Taanit 23a (כג.) — the Talmud in English

Alternatively [

Another explanation of the matter]:

“In their time”

refers to the proper time for the rainfall.

That is, that the rains should fall at the most appropriate time for them: at a time when people are not accustomed to traveling on the roads and the rain does not interfere with the course of life.

And this means

on Wednesday nights [

Wednesday nights]

and on Friday nights.

For at those times there is a shed outside called Igeret bat Mahalat, together with eighteen myriad destructive angels, and they harm people. Therefore, people do not go out at those times.

Perhaps you might say: Since the rains fall only two days a week, they are insufficient!

That is not so. Those rains are blessed, and therefore they are equivalent to rains that fall throughout the entire week, and even more than that.

For we find that in the days of Shimon ben Shetaḥ,

there was a time of divine favor, and although

there fell

upon Israel

rains

only

on Wednesday nights

and Friday nights,

the crops were nevertheless greatly blessed,

to

such an extent

that

the kernels of

wheat

became as large

as kidneys [

that is, each kernel of wheat was as large as a kidney],

And

the kernels of

barley

became as large

as olive pits [

because barley kernels are smaller than wheat kernels],

while lentils

became as large

as golden dinars.

And they bundled

the people of that generation

some of them,

from those wheat, barley, and lentil kernels,

as a sample

for safekeeping

for

future

generations, to make known how great a cause sin is.

Were it not for sin, the crops should have been of such a size; only because of sin are crops as small as they now are.

As it is stated: “Your iniquities have turned these things away, and your sins have withheld the good from you.”

And likewise we find in the days of Herod,

who dismantled the structure of the Second Temple that Ezra had built and built another structure in its place, more beautiful than it [as we find in tractate Bava Batra 3b; see there].

The

people

were engaged in building

that

Temple, and

so that the rain would not interrupt the people in their work,

the rains fell

only

at night.

The next day

in the morning,

the wind blew, the clouds dispersed, the sun shone, and the people went out to their work [

to the work of building the Temple].

And

as a result of the rains falling in such a manner that they did not interfere with the building,

the people knew

that

the work of Heaven was in their hands.

That is, that this building was the will of the Holy One, blessed be He.

We learned in our Mishna:

“An incident in which they sent to Honi the Circle-Maker, and so on.”

The Sages taught: Once, most of

the

month of

the month of

Adar,

which is already the end of winter, had passed,

and

still

the rains had not fallen.

The people sent

to

Honi the Circle-Maker: Pray

for us —

and let rain fall!

Honi prayed

for this,

and

still

the rains did not fall.

Honi drew

a

circle [

Honi drew a circle around himself]

and stood inside it, as the prophet Habakkuk had done.

As it is stated: “I will stand at my watch and station myself upon the rampart, and so on.”

That is, Habakkuk did the same: he drew a circle and stood inside it, saying that he would not leave there until the Holy One, blessed be He, answered him.

And so

said

Honi

before Him [

before the Holy One, blessed be He]:

“Master of the Universe! Your children have set their hopes upon me”

[they rely on me, believing that my prayer will be effective], because

because I

am like a member of Your household before You.

“I swear by Your great Name that I will not move from here until You have mercy upon Your children,”

and bring them rain.

The rains began to drip

little by little.

His disciples said to him

to Honi:

“Rabbi, we have seen you and shall not die!”

That is, make an effort so that we will merit seeing you and will not die of famine because of the withholding of rain. For

we presume that these rains

are

falling only to release you from your oath.

You swore that you would not move from the circle until the rains fell—and they have now fallen.

But in truth, these small amounts of rain do not benefit us at all.

Honi said

before

Him [

before the Holy One, blessed be He]:

“This is not what I asked for.”

I did not request such rains, which are entirely useless.

Rather, rains of

blessing, which fill

cisterns, pits, and caves,

so that the people will have water to drink.

The rains fell

with

fury, until

the size of

each and every drop

was

the fullness of a barrel’s mouth.

And the Sages estimated

that the drops were so large that

no

drop

was less than a log.

His disciples said to him

to Honi:

“Rabbi, we have seen you and shall not die!”

Pray for us that we shall not die

! We presume that the rains are falling only to destroy the world!”

He said to them

Honi:

“You will not die.”

Honi said

before

Him [

before the Holy One, blessed be He]:

“This is not what I asked for; rather, rains of favor, blessing, and generosity.”

The rains fell

in their

proper manner.

Not in small drops, nor in enormous drops, but ordinary rain. Yet it continued to fall without interruption,

until

all Jerusalem was flooded by it, and

all the people went up to the Temple Mount,

the highest place in Jerusalem,

because of the rains.

His disciples said to him

Honi’s disciples:

“Rabbi, just as you prayed

for the rains

to fall

and were answered,

so pray

now concerning the rains, that they should cease

and go away.”

He said to them

Honi:

“This is what I have received

from my teachers:

One does not pray that an excess of goodness

should cease.

But

even so,

since you are requesting this,

bring me a thanksgiving bull,

to confess over it

and lean upon it, and offer it in the Temple [for Honi lived during the time of the Temple], and I will pray for you.

They brought him a thanksgiving bull.

He placed both his hands upon it and said before Him [

before the Holy One, blessed be He]:

“Master of the Universe! Your people Israel, whom You brought out of Egypt

, cannot withstand

[bear]

either an excess of goodness

or an excess of calamity.

“You became angry with them,

and withheld the rains from them—

they cannot withstand

that.

You bestowed upon them

an excess of

goodness—

they cannot withstand

that either.

“May it be Your will that the rains cease and there be relief in the world.”

Immediately, the wind blew, and

as a result,

the clouds dispersed and the sun shone.

The people went out to the field and brought them truffles and mushrooms

which had sprouted immediately after the rain fell, so that they immediately had something to eat.

Shimon ben Shetaḥ sent him

to Honi:

“Were you not Honi” [

If you were not Honi], that is, if you were not a great person

—

I would decree [

I would have decreed]

excommunication upon you

for what you did, because you did not conduct yourself properly by speaking harshly toward Heaven and saying, “This is not what I asked for.” And excommunication is decreed for an affront to the honor of one’s teacher.

“For if these years, during which no rains fell, were like the years of Elijah, when he swore to Ahab that no rain would fall for three years, and requested it of the Holy One, blessed be He, who placed the keys to the rains in Elijah’s hand, would

for what you did, because you did not conduct yourself properly in this, in that you spoke defiantly toward Heaven and said, “I did not ask for this.” And they decree excommunication for the honor of the master.

the Name of Heaven not be found profaned through you?!”

For if this is the case—that on the one hand there already exists an oath that no rains will fall, while on the other hand you have sworn that you will not move until the rains fall—then, whichever way it is understood, there is an oath taken in vain!

were

like

the years of Elijah,

“But what can I do for you, for you act as a spoiled child [

“act as a spoiled child” is an expression of sin]

before the Omnipresent,

and

nevertheless

He fulfills your wish, as

a

child who acts as a spoiled child toward his father and He fulfills his wish. He says to him: ‘Father, take me to bathe in hot water! Wash me in cold water [ bathe me in cool water] ! Give

me nuts, almonds, peaches, and pomegranates!’—

and He gives him

all his desire.

“And concerning you the verse states: ‘Let your father and mother rejoice, and let her who bore you be glad.’”

He fulfills your will, like

a

The Sages taught: What did the members of the Chamber of Hewn Stone [

the Sanhedrin]

send to Honi the Circle-Maker—

This verse:

“You shall also decree a matter, and it shall be established for you, and light shall shine upon your ways.”

They applied this verse to Honi. This is how they expounded it:

“You shall also decree a matter.”

You,

Honi,

decreed below, upon the earth, that the rains should fall and that the rains should cease,

and the Holy One, blessed be He, fulfills your word above.

“And light shall shine upon your ways.”

A generation that was darkened

by distress over the withholding of rain—

you illuminated

it

through your prayer.

You,

Ḥoni,

decreed below,

on earth, that rain should fall and that the rain should stop,

and the Holy One, blessed be He, fulfills your word above.

Another statement follows in that same verse: “For when they are humbled, you say, ‘There is elevation,’ and He saves the humble of eyes; He delivers the innocent, and you are delivered through the purity of your hands.”

And they applied this verse to Honi as follows:

“For when they are humbled, you say, ‘There is elevation.’”

A generation that was lowly—

you raised it

through your prayer.

The continuation of that verse says: “When they humble you, you say, ‘There is pride’; and whoever is downcast of eyes will be saved. He will deliver the innocent; you will be delivered through the purity of your hands.”

And they applied this verse to Ḥoni:

“When they humble you, you say, ‘There is pride.’”

A generation that was lowly —

you raised it up

through your prayer.

“And saves those of downcast eyes.”

A generation that was bowed

was bowed

because of its sin—

you saved it through your prayer

from death, by bringing them abundance.

“The innocent will escape.”

A generation that was not innocent

of sin—

you rescued it

from punishment

through your prayer.

"And he escapes through the clarity

“And he who escapes by the purity

of your hands.”

You rescued the generation

through the clear deeds of your hands .

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Throughout all the days of that righteous man, he

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: All the days of that righteous man, he was

distressed over

understanding this verse

that is stated in Psalms:

“A Song of Ascents. When the Lord returns the returnees to Zion, we shall be like dreamers.”

That is, the Babylonian exile, which lasted seventy years, was like a dream .

He said and Honi wondered in his heart:

“Is it possible for someone to sleep for seventy years in a dream?”

[Is it possible for a person to sleep for seventy years in a single uninterrupted sleep]?

[can a person sleep for seventy years in a single, uninterrupted sleep]?

One day he was traveling along the road

[One day Honi was walking along the road].

He saw a certain man who was planting a carob tree

[He saw a man planting a carob tree].

He said to him,

Honi:

“How many years does this take to bear fruit?”

[Within how many years will this tree bear fruit]?

He said to him,

the man:

“Seventy years.”

[Until seventy years].

He said to him,

Honi: If so, why are you planting this tree, when it is highly doubtful that you will benefit from its fruit? Is it

obvious to you that you will live for seventy years

[Is it clear to you that you will live another seventy years]?

He said to him,

the man:

“I found a world of carob trees”

[I found carob trees in the world laden with fruit], planted by my ancestors.

“Just as my ancestors planted for me, so too I plant for my descendants.”

[Just as my ancestors planted for my benefit, so I plant for the needs of my children].

He sat down and ate bread

[Honi sat down and satisfied himself with bread].

Sleep came upon him, and he fell asleep

[Sleep fell upon him, and he fell asleep].

A rocky projection rose around him

[A rocky ridge rose around him and surrounded him], and as a result

he was hidden from sight

[he was concealed from the eyes of people, so that they would not find him and disturb his sleep],

and he slept for seventy years

[and slept for seventy consecutive years].

When he arose

[When he awoke from his sleep after those seventy years],

he saw a certain man who was gathering fruit from them

[he saw a man gathering fruit from that carob tree, which had been planted before he fell asleep].

He said to him,

Honi said to that man:

“Are you the one who planted it?”

[Are you the man who planted this carob tree]?

He said to him:

No. Rather,

“I am his grandson.”

[I am the planter’s grandson].

He said to him: “This proves that I slept for seventy years.”

[It is evident that I slept for seventy years].

He saw that his donkey had given birth to successive generations of donkeys

[Honi saw that his donkey, which he had ridden before falling asleep, had given birth to many offspring]

How did this happen?

The donkey had been pregnant at that time and gave birth to a male. That offspring mated with her, and they had offspring .

He went to his house

[Honi went to his house].

He said to them

[He said to the members of the household]:

“Does the son of Honi HaMe’aggel still live?”

[Is Honi’s son alive]?

They said to him,

the members of the household:

“His son is no longer here.”

[Honi’s son is no longer here; he has already died].

“His grandson is here.”

[His grandson is alive].

He said to them,

to the members of the household:

“I am

the one who is

Honi HaMe’aggel.”

They did not believe him

[They did not believe him] .

Honi went

[he went]

to the beit-midrash

[He went to the beit-midrash].

He heard the Sages saying

[He heard the Sages say]:

“Our teachings are as clear to us as in the days of Honi HaMe’aggel.”

[This teaching that we have just learned is clear to us, just as teachings were clear to us in the days of Honi HaMe’aggel].

For whenever he entered the beit-midrash, every difficulty that the Sages had—

he resolved for them

[Whenever Honi entered the beit-midrash, he would resolve every difficulty the Sages had].

He said to them,

to the Sages:

“I am he”

[I am Honi HaMe’aggel].

But they did not believe him, and they did not honor him as he deserved

[They did not believe him, nor did they honor him as was fitting for him] .

His spirits sank

[Honi’s spirits sank] ,

he prayed for mercy—

and he died

[he prayed for mercy that he should die—and he died].

Rava said: This is what people say

[This is the common saying]:

“Either companionship or death.”

[If a person’s companions do not treat him with honor, it is preferable for him to die] .

Abba Ḥilkiyya was the grandson of Honi HaMe’aggel [He was the son of his son, that is, Honi HaMe’aggel’s grandson].

And when the world needed rain

[And when the world needed rain],

the Sages would send for him

[the Sages would send to him, asking him to pray for this],

and he would pray for mercy, and rain would come

[and he would pray for mercy, and rain would come].

Once the world needed rain

[Once the world needed rain].

The Sages sent a pair of Sages to him, to request mercy

that rain should come

[The Sages sent two Torah scholars to him, so that they would ask him to pray for rain to come].

They went to his house—

but they did not find him

[They went to Abba Ḥilkiyya’s house, but did not find him there].

They went out to the field and found him hoeing in the field

[They went into the field and found him there, hoeing the soil].

[they went into the field and found him there, hoeing the ground].