Taanit 8b (ח:) — the Talmud in English

The expression “restraining”

is used

with regard to a woman, as it is stated: “For the Lord had completely restrained every womb

in the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.” That is, the Lord restrained all the women in Abimelech’s household, so that they could not give birth.

And the expression

is used

with regard to restraint

also

in connection with rain, as it is written: “And He will restrain the heavens.”

b.

Similarly,

the expression

is used

with regard to giving birth by a woman, and the expression

is used

with regard to giving birth by rain.

The expression

is used

with regard to giving birth by a woman, as it is written: “And she conceived and gave birth to a son.”

And the expression

of

And the expression

is used

with regard to giving birth by rain, as it is written: “For just as the rain descends, etc.,

and gives birth and causes growth.”

c. Similarly,

the expression

is used

with regard to remembering a woman, and the expression

is used

with regard to remembering rain.

The expression

is used

with regard to remembering a woman, as it is written: “And the Lord remembered Sarah.”

And the expression

is used

with regard to remembering rain, as it is written: “You remember the earth and water it; You greatly enrich it; the stream of God is full of water.”

For all these matters, people plead for mercy, that the Lord should not restrain the heavens, but should remember them, bring down rain, and have it give birth and cause the earth to grow.

Since the Gemara had to cite the verse “You remember the earth and water it, etc.,” it clarifies the meaning of the verse.

What is the meaning of “the stream of God is full of water”?

The tanna taught: Something resembling a vault

(a tent)

is in the firmament, from which rain emerges .

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Whether for a rod, or for His land, or for kindness, He causes it to come”?

If

the Holy One, blessed be He, decreed that abundant rains should descend for harm, then they descend

“for a rod,”

like a rod that strikes forcefully.

But if Israel repented, the Holy One, blessed be He, brings down those strong rains

upon the mountains and hills,

places where no one lives, and they cause no damage.

But

if

the rains descend

for kindness,

gently, then

He causes them to come

the Holy One, blessed be He,

upon His land,

the Land of Israel,

in fields and vineyards.

“If for a rod”—

for trees.

“If for His land”—

for seeds.

“If for kindness He causes it to come”—

then the rains descend to fill

cisterns, pits, and caves.

In the days of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani there was both famine and pestilence

[there were two troubles: famine as well as a deadly epidemic].

They said: What shall we do

[the people of the place said: What shall we do]?

Let us pray for mercy concerning both

[let us pray and plead for mercy concerning both troubles, that they should be removed from us]—

it is impossible

[it is impossible]. The reason for this will be explained below. Rather, let us do this

:

let us pray for mercy concerning the pestilence

[let us plead for mercy concerning the epidemic, that it should be removed from us and we should not die],

and the famine

[and the famine]

we shall endure.

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said to them:

We should not do so, but the reverse:

Let us pray for mercy concerning the famine

[let us plead for mercy concerning the famine, that it should be removed from us] ,

and consequently the pestilence will also be removed from us. For

behold,

when the Merciful One grants satiety—

He grants it for life

[when the Holy One, blessed be He, grants satiety, He grants it so that people may live from it, not so that they should die]!

As it is written: “You open Your hand and satisfy every living thing with favor.”

Thus we see that the Holy One, blessed be He, satisfies the living!

The Gemara now returns to explain why they did not plead for mercy concerning both troubles.

And from where do we know that one does not pray concerning two troubles

[and from where do we know that one does not pray concerning two evils]?

As it is written

in the Book of Ezra, when Ezra recounts the ascent of the Israelites to their land, that Ezra said to the people ascending with him:

“And we fasted and sought from our God concerning this.”

That is, they asked that the Holy One, blessed be He, lead them to Jerusalem on a direct route in peace, without harm from their enemies.

From the fact that they said, “concerning this,”

it follows that there was another matter

[it follows that there was another evil], and they did not also ask and pray concerning it.

In the West, they said in the name of Rabbi Ḥaggai: From here

[in the Land of Israel they said in the name of Rabbi Ḥaggai that this matter is learned from here, from a verse in the Book of Daniel]:

“And we sought mercies before the God of Heaven concerning the secret of this matter.”

The expression “the secret of this matter”—this secret,

it follows that there was another matter

[it follows that there was another matter concerning which it was appropriate to plead for mercy], but they did not ask concerning it.

In the days of Rabbi Zeira, an apostate decree was issued

[a decree of religious persecution was issued, that Israel should not fulfill the mitzvot of the Torah],

and a decree was issued that they should not sit in a fast

[and a decree was issued against Israel that they should not fast], because they did not want blessing to come to the world on account of Israel.

He said to them

[he said to them],

Rabbi Zeira

to the people of the place: Although we cannot fast now, because a decree was issued that we should not fast, nevertheless,

let us accept it upon ourselves

[let us accept upon ourselves that we will fast on the fast days when we are able], and this acceptance will benefit us as though we had actually fasted.

And when the persecution is annulled—

we shall observe it

[and when the decree is annulled, we will fast and fulfill what we accepted upon ourselves].

They said to him

[they said to him]:

From where do you have this

[from where do you derive this matter, that acceptance of the fast alone is sufficient to annul the decree]?

He said to them,

Rabbi Zeira:

As it is written

in the Book of Daniel:

“And he said to me”

[the man clothed in linen who appeared to Daniel],

“Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to fast before your God, your words were heard.”

Thus, from the moment Daniel resolved to fast, although he had not yet actually fasted, his words had been heard by the Holy One, blessed be He.

Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Even

during

two

years of drought

like the two of Elijah

[when he decreed that rain should not fall for three consecutive years], when the world is in great need of rain,

and rain fell on the eves of Shabbat —

it is nothing but a sign of a curse.

This is because on the eve of Shabbat people need to go around the marketplace to purchase what is needed for the Shabbat meal, and because of the rain they cannot go out.

And

this is

as

Rabba bar Sheila said: A rainy day is as difficult

[the day on which rain falls is difficult], because people cannot leave their homes and attend to their needs—

as a day of judgment

[as a day of judgment], namely, Mondays and Thursdays, when people gather for judgment, in accordance with Ezra’s enactment . Just as there are the voices and commotion of litigants arguing with one another, so there are sounds on a rainy day.

And all the more so on the eves of Shabbat, when rain is difficult for everyone.

Ameimar said: If rain were not needed by the creatures

[if rain were not necessary for people],

we would plead for mercy—

and annul it

[that is, we would plead for mercy and annul it]. This is for the reason mentioned above, that on a rainy day people cannot go out to conduct their affairs.

And Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Sun

that shines

on Shabbat—

is charity

it is

for the poor, ,

who take pleasure in it , for a clear, bright day is comfortable for them, and they warm themselves in the sun when it is cold.

As it is stated: “And the sun of righteousness shall shine upon you who fear My Name, with healing.” “Those who fear My Name” refers to those who observe Shabbat.

And Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Great is a rainy day, for even a peruta in one’s pocket is blessed on it.

That is, even one’s handiwork, which does not require rain in order to grow and be blessed, is blessed more on a rainy day.

As it is stated: “To give you the rain of your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand.”

And Rabbi Yitzhak said: Blessing

And Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Blessing is found only in something hidden from the eye.

That is, something that has not been measured, so that the quantity it contains is unknown.

As it is stated: “The Lord will command the blessing for you in your storehouses.” “Your storehouses” implies something hidden

from the eye.

The tanna of the school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: Blessing is found only in something over which the eye has no control.

As it is stated: “The Lord will command the blessing for you in your storehouses.”

This is as we said above: blessing is found in something hidden from the eye.

The Sages taught: One who enters to measure [

to measure and assess]

the

amount of grain that he has in his

granary,

before he begins measuring

says: May it be Your will, Lord our God, that You send blessing upon the work of our hands.

That is, that the blessing should rest upon the grain in the granary, and that it should suffer no loss, rot, or the like .

But if he

has already begun

to

measure

the granary, as long as he has not completed the measuring,

he says: Blessed

are You, Lord our God, King of the universe

Who sends blessing upon this heap of grain .

But if he

measured, and

only

afterward recited

this blessing,

it is a vain prayer ,

because blessing can no longer enter the granary.

And the reason is

that blessing is found neither in something weighed, nor in something measured, nor in something counted,

but

only

in something hidden from the eye,

whose quantity and measure are unknown. [

The gathering of troops, charity, tithes, livelihood — a mnemonic].

Rabbi Yohanan said: The day of rain is as great as

the day of the ingathering of the exiles [

like the day when the dispersed of Israel will be gathered from the four corners of the earth to the Land of Israel].

As it is stated: “Restore our captivity, O Lord, like streams in the Negev” .

Thus, Scripture compared the return of the exiles to streams in the Negev. And “streams in the Negev” means channels of water formed by the falling of rain .

And “streams” means nothing other than rain.

As it is stated: “And they saw the channels of the sea” .

Accordingly, “streams in the Negev” means channels of water in a dry place [for “Negev” is an expression of dryness, as we find that the translation of “and the surface of the earth was parched” is “it became dry”].

And Rabbi Yohanan said: The day of rain is so great that even armies halt on it [

for men of war do not pass through on that day].

As it is stated: “You water its furrows abundantly; You settle its troops.”

That is, when You water the furrows of the earth with rain, immediately the troops rest.

And Rabbi Yohanan said: Rain is withheld only because of

those

who pledge charity,

who proclaim

in

the presence of

the public

that they will give charity, in order to make a name and reputation for themselves,

but

in the end

do not give .

As it is stated: “Clouds and wind, but no rain; such is a man who boasts of a false gift.”

That is, clouds and wind, which are signs that rain is about to fall, yet there is no rain—all this is because of a man who boasts of a false gift and does not give. Just as he acts only outwardly, to flatter the poor and make a name for himself, but ultimately does not give, so too the clouds and wind flatter the ground, as though rain were about to fall, but in truth ultimately it does not fall .