Taanit 6a (ו.) — the Talmud in English

Rather,

this is how I shall bless you:

May it be the will of God that all the saplings that are planted from you

be

fine

like you.

This is the parable.

Rabbi Yitzḥak continued and said to Rav Naḥman:

You too,

Rav Naḥman,

with what shall I bless you?

If it is with Torah—

behold,

you already

have Torah.

And if it is with greatness—

behold, you have greatness.

And if it is with honor—

behold, you have honor.

If it is with wealth—

behold,

you already have

wealth.

If it is with children—

behold,

you already

have children.

Rather,

this is how I shall bless you:

May it be the will of God that all the descendants of

your innards

be blessed in every respect,

like you.

The Sages taught:

On account of what is the first rain that falls during the rainy season called

“yoreh”?

It is on account of

the fact that

when it falls, people take note that the rainy days are beginning, and thereby it

instructs

and guides

people to plaster their roofs

with mud, so that the rain will not leak into the house,

and to bring in their produce

that they left in the field to dry, so that it will not become wet in the rain,

and to perform all

the other

necessities [

the other preparations required for the rainy days ].

Alternatively:

This rain is therefore called “yoreh,” on account of

its watering the land

after its thirst,

and irrigating

it deeply,

to the abyss [

to the depths of the earth ].

As it is stated: “You water its furrows abundantly; you settle its furrows; with raindrops you soften it; You bless its growth.”

That is, when You water the furrows of the plowed land of Eretz Yisrael, it is pleasing to the multitudes of people within it. Thus, the verse uses the expression “watered” with regard to the falling of rain.

Alternatively:

The first rain is therefore called

“yoreh,”

because

it

falls

gently and does not fall with fury.

The term “yoreh” is from the same root as instruction. It is like a person instructing his students, who instructs gently. As it is stated: “The words of the wise heard in tranquility.”

Until now, the Gemara has stated that “yoreh” is an expression of blessing. The Gemara now comes to reject the possibility that the word “yoreh” is an expression of curse:

Or

perhaps

it is not “yoreh”—

rather,

an expression of curse, from the expression “he shall surely be shot,”

as

it falls upon the earth forcefully, like an arrow, and thereby

causes [

causes to fall to the ground, from the expression of shedding ]

the fruit

that is still found on the trees, such as etrogim, pomegranates, or the last figs, from the trees,

and washes away [

washes forcefully ]

the seeds and washes away the trees,

thereby harming them?

The verse states

from the word

“malkosh,”

which is juxtaposed to the word “yoreh,” that yoreh is not an expression of curse. For this is the wording of the verse: “And it shall be, if you diligently obey, etc., I will give the rain of your land in its time, yoreh and malkosh, etc.”

And this is how we expound it:

Just as malkosh is for blessing,

for it is impossible to say that it means rain that breaks granaries and causes fruit to fall, since these are not present at the time the malkosh falls [as the grain has not yet been harvested and the fruit has not ripened], and necessarily it is for blessing. The term malkosh hints that this rain falls upon the ears of grain and the stalks and fills the grain in its stalks [ that is, the rain causes the kernels of grain to become full and good now, while they are on their stalk, which is their stem ], likewise,

yoreh is for blessing.

The Gemara continues its discussion: perhaps it is nevertheless possible to say that malkosh is for a curse:

Or

perhaps

it is not malkosh—

rather,

an expression of “cutting and hardening,” meaning that this rain cuts the hardness of the heart of Israel,

as

by virtue of its force it

causes houses to fall and breaks trees

, and

likewise it

brings up locusts [

a species of locust ]?

The verse states

from the word adjacent to it before it:

“yoreh.”

Just as yoreh is for blessing, so malkosh—

is for blessing.

And yoreh itself [

itself ],

from where do we know [

from where do we know ] that it falls for blessing?

As it is written: “Children of Zion, rejoice and be glad in the Lord your God, for He has given you the teacher for righteousness, and He has brought down for you rain, the yoreh and the malkosh, in the first month.”

The expression “the teacher for righteousness” proves that the yoreh comes for good and blessing.

The Sages taught: Yoreh—

its time is

in

the month of

Marḥeshvan.

And malkosh—

its time is

in

the month of

Nisan.

You say

this: that the

yoreh

is the rain that falls

in Marḥeshvan, and malkosh

is the rain that falls

in Nisan.

Or

perhaps

it is only yoreh

whose time is earlier,

in

the month of

Tishrei, and malkosh

whose time is later,

in

the month of

Iyyar?

The verse states: “I will give the rain of your land

in its time

yoreh and malkosh.” “In its time” indicates the time most appropriate for it. That is in the month of Marḥeshvan, which is the time of the first rainfall, as is cited below in the Gemara.

the early rain and the late rain.” “In its season” indicates the time most appropriate for it. That is the month of Marḥeshvan, which is the time of the first rainfall, as stated below in the Gemara.

The Gemara now returns to discuss the rain called “malkosh.”

“Malkosh”—

Rav Naḥilai bar Idi said in the name of Shmuel: It is something that breaks the hardness [

the hardness of their hearts ]

of Israel.

When it does not fall, Israel repent, fast, and perform acts of charity.

The school of Rabbi Yishmael taught:

This rain is called “malkosh” because it is

something that fills

the

grain in its stalks [

when it has already grown and is found on its stalk, on its stem ]. The malkosh completes and concludes its growth.

A tanna taught in a baraita:

It is called malkosh because it is

something that falls upon the ears of grain [

the tips of the ears, which a person rubs in his hand, as it is stated: “And you shall pluck ears of grain with your hand” ]

and upon the stalks.

This is the same explanation, as the malkosh falls after the grain has grown.

The Sages taught: Yoreh—

its time is

in

the month of

Marḥeshvan.

And malkosh—

its time is

in

the month of

Nisan.

You say

that the time of the

yoreh is in

the month of

Marḥeshvan.

Or

perhaps

it is only in the month of Kislev?

The verse states: “In its time, yoreh and malkosh.”

Just as malkosh—

in its time,

it falls in Nisan, since it is called malkosh because it falls upon the ears of grain and the stalks, which are found only in Nisan,

so too yoreh—

in its time,

in Marḥeshvan.

It was taught in another baraita [

we learned in another baraita ]:

Yoreh—

its time is

in

the month of

Marḥeshvan, and malkosh—

its time is

in

the month of

Nisan.

These are the words of Rabbi Meir.

And the Sages say: Yoreh—

its time is

in

the month of

Kislev.

Who are

those

Sages

who disagree with Rabbi Meir and say that yoreh falls in Kislev?

Rav Ḥisda said:

It is the view of

Rabbi Yose.

As it was taught: What is the first rainfall [

the first time rain falls, and this is the yoreh ]?

The baraita explains: There are three periods of rainfall, and all of them are yoreh:

a. The

early

[

the first ] rainfall of the yoreh is on the third of Marḥeshvan.

b. The

middle—

on the seventh of that month

[ the month of Marḥeshvan ].

c. And the

late

[

the last ]— on the seventeenth of that month.

These are the words of Rabbi Meir.

Rabbi Yehuda says:

The first is

on the seventh

of Marḥeshvan,

and

the middle is

on the seventeenth

of that month,

and

the last is

on the twenty-third

of that month.

Rabbi Yose says:

The first is

on the seventeenth

of Marḥeshvan,

and

the middle is

on the twenty-third

of that month,

and

the last is

on the first of Kislev.

And Rabbi Yose would likewise say:

If rain has not fallen at its proper times,

individuals [

pious people ]

do not fast until the first of Kislev arrives.

They begin fasting a rain fast when the time of the third rainfall has passed and rain has not fallen.

Thus, Rabbi Yose’s view is that the latest time for the yoreh is the first of Kislev.

Accordingly, what we learned in the baraita—that the Sages hold that the time of the yoreh is in Kislev—is the view of Rabbi Yose.

Rav Ḥisda said: The halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yose.

Ameimar taught this statement of Rav Ḥisda in this formulation [

Ameimar transmitted Rav Ḥisda’s statement in the following wording ]:

On the third of Marḥeshvan we ask for rain [

we begin to request and pray for rain, by reciting “Give dew and rain” ].

Rabban Gamliel says: On the seventh of that month [

the month of Marḥeshvan ]

we ask for rain.

According to the way Ameimar transmitted Rav Ḥisda’s statement, his halakhic ruling is not connected with rain fasts, but with the time for asking for rain.

The Gemara says:

In accordance with whose view is the following baraita [

which view does the following baraita follow ]:

Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel says: If rain fell for seven consecutive days,

that is, rain fell, stopped for seven days, and then fell for seven consecutive days,

do you count among them

within those periods of rainfall

the first, second, and third rainfall?

In accordance with whose view [

whose view does this baraita reflect ]—

the

view of

Rabbi Yose.

He said that the first rainfall is on the seventeenth, the middle on the twenty-third, and the last on the first of Kislev. According to his view, the words of the baraita can be upheld.

That is, rain fell at the first rainfall, on the seventeenth of Marḥeshvan, and stopped for seven days until the twenty-third of that month, which is the time of the second rainfall. From then onward, rain fell continuously for seven days, until the thirtieth day, which is the first of Kislev. Thus, one counts among them the first, second, and third rainfalls, as explained.

But according to the other tannaim, the baraita cannot be reconciled. According to Rabbi Meir, there are more than seven days between the first and second rainfalls. And according to Rabbi Yehuda, there are more than seven days between the second and third rainfalls.

Rav Ḥisda said: The halakha is in accordance with Rabbi Yose.

The Gemara asks: For what purpose do we need to know when the times of the three rainfalls are?

Granted,

the time of

the first rainfall,

we need to know when its time is, because there is a practical difference with regard to

requesting

the rains. From that time, we begin to say, "Grant dew and rain."

The time of the

third

rainfall—we also need to know when it is, with regard to

fasting. If no rain has fallen at all by that time, individuals begin to fast on Monday, Thursday, and Monday.

But the second rainfall,

for

what purpose?

For what purpose do we need to know when its time is?

Rabbi Zeira said:

The time of the second rainfall is of practical consequence

for

the matter of

vows.