her body need not be examined, as certainly she is beautiful. However, if her eyes are bleary [terutot], her entire body requires examination. So too, if the leaders of the generation are flawed, it is a sign that the entire generation is unworthy. By means of this parable, Oshaya was hinting that rain was withheld from the entire nation due to the evil committed by the household of the Nasi.
אתו עבדיה ורמו ליה סודרא בצואריה וקא מצערו ליה אמרו להו בני מאתיה שבקיה דהא נמי מצער לן כיון דחזינן דכל מיליה לשום שמים לא אמרי ליה מידי ושבקינן ליה אתון נמי שבקוהו
The servants of the Nasi came and placed a scarf around his neck and tormented him as punishment for insulting the house of the Nasi. His townsmen said to them: Let him be, as he also causes us pain with his harsh reproof, but since we see that all his actions are for the sake of Heaven we do not say anything to him and let him be. You too should let him be.
רבי גזר תעניתא ולא אתא מיטרא נחית קמיה אילפא (ואמרי לה רבי אילפי) אמר משיב הרוח ונשב זיקא מוריד הגשם ואתא מיטרא אמר ליה מאי עובדך אמר ליה דיירנא בקוסטא דחיקא דלית ביה חמרא לקידושא ואבדלתא טרחנא ואתינא חמרא לקידושא ואבדלתא ומפיקנא להו ידי חובתייהו
§ The Gemara relates: Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi declared a fast but rain did not come. Ilfa descended to lead the service before him, and some say it was Rabbi Ilfi. He recited: He Who makes the wind blow, and the wind indeed blew. He continued to recite: And Who makes the rain come, and subsequently, the rain came. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to him: What are your good deeds, in the merit of which your prayers are answered so speedily? He said to him: I live in an impoverished city, in which there is no wine for kiddush or havdala. I go to the effort of bringing the residents wine for kiddush and havdala, and I thereby enable them to fulfill their duty. In reward for this mitzva, my prayers for rain were answered.
רב איקלע לההוא אתרא גזר תעניתא ולא אתא מיטרא נחית קמיה שליחא דצבורא אמר משיב הרוח ונשב זיקא אמר מוריד הגשם ואתא מיטרא אמר ליה מאי עובדך אמר ליה מיקרי דרדקי אנא ומקרינא לבני עניי כבני עתירי וכל דלא אפשר ליה לא שקלינא מיניה מידי ואית לי פירא דכוורי וכל מאן דפשע משחדינא ליה מינייהו ומסדרינן ליה ומפייסינן ליה עד דאתי וקרי
The Gemara relates a similar incident. Rav happened to come to a certain place where he decreed a fast but rain did not come. The prayer leader descended to lead the service before him and recited: He Who makes the wind blow, and the wind blew. He continued and said: And Who makes the rain fall, and the rain came. Rav said to him: What are your good deeds? He said to him: I am a teacher of children, and I teach the Bible to the children of the poor as to the children of the rich, and if there is anyone who cannot pay, I do not take anything from him. And I have a fishpond, and any child who neglects his studies, I bribe him with the fish and calm him, and soothe him until he comes and reads.
רב נחמן גזר תעניתא בעא רחמי ולא אתא מיטרא אמר שקלוה לנחמן חבוטו מן גודא לארעא חלש דעתיה ואתא מיטרא
The Gemara further relates: Rav Naḥman decreed a fast, prayed for mercy, but rain did not come. In his misery, he said: Take Naḥman and throw him from the wall to the ground, as the fast he decreed has evidently had no effect. He grew upset, and rain came.
רבה גזר תעניתא בעי רחמי ולא אתא מיטרא אמרו ליה והא רב יהודה כי הוה גזר תעניתא אתא מיטרא אמר להו מאי אעביד אי משום תנויי אנן עדיפינן מינייהו דבשני דרב יהודה כל תנויי
The Gemara relates: Rabba decreed a fast. He prayed for mercy, but rain did not come. They said to him: But when this Rav Yehuda decreed a fast, rain would come. He said to them: What can I do? If the difference between us is due to Torah study, we are superior to the previous generation, as in the years of Rav Yehuda all of their learning
בנזיקין הוה ואנן קא מתנינן בשיתא סדרין וכי הוה מטי רב יהודה בעוקצין האשה שכובשת ירק בקדירה ואמרי לה זיתים שכבשן בטרפיהן טהורין אמר הוייות דרב ושמואל קא חזינא הכא
was connected to the order of Nezikin, while they were largely unfamiliar with the rest of the Mishna, and we learn all six orders of the Mishna. And when Rav Yehuda reached tractate Uktzin, which discusses the extent to which various fruits and vegetables are considered an integral part of the produce in terms of becoming ritually impure, which is the basis for the halakha that a woman who pickles a vegetable in a pot, etc. (Teharot 2:1), and some say that when he reached the halakha that olives that are pickled with their leaves are ritually pure, etc., as they are no longer considered part of the fruit (Uktzin 2:1), he would say: Those are the disputes between Rav and Shmuel that we see here. He felt it was an extremely challenging passage, as difficult as the most complex arguments between Rav and Shmuel.
ואנן קא מתנינן בעוקצין תליסר מתיבתא ואילו רב יהודה כי הוה שליף חד מסאנא אתי מיטרא ואנן קא צווחינן כולי יומא וליכא דאשגח בן אי משום עובדא אי איכא דחזא מידי לימא אבל מה יעשו גדולי הדור שאין דורן דומה יפה
And we, in contrast, learn tractate Uktzin in thirteen yeshivot, while, with regard to miracles, after declaring a fast to pray for a drought to end, when Rav Yehuda would remove one of his shoes as a sign of distress, the rain would immediately come, before he could remove his second shoe. And yet we cry out all day and no one notices us. Rabba continued: If the difference between the generations is due to inappropriate deeds, if there is anyone who has seen me do anything improper, let him say so. I am not at fault, but what can the great leaders of the generation do when their generation is not worthy, and rain is withheld on account of the people’s transgressions?
רב יהודה חזא הנהו בי תרי דהוו קא פרצי בריפתא אמר שמע מינה איכא שבעא בעלמא יהיב עיניה הוה כפנא אמרו ליה רבנן לרב כהנא בריה דרב נחוניא שמעיה מר דשכיח קמיה ניעשייה דליפוק בפתחא דסמוך לשוקא עשייה ונפק לשוקא חזא כנופיא
The Gemara explains the reference to Rav Yehuda’s shoe. Rav Yehuda saw two people wasting bread, throwing it back and forth. He said: I can learn from the fact that people are acting like this that there is plenty in the world. He cast his eyes angrily upon the world, and there was a famine. The Sages said to Rav Kahana, son of Rav Neḥunya, the attendant of Rav Yehuda: The Master, who is frequently present before Rav Yehuda, should persuade him to leave by way of the door nearest the market, so that he will see the terrible effects of the famine. Rav Kahana persuaded Rav Yehuda, and he went out to the market, where he saw a crowd.
אמר להו מאי האי אמרו ליה אכוספא דתמרי קיימי דקא מזדבן אמר שמע מינה כפנא בעלמא אמר ליה לשמעיה שלוף לי מסאניי שלף ליה חד מסאנא ואתא מיטרא כי מטא למישלף אחרינא אתא אליהו ואמר ליה אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא אי שלפת אחרינא מחריבנא לעלמא
He said to them: What is this gathering? They said to him: We are standing by a container [kuspa] of dates that is for sale. He said: If so many people are crowding around to purchase a single container of dates, I can learn from this that there is a famine in the world. He said to his attendant: I want to fast over this; remove my shoes as a sign of distress. He removed one of his shoes and rain came. When he began to take off the other shoe, Elijah came and said to him: The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: If you remove your other shoe, I will destroy the entire world so that you will not be further distressed.
אמר רב מרי ברה דבת שמואל אנא הוה קאימנא אגודא דנהר פפא חזאי למלאכי דאידמו למלחי דקא מייתי חלא ומלונהו לארבי והוה קמחא דסמידא אתו כולי עלמא למיזבן אמינא להו מהא לא תיזבנון דמעשה נסים הוא למחר אתיין ארבי דחיטי דפרזינא
Rav Mari, son of Shmuel’s daughter, said: At that moment, I was standing on the bank of the Pappa River. I saw angels who appeared as sailors bringing sand and filling ships with it, and it became fine flour. Everyone came to buy this flour, but I said to them: Do not purchase this flour, as it is the product of miracles. Tomorrow, boats filled with wheat will come from Parzina, and you may purchase that produce.
רבא איקלע להגרוניא גזר תעניתא ולא אתא מיטרא אמר להו ביתו כולי עלמא בתעניתייכו למחר אמר להו מי איכא דחזא חילמא לימא אמר להו רבי אלעזר מהגרוניא לדידי אקריון בחלמי ׳שלם טב לרב טב מריבון טב דמטוביה מטיב לעמיה אמר שמע מינה עת רצון היא מבעי רחמי בעי רחמי ואתי מיטרא
§ The Gemara relates another story. Rava happened to come to the city of Hagrunya. He decreed a fast, but rain did not come. He said to the local residents: Everyone, continue your fast and do not eat tonight. The next morning he said to them: Whoever had a dream last night, let him say it. Rabbi Elazar of Hagronya said to them: The following was recited to me in my dream. Good greetings to a good master from a good Lord, Who in His goodness does good for His people. Rava said: I can learn from this that it is a favorable time to pray for mercy. He prayed for mercy and rain came.
ההוא גברא דאיחייב נגדא בבי דינא דרבא משום דבעל נכרית נגדיה רבא ומית אשתמע מילתא בי שבור מלכא בעא לצעורי לרבא אמרה ליה איפרא הורמיז אימיה דשבור מלכא לברה לא ליהוי לך עסק דברים בהדי יהודאי דכל מאן דבעיין ממרייהו יהיב להו
The Gemara relates another story that deals with prayer for rain. There was a certain man who was sentenced to be flogged by Rava’s court because he had relations with a gentile woman. Rava flogged the man and he died as a result. When this matter was heard in the house of the Persian King Shapur, he wanted to punish Rava for imposing the death penalty, as he thought, without the king’s permission. Ifra Hormiz, mother of King Shapur, said to her son: Do not interfere and quarrel with the Jews, as whatever they request from God, their Master, He gives them.
אמר לה מאי היא בעין רחמי ואתי מיטרא אמר לה ההוא משום דזימנא דמיטרא הוא אלא לבעו רחמי האידנא בתקופת תמוז וליתי מיטרא שלחה ליה לרבא כוין דעתך ובעי רחמי דליתי מיטרא בעי רחמי ולא אתי מיטרא
He said to her: What is this that He grants them? She replied: They pray for mercy and rain comes. He said to her: This does not prove that God hears their prayers, as that occurs merely because it is the time for rain, and it just so happens that rain falls after they pray. Rather, if you want to prove that God answers the prayers of the Jews, let them pray for mercy now, in the summer season of Tammuz, and let rain come. Ifra Hormiz sent a message to Rava: Direct your attention and pray for mercy that rain may come. He prayed for mercy, but rain did not come.
אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם אלהים באזנינו שמענו אבותינו ספרו לנו פעל פעלת בימיהם בימי קדם ואנו בעינינו לא ראינו אתא מיטרא עד דשפוך מרזבי דמחוזא לדיגלת אתא אבוה איתחזי ליה בחלמיה ואמר ליה מי איכא דמיטרח קמי שמיא כולי האי אמר ליה שני דוכתיך שני דוכתיה למחר אשכחיה דמרשם פורייה בסכיני
He said before God: Master of the Universe, it is written: “O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what work You did in their days, in days of old” (Psalms 44:2), but we have not seen it with our own eyes. As soon as he said this, rain came until the gutters of Meḥoza overflowed and poured into the Tigris River. Rava’s father came and appeared to him in a dream and said to him: Is there anyone who troubles Heaven so much to ask for rain out of its season? In his dream, his father further said to him: Change your place of rest at night. He changed his place, and the next day he found that his bed had been slashed by knives.
רב פפא גזר תעניתא ולא אתא מיטרא חלש ליביה שרף פינכא דדייסא ובעי רחמי ולא אתא מיטרא אמר ליה רב נחמן בר אושפזתי אי שריף מר פינכא אחריתי דדייסא אתי מיטרא איכסיף וחלש דעתיה ואתא מיטרא
The Gemara relates: Rav Pappa decreed a fast, but rain did not come. His heart became weak from hunger, so he swallowed [seraf] a bowl [pinka] of porridge, and prayed for mercy, but rain still did not come. Rav Naḥman bar Ushpazti said to him: If the Master swallows another bowl of porridge, rain will come. He was mocking Rav Pappa for eating while everyone else was fasting. Rav Pappa was embarrassed and grew upset, and rain came.
רבי חנינא בן דוסא הוה קא אזיל באורחא אתא מיטרא אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם כל העולם כולו בנחת וחנינא בצער פסק מיטרא כי מטא לביתיה אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם כל העולם כולו בצער וחנינא בנחת אתא מיטרא
The Gemara tells another story about prayer for rain. Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa was traveling along a road when it began to rain. He said before God: Master of the Universe, the entire world is comfortable, because they needed rain, but Ḥanina is suffering, as he is getting wet. The rain ceased. When he arrived at his home, he said before God: Master of the Universe, the entire world is suffering that the rain stopped, and Ḥanina is comfortable? The rain began to come again.
אמר רב יוסף מאי אהניא ליה צלותא דכהן גדול לגבי רבי חנינא בן דוסא דתנן היה מתפלל תפלה קצרה בבית החיצון מאי מצלי רבין בר אדא ורבא בר אדא דאמרי תרוייהו משמיה דרב יהודה יהי רצון מלפניך ה׳ אלהינו שתהא השנה הזו גשומה ושחונה שחונה מעלייתא היא אדרבה גריעותא היא
Rav Yosef said, in reaction to this story: What effect does the prayer of the High Priest have against that of Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa? As we learned in a mishna: After leaving the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur, the High Priest would recite a brief prayer in the outer chamber. The Gemara asks: What would he pray? Ravin bar Adda and Rava bar Adda both say in the name of Rav Yehuda that this was his prayer: May it be Your will, Lord our God, that this year shall be rainy and hot. The Gemara expresses surprise at this request: Is heat a good matter? On the contrary, it is unfavorable. Why should he request that the year be hot?
אלא אם שחונה תהא גשומה וטלולה ואל יכנס לפניך תפילת עוברי דרכים רב אחא בריה דרבא מסיים משמיה דרב יהודה לא יעדי עביד שולטן מדבית יהודה ואל יהו עמך ישראל צריכין להתפרנס זה מזה ולא לעם אחר
Rather, say that he recited the following: If the upcoming year is hot, may it also be rainy and moist with dew, lest the heat harm the crops. The High Priest would also pray: And let not the prayer of travelers enter Your presence. Rav Aḥa, son of Rava, in the name of Rav Yehuda, concluded the wording of this prayer: May the rule of power not depart from the house of Judea. And may Your nation Israel not depend upon each other for sustenance, nor upon another nation. Instead, they should be sustained from the produce of their own land. Evidently, the High Priest’s prayer that God should not listen to the prayer of individual travelers was disregarded in the case of Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa.
אמר רב יהודה אמר רב בכל יום ויום בת קול יוצאת ואומרת כל העולם כולו ניזון בשביל חנינא בני וחנינא בני דיו בקב חרובים מערב שבת לערב שבת הוה רגילא דביתהו למיחמא תנורא כל מעלי דשבתא ושדייא אקטרתא
§ The Gemara continues to discuss the righteous Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa and the wonders he performed. Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: Each and every day a Divine Voice emerges from Mount Horeb and says: The entire world is sustained by the merit of My son Ḥanina ben Dosa, and yet for Ḥanina, My son, a kav of carobs, a very small amount of inferior food, is sufficient to sustain him for an entire week, from one Shabbat eve to the next Shabbat eve. The Gemara relates: Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa’s wife would heat the oven every Shabbat eve and create a great amount of smoke,