Taanit 2b (ב:) — the Talmud in English

As it is written: “And God remembered Rachel, and God heeded her

and opened her womb.”

Thus, the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself opens it.

The key to resurrection of the dead—from where

do we know that it was not entrusted to an agent?

As it is written: “And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves.”

Thus, the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself opens the graves of Israel and revives them.

In the West they say

[in the Land of Israel ,

they say]:

The key to livelihood, too,

is always in the possession of the Holy One, blessed be He.

And from where did the sages of the Land of Israel learn this?

As it is written: “You open Your hand, etc.

[and satisfy every living thing with favor].” Thus, the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself provides livelihood.

The Gemara asks:

And Rabbi Yoḥanan,

who said that there are three keys that were not entrusted to an agent,

for what reason did he not count

also

this one

[why did he not include the key to livelihood among the keys that were not entrusted to an agent]?

The Gemara explains:

He can say to you,

Rabbi Yoḥanan:

Rain, too,

[also rain]

is livelihood .

For through the falling of rain, crops and trees grow, and they provide livelihood for people.

And since Rabbi Yoḥanan had already mentioned rain, he did not need to mention livelihood as well.

We learned in our Mishna:

Rabbi Eliezer says: From the first Festival day of Sukkot, etc.

A question was raised before them

[a question and problem were raised in the beit-midrash]:

From where did Rabbi Eliezer derive it

[from where did Rabbi Eliezer learn his ruling that one begins mentioning rain from the first Festival day of Sukkot]?

Is it

derived from the lulav

[did Rabbi Eliezer learn his ruling from the lulav]? For the bundle of the lulav [the lulav and the three species that accompany it: myrtle, willow, and etrog] requires water during its growth and comes to evoke a favorable judgment for the falling of rain . Therefore Rabbi Eliezer compares mentioning rain to taking the lulav: Just as the lulav is taken from the first Festival day of Sukkot, so too one begins mentioning rain at that time.

This is the first possibility: Rabbi Eliezer derived his ruling from the lulav.

A second possibility:

Or

perhaps

from the water libation ,

which was performed on the altar during the days of Sukkot ,

he derived it

[did Rabbi Eliezer learn his ruling from it]? Just as one begins performing the water libation at the beginning of Sukkot, so too one begins mentioning rain at the beginning of Sukkot.

The Gemara now explains: What practical difference is there

if one derives the ruling from the lulav or from the water libation? If

he derived it from the lulav,

then we should further compare mentioning rain to the lulav and say:

Just as the lulav

is taken only

during the day,

and not at night ,

so too mentioning

rain should be specifically

during the day,

and one does not begin mentioning rain already on the night of the Festival.

Or perhaps he derived it from the water libation.

If so, we would learn as follows:

Just as for the mitzva of

in the mitzva of

the water libation,

the vessel in which the water is brought for pouring on the altar is filled with water

from the evening

[from the evening, on the night of the first Festival day] ,

as the Master said: “And their meal-offerings and their libations”—even at night,

so too mentioning

rain begins already

from the evening

[from the evening prayer]?

Come and hear

[come and hear a proof concerning this from the statement of Rabbi Abbahu].

For Rabbi Abbahu said: Rabbi Eliezer derived it only from the lulav .

It is thus explicitly evident that Rabbi Eliezer derived his ruling from the lulav and not from the water libation.

But we must still clarify: From where did Rabbi Abbahu himself know that Rabbi Eliezer derived this matter from the lulav?

The Gemara presents two opinions concerning this:

Some say

[there are those who say]:

Rabbi Abbahu received it as a tradition

[he heard and received this matter from his teachers].

And some say: He heard it from a baraita

[Rabbi Abbahu learned this matter from a baraita].

What is it?

From which baraita did Rabbi Abbahu learn his statement?

As it was taught: From when does one begin mentioning rain?

Rabbi Eliezer says: From the time of taking the lulav

[from the time when one begins taking the lulav] .

Rabbi Joshua says: From the time it is put down

[the lulav—namely, from the seventh day of Sukkot, when one puts down the lulav and no longer takes it] .

He argued and

Rabbi Eliezer said: Since these Four Species

of the lulav bundle

come

only to seek favor concerning water

[that there should be abundant rain during the winter] .

And just as these Four Species cannot exist without water,

as they cannot grow without water,

so the world cannot exist without water.

Therefore, for these reasons, one must mention rain already from the beginning of Sukkot, from the time when one begins taking the lulav.

Rabbi Joshua said to him: But rain during Sukkot—

is nothing other than a sign of a curse

[as explained in the Mishna ]!

Rabbi Eliezer said to him: I, too, did not say that one begins

that one should begin

requesting

[asking] rain from the beginning of Sukkot, since it is a sign of a curse.

Rather,

I said that one begins

mentioning

it from the beginning of Sukkot.

And just as

one

mentions resurrection of the dead throughout the entire year

in the blessing “Who revives the dead,”

and

even though it

does not

come

except in its proper time,

so one mentions the might of rain throughout the entire year, and

even though it

does not

come

except in its proper time.

Therefore,

since one does not request rain but merely mentions it,

if one comes to mention

[if one wishes to mention] rain

throughout the entire year,

even during the summer,

one mentions it.

Rabbi says: I say ,

that

from the time one stops requesting

[from the time one stops requesting rain], namely, from Passover,

one likewise stops mentioning it

[from that time one also stops mentioning it] .

If so, just as one does not mention rain during the summer because this is not its proper time, so too one does not mention it during Sukkot, since at that time it is a sign of a curse.

The baraita cites additional opinions as to when one begins mentioning rain.

Rabbi Judah ben Beteira says: On the second day of Sukkot,

that is, on the first day of Ḥol HaMoed, which is the second day of Sukkot,

he mentions

rain.

Rabbi Akiva says: On the sixth day of Sukkot,

that is, on the fifth day of Ḥol HaMoed, which is the sixth day of Sukkot,

he mentions

rain [the reason for these opinions will be explained below in the Gemara].

Rabbi Judah said in the name of Rabbi Joshua:

The prayer leader

who goes before the ark on the final Festival day of Sukkot,

on Shemini Atzeret,

the last one,

who leads the Additional Prayer,

mentions

rain.

Whereas

the first one,

the one who leads the morning prayer,

does not mention

rain.

And

on the first Festival day of Passover

the opposite applies:

The prayer leader

who leads the first prayer,

the morning prayer,

mentions

rain.

Whereas the prayer leader

who leads the last prayer,

the Additional Prayer,

does not mention it.

The Gemara now discusses the words of the baraita.

The Gemara asks:

Rabbi Eliezer made a sound argument

[he presented him with a good and valid argument]

to Rabbi Joshua!

Just as resurrection of the dead is mentioned throughout the year, even though its time has not yet arrived, so too one may mention rain throughout the year if one wishes; and even during Sukkot, when rain is not a sign of blessing, one may mention it, since one is not requesting it!

Rabbi Joshua can say to you:

Mentioning resurrection of the dead is not comparable to mentioning rain. For

granted, one mentions resurrection of the dead

throughout the year because

its time is every day .

For resurrection of the dead can occur and come at any time.

Rather, rain,

and do you mean that

whenever they come, that is their time

[but whenever they come, whether in the winter or in the summer, it is their time]?

But didn't we learn

[but we learned in the Mishna: if]

the month

[has passed and gone]

Nisan, and rain fell

then

it is a sign of curse.

As it is stated

that Samuel said to Israel at Gilgal, when King Saul was being appointed:

"Is it not wheat harvest today, etc.

[the continuation of the verse is: “I shall call to the Lord, and He will give thunder and rain; and know and see that your wickedness is great, etc.”]” It follows that rain falling in the summer is a bad sign!

And since this is so, it is not fitting to mention rain except at the time appropriate for its falling, namely, from the last festival day of Sukkot.

The Gemara continues to discuss the statement of the beraita.

We learned in a beraita:

Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira says: On the second day of the festival, he mentions rain.

And we must explain:

What is the reason of Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira,

who holds that one begins mentioning rain specifically from the second day of the festival?

The Gemara explains:

As it is taught: Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira says: It is stated regarding the

offerings of the

second

day of Sukkot: “And one goat as a sin-offering, in addition to the regular burnt-offering and its meal-offering,

and their libations,”

and it is stated regarding the

offerings of the

sixth

day: “And one goat as a sin-offering, in addition to the regular burnt-offering, its meal-offering,

and its libation,”

and it is stated regarding the

offerings of the

seventh

day: “And their meal-offerings and their libations for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number,

according to their ordinance.”

In the word “and their libations,” stated with regard to the offerings of the second day, the letter mem is superfluous.

For it would have been sufficient to write, “and its meal-offering and its libation.”

In the word “and its libation,” stated with regard to the offerings of the sixth day, the letter yod is superfluous. For it would have been appropriate to write, “its meal-offering and its libation.”

And in the word “according to their ordinance,” stated with regard to the offerings of the seventh day, the letter mem is superfluous. For it would have been appropriate to write, “according to their number, according to their ordinance.”

Thus

we have the letters

mem, yod, mem

that are superfluous, and together

thus

they form

here

the word

“water.”

From here there is an allusion

to the water libation as a Torah law.

The Gemara asks: Indeed, it is possible to derive from here the water libation during the festival, and from the water libation we learn that one must mention rain. But

what is different about the second day, which he mentioned

[what is different about the second day, such that Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira stated that one begins mentioning rain specifically on it]?

The Gemara explains: Because

when they are alluded to in the verse

[when this allusion begins in the verse]

on

the

second day is where it is alluded.

For the first letter of the word “water” is alluded to in the offerings of the first day.

Therefore, on the second day we mention it

[therefore, we mention rain on the second day] .

We also learned in the beraita:

Rabbi Akiva says: On the sixth day of the festival, he mentions rain.

What is the reason of Rabbi Akiva? Because

it is stated regarding the

offerings of the

sixth day, “and its libation,”

in the plural. This indicates that

the verse is speaking of two libations:

namely,

one

of

them is the water libation,

which is unique to Sukkot,

and one is the wine libation,

which is customarily poured with the offering.

The Gemara asks: From where do we know that the verse is speaking of two different libations, one of water and one of wine?

And perhaps both are wine libations

[perhaps we should say that both libations are of wine]!

The Gemara explains: Rabbi Akiva

holds

[agrees]

with Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira, who says

that

water is alluded to

[that the water libation is alluded to in the offerings of the festival, as we brought above. If so, necessarily, the second libation mentioned in the verse is that of water].