Taanit 4a (ד.) — the Talmud in English

Fine rain

[drizzle],

even for a seed beneath a clod

[for a seed hidden beneath the hard ground]

is beneficial to it

[it benefits it], causing it to begin sprouting and rising immediately.

The Gemara asks:

What is fine rain

[what is the meaning of the term “fine rain,” and why is drizzle called by this name]?

And the Gemara explains:

“Fine rain”

is an acronym for “awaken the cracks.” It means that this rain, because it is exceedingly fine, seals the cracks in the earth “cracks” are fissures] .

who is like a seed beneath a clod of earth

[a young Torah scholar]

is like a seed beneath a clod of earth

[similar to a seed beneath a clod of earth] ,

for once it has sprouted—

it has sprouted

And Rava said: This young Torah scholar

who resembles a seed beneath a clod [a seed beneath a clod of earth] , since once he has sprouted— he has sprouted [once he has begun to sprout, he will certainly continue to grow]. So too, a Torah scholar: once his reputation has spread, he will certainly continue to rise and grow. And Rava said: This young Torah scholar who becomes angry [a young Torah scholar who is angry], it is the Torah that makes him angry

[a young Torah scholar who becomes angry],

it is the Torah that is making him angry

[the Torah causes him to become angry and agitated]. Since his Torah gives him breadth of heart and extra understanding, he is more sensitive and takes matters more seriously than other people, and therefore he becomes angry.

As it is stated: “Are not My words like fire, declares the Lord?”

That is, the Torah, which consists of the words of the Holy One, blessed be He, is like fire .

[the Torah causes him to become angry and heated]. Since his Torah gives him breadth of heart and exceptional understanding, he takes matters more deeply to heart than other people, and therefore becomes angry.

As it is stated: “Is not My word like fire, says the Lord?”

That is, the Torah, which is the word of the Holy One, blessed be He, is like fire .

Rava teaches us that when one sees a Torah scholar who is angry, he must judge him favorably, because it is the Torah that makes him angry. And Rav Ashi said: Any Torah scholar who is not hard [exacting] like iron , is not a scholar of Torah . As it is stated later in the verse cited above: “And like a hammer that shatters a rock.” The words of Torah are thus compared to a hammer made of hard iron. Rabbi Abba said to Rav Ashi: You derive it from there [you learn this matter from that verse, “like a hammer that shatters a rock”]. But

like iron

, is not a scholar

of Torah . As it says later in the aforementioned verse:

“And like a hammer that shatters a rock.”

Thus, words of Torah are compared to a hammer made of hard iron.

Rabbi Abba said to Rav Ashi: You derive this teaching from that verse

[you learn this matter from the verse “like a hammer that shatters a rock”].

But

we derive it from here

[we learn this matter from the following verse].

As it is written: “A land whose stones are iron.”

Do not read

[do not read the word as it appears in the verse]

“its stones,” but rather

, in order to derive a different meaning from the verse, read it as follows:

“its builders.”

we derive it from here

[we learn this matter from the following verse].

As it is written: “A land whose stones are iron.”

Do not read

[do not read the word as it appears before us in the verse]

“its stones,” but rather

in order to derive a different matter from the verse, read it as

“its builders.”

That is, although a person naturally experiences anger, he must take steps to remove that trait from his heart.

The Gemara now cites the words of Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani, because the continuation of the discussion is connected with the falling of rain.

Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said that Rabbi Yonatan said: Three

And who are “its builders”?

These are Torah scholars, who sustain the world through their Torah; it is therefore as though they build the world.

But the verse says, “whose stones are iron,” implying that the sage must be hard like iron.

Ravina said: Even so,

although the Torah causes a person to be exacting and irascible, nevertheless a person must train himself to act calmly [a person must accustom himself to conduct himself calmly] . As it is stated: “And remove anger from your heart, etc.” That is, although a person naturally possesses anger, he must take measures to remove that trait from his heart. The Gemara now brings the words of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani, because the continuation of the matter is connected with the descent of rain. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: Three asked [requested] something of the Holy One, blessed be He, and did so

in an improper manner.

That is, they did not present their request appropriately. They did not specify their request in a manner that would prevent an undesirable outcome.

[that is, their requests were fulfilled in a proper and fitting manner].

And

for one

of them, just as he asked improperly, so

he was answered improperly.

And these are

those three:

a.

Eliezer, Abraham’s servant,

b.

and Saul, son of Kish,

c.

and Jephthah the Gileadite.

The Gemara explains:

Eliezer, Abraham’s servant,

where do we find that he asked improperly?

As it is written:

When Eliezer went to seek a wife for Isaac, he asked the Holy One, blessed be He: “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please bring it about for me today and act kindly with my master Abraham. Behold, I am standing by the spring of water,

and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out, and so on

[to draw water].

To two of them

although they did not ask properly,

they were answered properly

[that is, their request was granted in a fitting and appropriate manner].

And

to one

of them, just as he asked improperly, so

he was answered improperly.

And these are

the three:

A.

Eliezer, Abraham’s servant,

B.

and Saul, son of Kish, C. and Jephthah the Gileadite. The Gemara explains: Eliezer, Abraham’s servant, where do we find that he asked improperly? As it is written: When Eliezer went to seek a wife for Isaac, he asked the Holy One, blessed be He: “Lord, God of my master Abraham, please bring it about for me today and perform kindness with my master Abraham. Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the townspeople are going out, etc.” [to draw water]. “And let it be that the maiden to whom I shall say, ‘Please tilt your jug, etc.,’ you have designated for Your servant, for Isaac.” That is, Eliezer asked the Holy One, blessed be He, to give him a sign that the maiden who would give him and his camels water was the woman destined for Isaac. This request was improper, because Eliezer stated without qualification that any maiden who came and gave him and his camels water would be the woman destined for Isaac. Perhaps, is it possible that even if she were lame [limping], and even if she were blind [sightless]?! According to his words and request, a maiden with a physical defect might have come, and he would not have noticed it and would have taken her for Isaac!

Nevertheless,

he was answered

from Heaven

properly,

and Rebecca came to him,

who was perfect both in her physical appearance and in her character traits.

The Gemara continues its explanation:

Saul, son of Kish,

where do we find that he asked improperly?

As it is written:

When Goliath the Philistine went out to taunt the ranks of Israel, they proclaimed in the name of King Saul:

“The man who strikes him

[who kills Goliath]

the king will enrich with great wealth, and he will give him his daughter.”

This proclamation by the king was improper, because he did not specify his words.

Could it be that even

if that man were

a slave, even

Nevertheless,

he was answered

from Heaven

properly,

and Rebecca came before him,

who was perfect both in her physical appearance and in her character traits.

The Gemara continues and explains:

Saul, son of Kish,

where do we find that he asked improperly? As it is written: When Goliath the Philistine went out to defy the ranks of Israel, they proclaimed in the name of King Saul: “It shall be that the man who strikes him [who kills Goliath] the king will make immensely wealthy, and he will give him his daughter.” This proclamation of the king was improper, because he did not specify his words. For perhaps even if that man were a slave, even if that man were a mamzer, the king would give him his daughter as a wife?! Nevertheless, he was answered from Heaven properly, and David came before him [he was the one who struck Goliath], and he indeed married Michal, Saul’s daughter. Jephthah the Gileadite,

where do we find that he asked improperly?

As it is written:

When Jephthah went out at the head of the Children of Israel to wage war against the Ammonites, he made a vow and said:

“And it shall be that whatever comes forth, whatever comes forth from the doors of my house, etc.,

shall be the Lord’s, and I shall offer it up as an offering.” And this request was improper, because

it is possible

that

even

if

an impure creature

were to come forth from the door of his house, he would offer it up as an offering to the Holy One, blessed be He?!

Indeed,

he was answered

from Heaven

improperly,

and

his daughter happened to come forth [

who was the first to come out of the door of his house when he returned from the war] .

And this is what the prophet said to Israel [

and this is what the prophet said to Israel]:

“Is there no balm in Gilead, is there no physician there?”

The prophet was arguing: Phinehas was there, in Gilead, and he could have released Jephthah from his vow [but Jephthah did not wish to go to Phinehas because of his haughtiness. For he said: I am a judge and ruler; shall I go to him? It would be more fitting for him to come to me! Conversely, Phinehas did not wish to go to Jephthah, for he said: I am a prophet; shall I go to him? Both of them were punished for this] . It is evident that it was not the desire of the Lord that Jephthah offer his daughter as an offering .

And it is written

And it is written

in Jeremiah’s prophecy: “Thus said the Lord, etc. I am bringing evil upon this place, etc., because they have forsaken Me, etc., and they built the high places of the Baal, to burn their sons in fire as offerings to the Baal, which I did not command, nor speak, nor did it enter My heart.”

And this is what the prophet said to Israel when he saw that they were offering their sons to the Baal:

Do not say: Did not the Holy One, blessed be He, indeed command Mesha, king of Moab, and Jephthah, and Abraham to offer their sons to Him as offerings? That is not so!

“Which I did not command”

, this refers to the son of Mesha, king of Moab,

whom his father offered as an offering.

As it is stated

concerning the time when Israel fought against Moab: “And the king of Moab saw that the battle was too strong for him, etc.,

and he took his firstborn son, who was to reign in his place, and offered him as an offering.”

And he intended it for the sake of Heaven , for he thought that by doing so he would appease the Holy One, blessed be He. And the prophet said that the Holy One, blessed be He, had not commanded this.

“Nor speak,” this refers to the daughter of Jephthah,

whom Jephthah offered as an offering [as explained above]. The Holy One, blessed be He, did not speak of this, for we find that Phinehas and Jephthah were mentioned disparagingly because they did not release him from the vow .

“Nor did it enter My heart,” this refers to Isaac son of Abraham, for it did not enter the heart of the Holy One, blessed be He, that Abraham should offer Isaac, but he intended only to test him .

Rabbi Berakhya said: Also

concerning

Knesset Yisrael

we find that it

asked improperly, and

nevertheless

the Holy One, blessed be He, answered it properly.

As it is stated,

that Knesset Yisrael said and requested:

“And let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord; like the dawn, certain is His appearance; and He shall come to us like the rain.”

“And let us know, let us pursue knowledge of the Lord; His appearance is as certain as the dawn; and He will come to us like the rain.”

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to it

to Knesset Yisrael:

My daughter

, you ask

that you should know the Lord, and that He should come to you like rain, which is

something that is sometimes desired [

sometimes it is wanted],

and sometimes is not desired.

For rain in summer is a sign of a curse.

But I

will do more than you ask, and

I will be to you

like

something desired

and needed

forever [

always].

As it is stated: “I will be like dew to Israel,”

for dew is something desired forever [as we said above, for it never ceases] .

And another request

of Knesset Yisrael was

improper.

It said before Him: “Set me as a seal upon Your heart, as a seal upon Your arm.”

That is, Knesset Yisrael asked to be to the Holy One, blessed be He, like a seal [like a signet] upon the heart and the arm, so that He would not forget it.

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to it: My daughter, you ask

that I be to you like a seal upon the heart and upon the arm, and the heart and the arm are

something that is sometimes visible

and exposed,

and sometimes is not visible [

for at times the heart and arm are covered by clothing], and therefore there remains concern that the matter may be forgotten.

But I will do for you something that is visible forever, as it is stated: “Behold, I have engraved you upon the palms of My hands,”

for the Holy One, blessed be He, engraved the memory of Israel upon His palm [for the palm of the hand is always exposed ].

We learned in our Mishna:

“One does not request rain, etc.”

They assumed [

the members of the beit-midrash assumed] that what the Mishna mentioned concerning

the request

for rain—“One does not request rain except close to the rainy season”—

and

what the Mishna mentioned concerning

the mention

of rain—“From when does one mention the might of rain, etc.?”—

are one and the same matter [

they concern one matter]. The reference is to mentioning rain, when one says in the prayer, “Who makes the rain fall.”

If so,

which tanna,

who is the tanna who holds that one mentions rain only close to its season, and not beforehand?

Rava said: It is Rabbi Yehoshua, who said

that one begins mentioning rain

from the time of putting down

the lulav . That is, from the day of Shemini Atzeret . And this is “close to the rains,” for from the end of the festival onward is the appropriate time for the rains to fall.

Abaye said to him: You may even say [

you can even say] that the tanna of our Mishna is

Rabbi Eliezer,

who holds that one mentions rain from the first Festival day of the festival.

For it is possible to say that request and mention are not one matter, but

request

is a matter

apart,

by itself, in which one asks, “Grant dew and rain.” This is not the mention of rain concerning which Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua disagreed. Indeed, one requests rain only close to the rains, from Shemini Atzeret.

And mention

is a matter

apart,

in which one says, “Who makes the rain fall,” and one mentions rain already from the first Festival day of the festival.