Taanit 8b — the Talmud in English

It was stated

the expression

“stopping” concerning a woman, as it is stated: “For the Lord had completely stopped every womb

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

And it was stated

the expression

“stopping”

also

concerning rain, as it is written: “And He will stop up the heavens.”

B.

Likewise,

the expression

of

giving birth concerning a woman was stated, and

the expression of

giving birth concerning rain.

The expression

of

giving birth concerning a woman was stated, as it is written: “And she conceived and gave birth to a son.”

And the expression

of

giving birth concerning rain was stated, as it is written: “

For just as the rain descends, etc.,

and gives birth and causes to sprout.”

and gives birth and causes growth.”

C. And likewise,

the expression

of

visiting concerning a woman was stated, and

the expression of

visiting concerning rain.

The expression

of

visiting concerning a woman was stated, as it is written: “And the Lord visited Sarah.”

And the expression

of

visiting concerning rain was stated, as it is written: “You visit the earth and water it abundantly; You greatly enrich it; the stream of God is full of water.”

And concerning all these they seek mercy, that the Lord should not stop up the heavens, but should visit them, and bring down the rain, and that they should give birth and cause the earth to sprout.

Since the Gemara had to bring the verse “You visit the earth and water it, etc.,” we clarify what the explanation of the verse is.

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

A tanna taught: There is something resembling a dome

a tent

in the firmament, from which the rains emerge.

Сказал рабби Шмуэль бар Нахмани: что означает написанное: «Если для поражения, если для Его земли, если для милости — Он найдёт его»?

Rabbi Shmuel bar Nahmani 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 is He, decreed that most of the rains should fall for harm, then they fall

“for a rod,”

like a rod that strikes forcefully.

And if Israel repented, the Holy One, blessed is He, brings down those strong rains

upon the mountains and hills,

a place where there is no person, and they cause no harm.

But

if

the rains descend

for kindness,

gently, then

He causes it to come

the Holy One, blessed is He,

upon His land,

the Land of Israel,

upon fields and vineyards.

“If for a rod”—

for the trees.

“If for His land”—

for the seeds.

“If for kindness He causes it to come”—

then the rains will descend to fill

cisterns, pits, and caves.

In the days of Rabbi Shmuel bar Nahmani there was famine and pestilence [

there were two troubles: both famine and a deadly epidemic].

They said: What shall we do

the people of the place said, how shall we act?

Let us seek mercy concerning both

let us pray and seek mercy concerning the two troubles, that they should be removed from us—

it is not possible

it is impossible. And the reason for this will be explained below.

Rather,

let us act as follows:

let us seek mercy concerning the pestilence

let us seek 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 Nahmani said to them:

we shall not act in this way, but rather the opposite:

Let us seek mercy concerning the famine [

let us seek mercy concerning the famine, that it should be removed from us] , and consequently the epidemic will also be removed from us.

For

behold,

when the Merciful One gives satiety—

He gives it for life

when the Holy One, blessed is He, gives satiety, He gives it so that people may live from it, and not so that they should die!

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

Thus we have it that the Holy One, blessed is He, satisfies the living! And now the Gemara returns to explain why they did not seek mercy concerning the two troubles.

And from where do we know that we do not pray concerning two

misfortunes?

As it is written

in the Book of Ezra, when Ezra recounts the ascent of the Children of Israel 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 is He, lead them to Jerusalem by a straight road in peace, without harm from their enemies.

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

it follows that there is another

misfortune, and they did not ask or pray concerning it as well.

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

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

“And to seek mercies from before the God of heaven concerning this secret.”

The expression “this secret”—this secret—

it follows that there is another

matter concerning which it was appropriate to seek mercy, and they did not ask concerning it.

In the days of Rabbi Zeira they decreed a persecution [

they decreed a decree of persecution, that Israel should not fulfill the mitzvot of the Torah],

and they decreed that they should not sit in a fast [

and they decreed upon Israel that they should not fast], because they did not want a blessing to come into 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 they decreed that we should not fast, nevertheless

let us accept it upon ourselves

let us accept upon ourselves to fast the days of the fast when we are able, and our acceptance will benefit us as though we had actually fasted.

And when the persecution is annulled—

let us sit for it

and when the decree is annulled, we shall 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 know this matter, that the acceptance of the fast alone is effective 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 time Daniel set his heart to fast, although he had not yet actually fasted, his words were heard before the Holy One, blessed is He.

Rabbi Yitzhak said: Even

in

two

years of drought

like the two of Elijah [

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

and rain fell on the eves of Sabbaths —

this is nothing but a sign of a curse.

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

And

that is

as

Rabba bar Shila said: A rainy day is difficult

a day when rain falls is difficult, because people cannot leave their homes and attend to their needs—

like a day of judgment

like the day of judgment, that is, Mondays and Thursdays, when people gather for judgment, in accordance with Ezra’s ordinance , and there are the voices and cries of litigants contending with one another; so there are voices on a rainy day.

And all the more so on the eves of Sabbaths, when rain is difficult for the entire world.

Ameimar said: If rain were not necessary for the creatures [

if rain were not necessary for people],

we would seek mercy—

and abolish it

that is, we would seek mercy and abolish it. This is for the reason mentioned above, that on a rainy day people cannot go out to their affairs.

And Rabbi Yitzhak said: Sun

that shines

on Shabbat—

charity

it is

for the poor

, who enjoy it , because a clear and bright day is pleasant for them, and they warm themselves in the sun when it is cold.

As it is stated: “And the sun of righteousness and healing shall shine for you who fear My name.” “Those who fear My name” means those who observe Shabbat.

И сказал рабби Ицхак: велик день дождя, ибо даже одна монета в кармане получает в этот день благословение. То есть даже результат человеческого труда, которому дождь не нужен для роста и преуспевания, в дождливый день получает большее благословение . Как сказано: «Давать тебе дождь твоей земли вовремя и благословлять всякое дело твоих рук». И сказал рабби Ицхак: благословение пребывает только в том, что скрыто от глаза. То есть в том, что не измеряли и о количестве чего не знают .

And Rabbi Yitzhak said: Great is a day of rain, for even a peruta in one’s pocket is blessed through it.

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

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

And Rabbi Yitzhak said: Blessing

is found only in something hidden from the eye.

That is, something that has not been measured, and whose quantity is not known .

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

Your storehouses” implies something hidden from the eye .

A 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.”

That is as we said above, that blessing is found in something hidden from the eye.

The Sages taught: One who enters to measure [to measure and assess]

to measure and assess]

the

amount of grain that he has in his

granary,

before he begins measuring

says: May it be Your will before You, Hashem 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 there should be no loss, rot, or the like in it .

And if

he began

already

to measure

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

he says: Blessed

are You, Hashem our God, King of the universe

Who sends blessing upon this heap of grain .

But if

he measured, and

only

afterward blessed

this blessing—

this is a prayer in vain ,

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,

of which he does not know the amount and measure.

Gathering of charity troops, tithe, sustenance—a mnemonic.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Greater is the day of rains—

than the day of the ingathering of the exiles [

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

As it is stated: “Restore, Hashem, our captivity 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, which are formed through the falling of the rains .

And “streams” means nothing other than rain.

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

And if so, “streams in the Negev” means channels of watercourses in a dry place [for “Negev” is an expression of dryness, as we find that the translation of “and behold, the surface of the earth had dried up” is “it became dry”].

And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Greater is the day of rains, on which even troops cease [

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

As it is stated: “Its furrows it drenches; it brings down its troops.”

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

And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The rains are withheld only because of

those

who announce charity pledges,

who announce

in

the presence of

the public

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

and

in the end

do not give .

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

That is, clouds and wind, which are signs of approaching rainfall, and nevertheless there is no rain; that 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 in the end does not give, so the clouds and wind flatter the ground, as though rain were about to fall, but in truth in the end it does not fall .