Taanit 9b (ט:) — the Talmud in English

They recited it to him in his dream

they showed Rav Pappa in his nighttime dream the verse]:

“And I will annihilate the three shepherds”

“in one day.” That is, they wanted in Heaven to punish them because they had embarrassed him.

The next day

[the following day],

when they were taking leave of him

[when Rav Huna, Rav Shmuel, and Rav Hiyya departed from before Rav Pappa],

he said to them: Let the Sages go in peace

[May the Sages go in peace]. He did not want them to be punished.

Rav Shimi bar Ashi was frequently before Rav Pappa

[he was regularly in Rav Pappa’s presence, studying Torah from him].

He would raise many difficulties for him

[Rav Shimi would raise many objections to Rav Pappa’s statements].

One day he saw him fall on his face

[one day Rav Shimi saw Rav Pappa fall on his face].

He heard him say: May the Merciful One save us from Shimi’s embarrassment

[he heard Rav Pappa praying and saying: May the Holy One, blessed be He, save me from Shimi’s embarrassment].

When Rav Shimi heard this,

he accepted silence upon himself, and he no longer raised difficulties for him

[he accepted upon himself to remain silent, and thereafter he did not challenge Rav Pappa’s statements].

And Reish Lakish also held

the same view as Rabbi Yohanan, that

rain

comes

for the sake of an individual.

For Reish Lakish said: From where do we know that rain

comes

for the sake of an individual?

As it is written: “Ask the Lord for rain in the season of the latter rain; the Lord makes lightning flashes, and He will give them rain, rain to each man, vegetation in the field”.

One might have thought

that it could be said that the Holy One, blessed be He, gives rain only when it is needed

by everyone,

but does not give it for the need of a single individual.

The verse therefore states

“He will give them rain”

“to each man.”

Thus, the Holy One, blessed be He, gives rain even for the need of one person.

And it was taught in a baraita: If

only the word

“to each man”

were stated, we might have thought that rain falls only when it is needed

for all the fields

of that person, but does not fall for the need of one field belonging to one person.

The verse therefore states: “Field.”

Thus, rain falls even for the need of one field.

If “field”

[if only the word “field” had been stated],

one might have thought

that rain falls only when it is needed

for all

of

that field,

but does not fall for the need of part of a single field belonging to one person.

The verse therefore states: “Vegetation.”

Thus, rain falls even for the sake of one plant.

This is

[as we find in the following incident]:

Rav Daniel bar Ketina had a certain garden

[he had a garden].

Every day he would go and inspect it

[Rav Daniel would go and inspect it every day].

While he was inspecting it,

he would say: This garden bed needs water, and this garden bed does not need water

[this bed requires watering, and this bed does not require it].

And rain would come and water every place where he required water

[the rain would come and water every place where Rav Daniel had said that water was needed there].

Since the Gemara cited that verse for the purpose of this interpretation, it continues by explaining it.

What is the meaning of “The Lord makes lightning flashes”?

What is the meaning of the plural expression “lightning flashes”?

Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Hanina, said: It teaches that for every righteous person, the Holy One, blessed be He, makes a separate lightning flash.

That is, the Holy One, blessed be He, brings rain for his fields separately.

What are “lightning flashes”?

What are those “lightning flashes”?

Rav Yehuda said: Flying flashes.

Rabbi Yohanan said: A sign of rain

that is about to come is

flying flashes.

When one sees those flying flashes, it is a sign that rain will come immediately.

What are “flying flashes”?

What are those “flying flashes”?

Rav Pappa said: A thin cloud beneath a dense cloud

[a thin cloud beneath a thick, heavy cloud]. When one sees this type of cloud cover, it is a sign that rain will come immediately.

Rav Yehuda said: Fine rain

[fine rain like flour]

before rain

[that comes before the rain]—

rain is coming

[it is a sign of abundant rain that will come and not soon stop].

But if that fine rain comes

after rain

[after the rain], it is a sign that

the rain will stop

[that the rain will stop immediately].

Rav Yehuda gives a mnemonic for this:

Before rain—

rain is coming

[when such rain comes before the rain, rain will come],

and your mnemonic

[and the sign for this] is

a sieve

[a sieve used for sifting]. At first, fine flour comes out, and afterward the bran, which is coarser, comes out. So too here: first fine rain comes, and afterward heavy rain.

After rain, the rain stops

[when such rain comes after the rain, the rain will stop],

and your mnemonic

[and the sign for this] is

goat droppings

[goat excrement]. At first it comes out coarse, and afterward fine, and then it stops. So too here: first heavy rain comes, afterward fine rain, and afterward it stops.

Ulla happened to come to Babylonia

[he came there by chance].

He saw

[he saw]

flying flashes.

He said to them

to the local inhabitants:

Clear your utensils

[clear the utensils from the courtyards], so that they will not be damaged by the rain,

for rain is now coming

[for rain will now come]. After all, as we said, flying flashes are a sign of rain!

In the end, rain did not come

[no rain came].

He said

Ulla:

Just as the Babylonians are false, so

their rain is false

[just as the Babylonians lie, so too their rain lies].

That is, just as the Babylonians utter falsehoods that ultimately prove to be empty talk, so too with regard to the rain: flying flashes appear, as though rain is about to come, but in the end the rain does not come.

Again,

Ulla happened to come to Babylonia.

He saw a full basket of dates selling for one zuz

[he saw that a basket full of dates was sold for one zuz—that is, very cheaply].

Ulla was astonished and

said: A full basket of honey for one zuz

[Ulla called the dates “honey,” because honey is made from dates],

and the Babylonians do not engage in Torah study

[and the Babylonians do not engage in Torah study]?! Yet they have food available cheaply and without exertion!

At night

[during the night],

they caused him distress

the dates he had eaten during the day, because dates have a laxative effect and cause abdominal pain.

Now Ulla changed his opinion completely, and

said

in amazement and admiration:

A full basket of knives for one zuz

[now Ulla called the dates “knives,” because the dates caused him pain like knives stabbing the body]. Since they were inexpensive, people ate many of them and suffered pain,

and

nevertheless

the Babylonians engage in Torah study?!

It was taught in a baraita: Rabbi Eliezer says: The entire world drinks from the waters of the Ocean

it drinks.

It

That is, the source of rain is the water on earth, rather than water that comes from above.

As it is stated: “And a mist rose from the earth and watered the entire surface of the ground.”

Rabbi Yehoshua said to him:

How can it be said that the world drinks from the waters of the Ocean,

when the waters of the Ocean are salty,

and grain cannot grow through them?

He said to him,

Rabbi Eliezer: The waters of the Ocean

are sweetened in the clouds,

and then they descend to water the earth.

Rabbi Yehoshua

disagrees with Rabbi Eliezer and

says: The entire world—

it drinks from the waters above.

As it is stated: “It drinks water from the rain of heaven.”

Rather,

according to this, one must understand

how do I uphold

[how is the verse fulfilled and explained]:

“And a mist rose from the earth

and watered the entire surface of the ground,” whose implication is that the source of rainwater is the earth?

It teaches that the clouds grow stronger and rise to the firmament, and they open

their

mouths like a wineskin

[like the opening of a wineskin, a leather vessel intended to contain liquids],

and receive

from the waters above

rainwater.

As it is stated: “They pour down rain upon His cloud.”

“Pour down” is like “pour.” That is, the firmaments pour the rainwater into the clouds [“His cloud” means clouds, as in “and a mist rose from the earth”]. And they are perforated

[the clouds are perforated]

like

a

sieve

[a sifter],

and the clouds come

and

release

[let flow, sprinkle]

water upon the ground.

water upon the ground.

As it is stated: “A pouring of

water, thick clouds of the skies.”

That is, the clouds release [let fall] the waters of the skies upon the earth.

And there is no

distance

between one drop

of falling rain and the next except

the breadth of a hair

[the thickness of a single hair, which is extremely thin].

This teaches you

[the following verse teaches you]

that the day of rain is as great

as the day on which heaven and earth were created.

As it is stated

in the Book of Job:

“He does great things beyond investigation,” and

further

it is written

in the Book of Job:

“Who gives rain upon the surface of the earth,” and it is written afterward,

in the prophecy of Isaiah:

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The God of eternity is the Lord; there is no investigation of His understanding.”

From the fact that the expression “probed” is stated both with regard to the descent of the rains and with regard to the creation of the world, we learn that the day of rain is as great as the day of the creation of heaven and earth.

According to whom does that which is written [

like whom, according to which view, does the verse proceed]:

“Who waters the mountains from His upper chambers,” and Rabbi Yohanan said: “His upper chambers” means

“His upper chambers,” namely

the upper chambers of the Holy One, blessed be He,

that is, from the upper waters?

According to whom—

according to Rabbi Yehoshua,

who said that the world drinks from the upper waters.

The Gemara raises an objection:

And Rabbi Eliezer,

who said that the world drinks from the waters of the ocean, how will he explain this verse?

The Gemara explains:

Since they ascend there [

since the waters rise there, to the firmament], as was explained above, that the waters are sweetened in the clouds and only then descend below, it is understood that

“He waters from His upper chambers”

is what

the verse calls them.

For if you do not say so [

if you do not say that it is possible to explain the verse in this manner], that although the source of the waters is below, since ultimately they descend from above, this is considered “He waters from His upper chambers,”

then, with regard to what is stated: “The Lord will make the rain of your land

dust and earth; from the heavens

it shall descend upon you, and so on,”

how can you find it [

how can such a thing be found], that dust and earth should descend from the heavens?

Rather,

you are compelled to explain the verse in this manner: The wind lifts the dust and earth from the land to the heavens, and from there they descend to the land with the rain. And

since they are lifted there [

and since the dust and earth rise there, to the heavens]—it is clear that

“from the heavens” is what [

it calls it] the verse calls it!

So too here [

so too here], since

the

waters of the ocean

ascend there [

since they rise there, to the firmament], it is understood and resolved that

“His upper chambers” is what

the verse calls them.

According to whom does that which Rabbi Hanina said proceed [

according to whose view do the words of Rabbi Hanina proceed] in explaining the verse

“He gathered them like a mound, the waters of the sea; He placed the depths in storehouses”: Who caused the storehouses [

the places where grain is stored]

to be filled with grain [

grain]—the

depths [

which are the waters below, as it is stated concerning the splitting of the Red Sea: “The depths covered them”],

is it possible to expound it in this manner

according to Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua?!

But Rabbi Yehoshua said that the world drinks from the upper waters! And even Rabbi Eliezer, who maintains that the world drinks from the lower waters, nevertheless said that they rise and are sweetened in the clouds, and only then descend to water the land!