Taanit 2b — the Talmud in English

As it is written: “And God remembered Rachel, and God heard ![](pamud.bmp "

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her, and He opened her womb.” .

It follows that the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself opens.

The key of the revival of the dead—from where [do we know]

that it was not delivered into the hand of an agent?

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

It follows that 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 of livelihood as well

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

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

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

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

The Gemara asks:

And Rabbi Yohanan,

who said that there are three keys that were not delivered into the hand of an agent,

what is the reason he did not count

also

this one

[Why did he not count among the keys that were not delivered into the hand of an agent also the key of livelihood]?

The Gemara explains:

He can say to you:

Rabbi Yohanan:

Rain as well

[rain also]

is livelihood .

For through the falling of rain, the crops and the trees grow, which bring livelihood to people.

And since Rabbi Yohanan 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 the Festival, etc.

They raised a question before them

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

Rabbi Eliezer—from where did he learn it

[From where did Rabbi Eliezer learn his statement, that we mention rain from the first festival day of the Festival]?

Is it that

he learned it from the lulav

[Rabbi Eliezer learned his statement], for the bundle of the lulav [the lulav and the three species that come with it: myrtle, willow, and etrog] requires water in the process of its growth and comes to plead for the falling of rain . And therefore Rabbi Eliezer compares the mentioning of rain to taking the lulav: Just as the lulav is taken from the first festival day of the Festival, so too rain is mentioned from that time.

This is the first possibility, that Rabbi Eliezer learned his statement from the lulav.

A second possibility:

Or

perhaps

from the pouring of the water ,

when they poured water upon the altar during the days of the Festival of Sukkot ,

he learned it

[Rabbi Eliezer learned his statement]? For just as they begin pouring the water from the beginning of the days of the Festival, so they mention rain from the beginning of the Festival.

And now the Gemara explains: What practical difference is there [with regard to what matter is there a distinction] whether one learns from the lulav or from the pouring of the water ?

If

he learned it from the lulav,

then let us further compare the mentioning of rain to the lulav and say:

Just as the lulav

has the mitzva of taking it only

by day,

and not at night ,

so too the mentioning

of rain shall be specifically

by day,

and they do not begin mentioning rain already on the night of the Festival.

Or perhaps he learned it from the pouring of the water.

And if so, we shall learn as follows:

Just as

in the mitzva of

the pouring of the water

they fill the vessel in which they bring the water to pour upon the altar with water

from the evening

[from the evening, from the night of the first festival day] ,

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

, so too the mentioning

of rain begins already

from the evening

[from the evening prayer]?

Come and hear

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

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

It is explicitly established for us that Rabbi Eliezer learned his statement from the lulav, and not from the pouring of the water.

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

The Gemara brings two opinions concerning this:

There are those who say:

There are those who say:

Rabbi Abbahu learned it as a received tradition

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

And there are those who say: He heard it from a teaching

[Rabbi Abbahu learned this matter from a beraita].

What is it?

From which beraita did Rabbi Abbahu learn his statement?

For it was taught: From when do they mention rain?

Rabbi Eliezer says: From the time of taking the lulav

[from the time when they begin taking the lulav] .

Rabbi Joshua says: From the time of putting it down

of the lulav. That is, from the seventh day of the Festival, when they put down the lulav and no longer take it .

He argued and

Rabbi Eliezer said: Since these four species

of the bundle of the lulav

come

only to plead for water

[that there should be an abundance of rain in winter] .

And just as these four species cannot exist without water,

for they cannot grow without water,

so the world cannot exist without water.

And therefore, because of these reasons, one must mention rain already from the beginning of the Festival, from the time when they begin taking the lulav.

Rabbi Joshua said to him: But rain during the Festival—

is nothing other than a sign of a curse

[as was explained in the Mishna] !

Rabbi Eliezer said to him: I too did not say

that they begin

asking

[requesting] for rain from the beginning of the Festival, for it is a sign of a curse.

Rather,

I said that they begin

mentioning

it from the beginning of the Festival.

And just as

the

revival of the dead is mentioned throughout the entire year

in the blessing “Who revives the dead,”

and

although it

does not

come

except in its time,

so they mention the mighty acts of rain throughout the entire year, and

although they

do not

come

except in their time.

Therefore,

since he does not ask for rain, but only mentions it,

if he comes to mention

[if he wishes to mention] rain

throughout the entire year,

including during the summer days,

he mentions it.

Rabbi says: I say ,

that

from the time when he stops asking

[from the time when he stops asking for rain], that is, from the Festival of Passover,

so he stops mentioning

[from that time he also stops mentioning it] .

And if so, just as they do not mention rain during the summer days, because this is not its time, so they do not mention it during the Festival, for at that time it is a sign of a curse.

The beraita brings additional opinions: From when do they begin mentioning rain?

Rabbi Judah ben Bateira says: On the second day of the Festival,

that is, on the first day of the intermediate days, which is the second day of the Festival,

he mentions

the rain.

Rabbi Akiva says: On the sixth day of the Festival,

that is, on the fifth day of the intermediate days, which is the sixth day of the Festival,

he mentions

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

Rabbi Judah in the name of Rabbi Joshua says:

The prayer leader

who passes before the ark on the last festival day of the Festival,

on Shemini Atzeret,

the last one,

who prays the additional prayer,

mentions

the rain.

But

the first one,

the one who prays the morning prayer,

does not mention

the rain .

And

on the first festival day of Passover

the reverse:

The prayer leader

the first one,

who prays the morning prayer,

mentions

the rain.

Whereas the prayer leader

the last one,

who prays the additional prayer,

does not mention it.

And now the Gemara discusses the words of the beraita.

The Gemara asks:

Rabbi Joshua was correct in his argument

[he made a good and sound argument]

to Rabbi Eliezer!

For just as they mention the revival of the dead throughout the entire year, although its time has not yet arrived, so too he may mention rain throughout the entire year if he wishes, and even during the Festival, when it is not a sign of blessing, he may mention it, since he is not asking!

Rabbi Joshua can say to you:

The mentioning of the revival of the dead is not comparable to the mentioning of rain. For

granted, the revival of the dead is mentioned

throughout the entire year because

every day is its time .

For the revival of the dead can take place and come at any time.

Rather, rain,

and

is it whenever they come that it is their time [

and is it whenever they come, whether in the winter days or in the summer days, that it is their time]?

But we learned [

and yet we learned in the Mishna]: If

the month of

[it passed and went] Nisan

has passed, and

then

rain falls, it is a sign of a curse.

As it is stated,

which Samuel said to Israel in Gilgal, at the time of the crowning of King Saul:

“Is it not wheat harvest today, etc.” [

the continuation of the verse: “I shall call to the Lord, and He shall give thunder and rain; and know and see that your evil is great, etc.”] Therefore, 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 fit for its falling—that is, from the last festival day of the Festival of Sukkot.

The Gemara continues to discuss the words of the beraita.

We learned in a beraita:

Rabbi Judah ben Beteira says: On the second [day] of the Festival he mentions [rain].

And we must explain:

What is the reason of Rabbi Judah ben Beteira,

who holds that they begin mentioning rain specifically from the second day of the Festival?

The Gemara explains:

For it was taught: Rabbi Judah ben Beteira says: It is stated concerning the

sacrifices of the

second

day of the Festival of Sukkot: “And one male goat as a sin-offering, besides the regular burnt-offering and its meal-offering,

and their libations,”

and it is stated concerning the

sacrifices of the

sixth

day: “And one male goat as a sin-offering, besides the regular burnt-offering, its meal-offering,

and its libation,”

and it is stated concerning the

sacrifices of the

seventh

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

according to their ordinance.”

In the word “and their libations,” which is stated concerning the sacrifices of the second day, the letter mem is extra .

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

In the word “and its libation,” which is stated concerning the sacrifices of the sixth day, the letter yod is extra. For it would have been fitting to write: “its meal-offering and its libation.”

And in the word “according to their ordinance,” which is stated concerning the sacrifices of the seventh day, the letter mem is extra. For it would have been fitting to write: “according to their number, according to their ordinance.”

Here

we have the letters

mem, yod, mem

as extras, and together

here

is formed

the

word

“water.”

From here there is a hint

to the water libation from the Torah.

The Gemara asks: Indeed, it is possible to learn from here the water libation on the Festival. And from the water libation one learns that it is necessary to mention rain. But

what is different about the second [day], which he specified [

what is different about the second day, which Rabbi Judah ben Beteira specified as the day on which they begin mentioning rain specifically]?

The Gemara explains: Because

when they are hinted at in the verse [

when this hint begins in Scripture]

on

the

second day they are hinted.

For the first letter of the word “water” is hinted at in the sacrifices of the first day.

Therefore, on the second [day] we mention [rain] [

therefore they 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 concerning the

sacrifices of the

sixth day, “and its libation,”

in the plural. It indicates that

the verse is speaking of two libations:

namely,

one

of them

is the water libation,

which is particular to the Festival of Sukkot,

and one is the wine libation,

which they ordinarily pour with the sacrifice.

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

And perhaps both of them are of wine [

perhaps we should say that the two libations are of wine]!

The Gemara explains: Rabbi Akiva

holds [

he holds]

with Rabbi Judah ben Beteira, who says

that

water is hinted [

that the water libation is hinted] in the sacrifices of the Festival, as we brought above. And if so, necessarily the second libation mentioned in the verse is of water.