Taanit 6a — the Talmud in English

Rather,

thus shall I bless you:

May it be the will that all the saplings that are planted from you ![](pamud.bmp "

")

be

excellent

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 with Torah—

behold,

already

you have Torah.

And if with greatness—

behold, you have greatness.

And if with honor—

behold, you have honor.

If with wealth—

behold,

you already have

wealth.

If with children—

behold,

already

you have children.

Rather,

thus shall I bless you:

May it be the will that all the descendants

of your innards

be blessed in everything,

like you.

The Sages taught:

For what reason is the first rain that falls during the rainy season called

“yoreh”?

Because

when

it falls, people pay attention to the fact that the rainy days are beginning, and thereby it

teaches

and guides

people to plaster their roofs

with clay, 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 carry out all

the other

requirements

[the other preparations necessary for the rainy days].

Alternatively:

For this reason this rain is called “yoreh,” because

it satisfies the thirst of the earth

from its thirst,

and waters

it deeply,

until the abyss

[until the depth of the earth].

As it is stated: “Its furrows satisfy, it settles its ridges; with showers You soften it, You bless its growth.”

That is to say, when You satisfy the furrows of the plowing of the Land of Israel, it is a settling for the bands of people in it. Thus we have that Scripture uses, concerning the falling of rain, the expression “satisfy.”

Alternatively:

For this reason the first rain is called

“yoreh,”

because

it

is

falling gently and does not fall fiercely.

For the expression “yoreh” is from the language of teaching. Like a person who teaches his students, who teaches gently. As it is stated: “The words of the wise are heard in quietness.”

Until now the Gemara said that “yoreh” is an expression of blessing. And now the Gemara comes to reject the possibility that the meaning of 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,”

for

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

causes to fall

[makes fall to the ground, from the expression of shedding]

the fruits

that are still 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,

and thereby damages them?

The verse teaches

from the word

“malkosh,”

which is adjacent 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 surely obey, etc., and I shall give the rain of your land in its season, yoreh and malkosh, etc.”

And thus do we expound:

Just as malkosh is for blessing,

for it is impossible to say that the intention is that it breaks granaries and causes fruit to fall, because these are not present at the time when malkosh falls [for they have not yet harvested the grain, and the fruits have not ripened], and necessarily—it is for blessing. And the expression 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 the stalk, which is their stem], likewise,

yoreh too is for blessing.

The Gemara continues and discusses: perhaps nevertheless it may be said 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 hearts of Israel,

for

through its force it

causes the houses to fall and breaks the trees,

, and

likewise it

brings up the locust

[it is a species of locust]?

The verse teaches

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?

For it is written: “And the children of Zion, rejoice and be glad in the Lord your God, for He has given you the Teacher for righteousness, and He brings down for you rain, the teacher and the late rain, in the first month.”

From the expression “the Teacher for righteousness” it is demonstrated that the yoreh comes for good and for 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

thus, 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 teaches: “And I shall give the rain of your land

in its season

,” yoreh and malkosh. “In its season” indicates the time most appropriate for it. That is, in the month of Marḥeshvan, for then is the time of the first reviyah, as is brought 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 and discusses the matter of the rain called “malkosh.”

“Malkosh”—

Rav Neḥilai bar Idi said in the name of Shmuel: A thing that cuts the hardness

[the hardness of their hearts]

of Israel.

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

The school of Rabbi Yishmael taught:

For this reason that rain is called “malkosh,” because it is

a thing that fills

the

grain in its stalks

[when it has already grown and is found on its stalks, on its stem]. For the malkosh completes and finishes its growth.

It was taught in a matnita:

It is called malkosh because it is

a thing that falls upon the ears of grain

[the tops of the ears, which a person rubs with his hand. As it is stated, “and you shall pluck ears with your hand”]

and upon the stalks.

That is the same matter, for 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 teaches: “In its season, yoreh and malkosh.”

Just as malkosh—

in its season,

it falls in the month of Nisan, for it is called malkosh because it falls upon the ears of grain and the stalks, and these are found only in the month of Nisan,

so too yoreh—

in its season,

in the month of Marḥeshvan.

It was taught in another beraita

[we learned in another beraita]:

Yoreh—

its time is

in

the month of

Marḥeshvan, and malkosh—

its time is

in

the month of

Nisan.

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 the yoreh falls in Kislev?

Rav Ḥisda said:

The position of

Rabbi Yose is.

For it was taught: What is the first reviyah

[the first time of the falling of rain, and this is the yoreh]?

The beraita explains: There are three periods of the falling of rains, and all of them are yoreh:

a. The

early

[first] falling of the yoreh—its time is

on the third of Marḥeshvan.

b. The

intermediate—

on the seventh of it

[of the month of Marḥeshvan].

c. And the

late

[the last]

on the seventeenth of it.

The words of Rabbi Meir.

Rabbi Yehuda says:

The first is

on the seventh

of Marḥeshvan,

and

the intermediate is

on the seventeenth

of it,

and

the last is

on the twenty-third

of it.

Rabbi Yose says:

The first is

on the seventeenth

of Marḥeshvan,

and

the intermediate is

on the twenty-third

of it,

and

the last is

on the first of Kislev.

And Rabbi Yose would likewise say:

If rains did not fall in their time,

the individuals

[the pious]

do not fast until the first of Kislev arrives.

For they begin to fast a rain-fast when the time of the third reviyah has passed and rains have not fallen.

It follows for us that the position of Rabbi Yose is that the latest time of the falling of the yoreh is on the first of Kislev.

If so, what we learned in the beraita, that the Sages hold that the time of the yoreh is in the month of Kislev, is the position of Rabbi Yose.

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

Ameimar taught this statement of Rav Ḥisda in this wording

[Ameimar taught the words of Rav Ḥisda in this wording]:

On the third of Marḥeshvan one asks for the rains

[one begins to ask and request the rains, by saying “And give dew and rain”].

Rabban Gamliel says: On the seventh of it

[of the month of Marḥeshvan] one asks for the rains.

Rav Ḥisda said: The halakha is in accordance with Rabban Gamliel.

And according to the manner in which Ameimar taught Rav Ḥisda’s statement, his ruling of the halakha is not connected with the matter of a rain-fast, but with the time for asking for the rains.

The Gemara says:

According to whose opinion does this beraita go

[according to which position does the following beraita proceed]:

Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel says: If rains fell for seven days one after the other,

that is, rains fell, stopped for seven days, and afterward fell for seven consecutive days one after the other,

do you count among them,

within those periods of the falling of rains,

the first, second, and third reviyah?

According to whose opinion

[according to whose position] is this beraita explained—

according to

the position of

Rabbi Yose.

For he said that the first reviyah is on the seventeenth, the intermediate on the twenty-third, and the last on the first of Kislev. And according to his position, the words of the beraita can be upheld.

That is, rains fell in the first reviyah, which is on the seventeenth of Marḥeshvan, and stopped for seven days until the twenty-third of it, which is the time of the second reviyah. From then onward rains fell continuously for seven days, until the thirtieth day, which is the first of Kislev. Thus you count among them the first, second, and third reviyah, as explained.

But according to the position of the other tannaim, the beraita cannot be reconciled. According to Rabbi Meir’s position, there are more than seven days between the first and second reviyah. And according to Rabbi Yehuda’s position, there are more than seven days between the second and third reviyah.

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. For from that time they begin saying, “And grant dew and rain.”

The time of the

third

rainfall, too, we need to know when it is, with regard to

fasting. For if no rains have fallen at all by that time, individuals begin fasting on Monday, Thursday, and Monday.

But the second rainfall,

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 has a practical difference

with regard to

the matter of

vows.