Taanit 19a (יט.) — the Talmud in English

That city,

in which rain did not fall,

fasts, and

also

sounds the alarm.

And all

the cities

surrounding it

[adjacent to that city] , although rain fell in them, nevertheless they

fast,

because the inhabitants of that city in which rain did not fall will go to purchase produce in the surrounding cities, and as a result famine will occur there.

But

nevertheless, those cities

do not sound the alarm,

because, in the end, rain did fall in them.

Rabbi Akiva says

the opposite: those cities

sound the alarm —

but do not fast .

And likewise, a city in which there is

a plague of

pestilence

[an epidemic in which people die],

or

in which there is

a collapse

[in which its walls and houses fall in the wind] ,

that city—

fasts and sounds the alarm.

And all its surroundings fast but do not sound the alarm.

Rabbi Akiva says:

The cities surrounding it

sound the alarm—

but do not fast.

What is pestilence?

What epidemic is considered a plague of pestilence, on account of which they fast and sound the alarm?

A city that sends out five hundred footmen

[that is, five hundred people leave it each day for their occupations] ,

and three people left it dead over three consecutive days, one after the other—

this

is considered a plague of

pestilence.

But if

fewer than this died—

this is not

considered a plague of

pestilence.

For

the

matters,

mentioned below, even if they occurred in a particular place,

they sound the alarm

over them

in every place ,

even in more distant places, and not only in the vicinity of the place where they occurred:

For the shidafon

that struck the grain,

and for the yeraqon

which is a type of illness,

And for locusts,

and for the ḥasil

which is a type of locust,

and for a wild beast

that kills people,

And for the sword

which refers to armies advancing to kill and destroy everywhere,

For all these occurrences,

an alarm is sounded concerning it

everywhere,

because it is a plague

that

spreads

from place to place. Therefore, an alarm must be sounded everywhere, so that the plague should not reach them.

As we find, this is what

actually occurred: Elders descended from Jerusalem

to their cities

in Eretz Yisrael,

and decreed

upon the people of their place

a fast

, because there had appeared

an amount

the size of an ovenful

of shidafon

that is, grain had been blighted in an amount sufficient to make bread that would fill the mouth of an oven. The Gemara below will explain what “the size of an ovenful” means

in

the city

of Ashkelon,

even though it is not in Eretz Yisrael, but rather in the land of the Philistines.

They further decreed a fast

in their cities

because wolves had eaten two infants in Transjordan,

as this falls within the category of the wild beast mentioned above, which is a spreading plague.

Rabbi Yose says: No,

they did not decree a fast

because they had eaten

infants, for that is not what actually occurred.

Rather,

they decreed

because wolves had been seen

there, in Transjordan, although they had not yet caused harm.

For

occurrences

of this kind

that follow,

an alarm is sounded on Shabbat

by reciting Aneinu:

For a city surrounded by gentiles

to conquer it,

or

if the

river

surrounding the city is about to overflow its banks,

and for a ship tossed about at sea,

which is about to sink.

Rabbi Yose says: For

the purpose of

assistance,

so that people should come from distant places to help—an alarm is sounded. But

not for crying out.

One does not sound an alarm or cry out in a plea for mercy from Heaven on Shabbat, because we are not certain that our prayer will be effective, such that we should cry out for this on Shabbat.

[The following continues the discussion.] Shimon the Yemenite

"

says: Even for pestilence

an alarm is sounded on Shabbat.

And the Sages did not agree with him

concerning this matter, with Shimon the Yemenite.

For every trouble

that should not come

upon the community—

an alarm is sounded concerning them

, except for an excess

of an abundance

of rain.

That is, an alarm is not sounded because too much rain is falling.

The Mishna brings an incident concerning this matter.

An incident

occurred in Eretz Yisrael, where there was a drought.

They came and

said to Ḥoni HaMe'aggel

Pray that rain should fall!

He said to them,

Ḥoni:

Go out and bring in

the

Passover

The

ovens

made of clay and placed in courtyards, into the houses,

so that they should not dissolve

and melt and fall apart through the rainwater.

Ḥoni prayed

Ḥoni—and

yet

still

no rain fell .

Wrote the Tiferet Yisrael that the Holy One, Blessed be He, did thus to magnify His glory, that the will of His fearing ones be fulfilled. And further, that the generation was not worthy that their prayer be answered immediately. Yisrael wrote that Ḥoni was punished because he initially assured them that his prayer would be effective. We likewise find in the Jerusalem Talmud that Choni said to them: “Just as the stone cannot be wiped away, so one cannot pray for an excess of good.” And the Rabbi Yose bar Bun said, “Because he did not come with humility.” "

What did he do?

He made a circle

by making a circular shape in the ground—

and stood inside it.

Some explain that is, he formed a circular shape in the ground, like a cake. Others explain that he made a round pit and entered it. However Rashi above (14a). He further explained that Rabbi Yossi refers to the words of Tannai kamma who said “they give warning,” meaning in a loud voice, and Rabbi Yossi says “for help,” meaning that they each pray in his house only for help in general. The Aruch suggested to interpret that “for help” means that they pray to the Holy One, Blessed be He, to help and save them. But not “for crying out,” meaning that they do not pray to the Holy One, Blessed be He that they should not face the calamity as the men of that ship saw. in his commentary to the Book of Ruth, on the verse "

And he said before Him

before the Holy One, blessed be He:

“Master of the Universe! Your children have turned their faces toward me

that is, they trusted that my prayer would be effective, because

I am like a member of Your household before You.

“I swear by Your great Name that I will not move from here,

from within this circle,

until You have mercy on Your children.”

The rain began to drip,

as a small amount of rain fell.

Ḥoni said

before the Holy One, blessed be He:

“This is not what I asked for;

I did not request such rain.

Rather, rain for cisterns, channels, and caves,

so that they would fill the water reservoirs.”

The rain began

to

fall violently

and with force. Such rain is also undesirable, since it can damage the plants.

Ḥoni said

before the Holy One, blessed be He:

“This is not what I asked for.”

Rather, rain of goodwill, blessing, and generosity,

falling gently and with a generous measure.

The rain fell

in its proper manner

and as usual. But it was so abundant that it flooded the streets of Jerusalem,

until Israel left Jerusalem for the Temple Mount,

which is the highest place in the city,

because of

the abundance of

rain .

This is apparently the simple explanation. However in the Jerusalem Talmud that Choni said to them: “Just as the stone cannot be wiped away, so one cannot pray for an excess of good.” And the we find that this proves that the Temple Mount was roofed. Wrote the Tiferet Yisrael that the Holy One, Blessed be He, did thus to magnify His glory, that the will of His fearing ones be fulfilled. And further, that the generation was not worthy that their prayer be answered immediately. Yisrael wrote that the Holy One, blessed be He, did this to increase His honor, demonstrating that He fulfills the will of those who fear Him. Furthermore, that generation was not worthy of having its prayer answered immediately.

Israel came

and

said to him

to Ḥoni:

“Just as you prayed for them

for the rain

to fall, so pray

for them now

that it should go away!”

In the Gemara below (23a) this incident is brought with slight variation. Thus we find there: they fell as usual, until all the people ascended to the Temple Mount because of the rains. They said to him: “Rabbi, just as you prayed that they fall, likewise pray that they go!” He said to them: “That is my practice: one does not pray for an excess of good.” Nevertheless, they brought him a public offering of thanksgiving etc. From this incident it is proven that one does not pray for an excess of rains, as we taught here. And the Rambam in the commentary on the Mishnayot wrote that Shimon ben Shetach’s reproach of Choni was that he should not have prayed for it, because one does not pray for an excess of good. Therefore he said that he should have volunteered. in his commentary on the Mishna, wrote that Shimon ben Shetaḥ's complaint against Ḥoni was that he should not have prayed concerning this, because one does not pray for an abundance of goodness. Therefore, he told him that he should have placed himself under a ban.

He said to them,

Ḥoni:

“Go out and see whether the Stone of Claiming has been erased”

a high place in Jerusalem where anyone who had lost an object, or had found one, would go, since lost and found objects were announced there.

That is, they were to see whether the rainwater had covered that stone, which had stood in a high place in Jerusalem. If so, then there was indeed too much rain, and I will pray that it should go away.

However, in the end Honi brought a thanksgiving offering and prayed, and the rain ceased, [as related in the beraita cited in the Gemara below].

Shimon ben Shetah sent him

Honi:

Were it not

[if it were not] that

you are Honi —

I would decree

[I would decree]

excommunication upon you.

For it is not fitting to speak in this manner before the Holy One, blessed be He. You speak harshly toward the Holy One, blessed be He, saying: “This is not what I asked for!”

But what can I do to you, since you plead

before the Omnipresent—

and

He

does your will, like

a

child who pleads with his father—

and He does his will.

And concerning you the verse says: “Your father and mother will rejoice, and she who bore you will exult” .

The Mishna continues and discusses the matter of fasts for rain.

They would fast

because of the withholding of rain,

and rain fell for them.

If the rain fell

before sunrise—

they would not complete

their fast by fasting until evening. For before the time when the fast began, at sunrise, the rain had already fallen.

But if the rain fell

after sunrise,

when the fast had already taken effect upon them—

they would complete

their fast, despite the fact that they had already been answered from Heaven .

Rabbi Eliezer says:

If the rain fell

before midday,

which is the time for eating, this is considered as though they had not begun fasting, since the fast is evident in the fact that they do not eat the meal at its proper time, at midday. Therefore,

they would not complete

their fast .

But if the rain fell

after midday,

when they had already begun their fast—

they would complete

the fast .

An incident

occurred

in which a fast was decreed in

the city of

Lod

because of the withholding of rain,

and rain fell for them before midday

that day.

Rabbi Tarfon said to them:

Since rain fell before midday, the fast did not take effect. Therefore,

go out and eat and drink, and make it a Festival

with joy.

And

the people

went out and ate and drank, and made it a Festival.

And toward evening

they came to the synagogue,

and recited the Great Hallel .

That is, the psalm “Give thanks to the God of gods, for His kindness endures forever.”

The reason they recited this psalm is that it says in it: “He gives bread to all flesh, for His kindness endures forever.”

Gemara:

We learned in our Mishna:

“The order of these fasts stated with regard to the first rainfall.”

It follows that already at the time of the first rainfall, if rain had not fallen, they would fast.

And we raise a contradiction:

If the time of

the first and second rainfall

had passed and rain had not fallen, then one should

request

[ask] for rain.

But if the time of the

third

rainfall had already passed and rain still had not fallen, then one should

fast .

It is evident that they fast only at the third rainfall, whereas at the first and second they merely request rain!

Rav Yehuda said: This is what it means

[this is what he said and what the tanna of our Mishna intended]:

The order of fasts stated

above applies when does it take effect? When the first rainfall has passed. That is,

when the first, second, and third rainfall have passed—

and rain has not fallen.

For all the rains of the early rainy season—that is, the three rainfalls—are called the first rainfall .

But

if

rain fell at the first rainfall, and they sowed

the soil,

and they did not sprout,

the crops.

Alternatively

perhaps

[or] indeed

they sprouted,

crops,

and

afterward

they changed again

into something else—

they sound the alarm concerning them immediately .

Rav Nahman said:

What we learned in our Mishna, that they sound the alarm concerning them immediately, means

specifically

when

they changed

the crops. At that point, they should pray that their appearance be restored to its proper state, as they normally appear.

But

if they

dried up—

they do not

sound the alarm immediately, because prayer will no longer help, and this would be a vain prayer .

The Gemara asks: What did Rav Nahman teach us?

It is obvious

[the matter is obvious]:

“They changed” we learned

[for the Mishna teaches that only when they changed do they sound the alarm immediately]!

The Gemara explains:

It was necessary

[Rav Nahman’s statement was necessary] only for a case

of dakun.

The grain rose in its stalk [in its stem] and somewhat recovered after it had dried .

Lest you say

[perhaps you might say] that

the recovery

that slight improvement

is significant

[is something meaningful], and prayer will help them recover further,

it teaches us

[Rav Nahman teaches us] that this is not so. For that slight improvement is not considered significant at all, and prayer will not help .

We learned in our Mishna:

“And likewise, when the rains cease between one rain and another, and so on,”

because this is a famine-producing calamity.

What is “a famine-producing calamity”?

Rav Yehuda said that Rav said:

When there is such an interruption between the rains, it is

a calamity

that

ultimately leads

in the end

to famine.