1 will it then rain now? Thereupon he repaired in a happy mood to the baths. Meanwhile, whilst the lord had gone gleefully to the baths, Nakdimon entered the Temple depressed. He wrapped himself in his cloak and stood up to pray. He said, ‘Master of the Universe! It is revealed and known before Thee that I have not done this for my honour nor for the honour of my father's house, but for Thine honour have I done this in order that water be available for the Pilgrims’. Immediately the sky became covered with clouds and rain fell until the twelve wells were filled with water and there was much over. As the lord came out of the baths Nakdimon b. Gurion came out from the Temple and the two met, and Nakdimon said to the lord, Give me the money for the extra water that you have received. The latter replied,I know that the Holy One, blessed be He, disturbed the world but for your sake, yet my claim against you for the money still holds good, for the sun had already set and consequently the rain fell in my possession. Nakdimon thereupon again entered the Temple and wrapped himself in his cloak and stood up to pray and said, ‘Master of the Universe! Make it known that Thou hast beloved ones In Thy world’. Immediately the clouds dispersed and the sun broke through. Thereupon the lord said to him, Had not the sun broken through I would still have had a claim against you entitling me to exact my money from you. It has been taught: His name was not Nakdimon but Boni and he was called Nakdimon because the sun had broken through [nikdera] on his behalf. The Rabbis have taught: For the sake of three the sun broke through, Moses, Joshua and Nakdimon b. Gurion. Now of Nakdimon we know from the above tradition; of Joshua too we know from Scripture where it is written, And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, etc.; but of Moses whence do we know this? R. Eleazar said: We deduce it from an inference from the analagous use of the word ahel. Here it is written, I will begin [ahel] to put the dread of thee, and elsewhere it is written, I will begin [ahel] to magnify thee. R. Samuel b. Nahmani said: From an analogous use of the word teth. Here it is written, I will begin to put [teth] the the dread of thee, and elsewhere it is written, In the day when the lord delivered [teth] up the Amorites etc. R. Johanan said: It can be derived from the verse itself, Who, when they hear the report of thee, shall tremble and be in anguish because of thee. When did they tremble and were in anguish before Moses? When the sun broke through for Moses. AN SO TOO IF NO RAIN FALLS UPON A PARTICULAR CITY etc. Rab Judah said in the name of Rab: Both [cities cited in the verse are under] divine displeasure. Jerusalem is among them as one unclean. Rab Judah said in the name of Rab: [The verse implies] blessing; as an unclean [menstruous] woman becomes permissible [to her husband], so too will Jerusalem be reinstated. She is become as a widow; Rab Judah said: [The verse implies] blessing; ‘as a widow’; not a real widow, but a woman whose husband has gone to a country beyond the sea [fully] intending to return to her. Therefore have I also made you contemptable and base before all the people: Rab Judah said: [The verse implies] blessing; of you no overseers of rivers nor officers shall be appointed. For the Lord will smite Israel as a reed is shaken in the water: Rab Judah said in the name of Rab: [The verse implies] blessing. For R. Samuel b. Nahmani said in the name of R. Johanan: What is the meaning of the verse, Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are importunate? Better is the curse which Ahijah the Shilonite pronounced on Israel than the blessings with which Balaam the wicked blessed them. Ahijah the Shilonite cursed them by comparing them with the ‘reed’; he said to Israel, For the Lord will smite Israel as a reed is shaken in water. [Israel are as the reed], as the reed grows by the water and its stock grows new shoots and its roots are many, and even though all the winds of the universe come and blow at it they cannot move it from its place for it sways with the winds and as soon as they have dropped the reed resumes its upright position. But Balaam the wicked blessed them by comparing them with the ‘cedar’, as it is said, As cedars beside the waters; the cedar does not grow by the waterside and its stock does not grow new shoots and its roots are not many, and even though all the winds of the universe blow at it they cannot move it from its place; if however the south wind blows at it, it uproots it and turns it upside down. Moreover, [because of its yielding nature] the reed merited that of it should be made a pen for the writing of the Law, the Prophets and Hagiographa. Our Rabbis have taught: A man should always be gentle as the reed and never unyielding as the cedar. Once R. Eleazar son of R. Simeon was coming from Migdal Gedor, from the house of his teacher, and he was riding leisurely on his ass by the riverside and was feeling happy and elated because he had studied much Torahᵃᵇᶜᵈᵉᶠᵍʰⁱʲᵏˡᵐⁿᵒᵖᵠʳˢᵗᵘᵛ
2 . There chanced to meet him an exceedingly ugly man who greeted him, ‘Peace be upon you, Sir’. He, however, did not return his salutation but instead said to him, ‘Raca, how ugly you are. Are all your fellow citizens as ugly as you are?’ The man replied: ‘I do not know, but go and tell the craftsman who made me, "How Ugly is the vessel which you have made".’ When R. Eleazar realized that he had done wrong he dismounted from the ass and prostrated himself before the man and said to him, ‘I submit myself to you, forgive me’. The man replied: ‘I will not forgive you until you go to the craftsman who made me and say to him,"How ugly is the vessel which you have made".’ He [R. Eleazar] walked behind him until he reached his native city. When his fellow citizens came out to meet him greeting him with the words, ‘Peace be upon you O Teacher, O Master,’ the man asked them, ‘Whom are you addressing thus’? They replied, ‘The man who is walking behind you.’ Thereupon he exclaimed: ‘If this man is a teacher, may there not be any more like him in Israel’! The people then asked him: ‘Why’? He replied: ‘Such and such a thing has he done to me. They said to him: ‘Nevertheless, forgive him, for he is a man greatly learned in the Torah.’ The man replied: ‘For your sakes I will forgive him, but only on the condition that he does not act in the same manner in the future.’ Soon after this R. Eleazar son of R. Simeon entered [the Beth Hamidrash] and expounded thus, A man should always be gentle as the reed and let him never be unyielding as the cedar. And for this reason the reed merited that of it should be made a pen for the writing of the Law, Phylacteries and Mezuzoth. AND SO TOO, IF A PLAGUE RAGES IN A CITY OR [ITS BUILDINGS] COLLAPSE etc. Our Rabbis have taught: The ‘COLLAPSE spoken of refers only to sound buildings but not to those already dilapidated; only to those which are not likely to fall in but not to those that are likely to fall in. Are not ‘sound buildings’ the same as ‘those that are not likely to fall in’? And are not those already dilapidated’ the same as ‘those likely to fall in’? — It is necessary [to distinguish between them] when for instance they collapsed because of their excessive height, or, when they stood on the bank of a river. In Nehardea there was a dilapidated wall and neither Rab nor Samuel would go past it although it had remained standing in the same position for thirteen years. One day R. Adda b. Ahaba happened to come there and Samuel said to Rab: ‘Come, Sir, let us walk around it’, and the latter replied, ‘This precaution is not necessary now because R. Adda b. Ahaba is with us; his merit is great and therefore I do not fear’. R. Huna had wine [stored] in a certain dilapidated house and he desired to remove it. He took R. Adda b. Ahaba into that house and kept him occupied with traditional teaching until he had removed it. As soon as he had left the house it fell in. R. Adda b. Ahaba noticed this and was offended, because he agreed with the statement of R. Jannai who said: A man should never stand in a place of danger and declare, ‘A miracle will befall me’; perhaps a miracle will not befall him. And if a miracle does befall him he suffers thereby a reduction from his merits. R. Hanan said: This can be inferred from the verse where it is written, I am not worthy of all the mercies, and of all the truth. . What were the merits of R. Adda b. Ahaba?-Thus it has been stated: The disciples of R. Adda b. Ahaba asked him: To what do you attribute your longevity? — He replied: I have never displayed any impatience in my house, and I have never walked in front of any man greater than myself, nor have I ever meditated [over the words of the Torah] in any dirty alleys, nor have I ever walked four cubits without [musing over] the Torah or without [wearing] phylacteries, nor have I ever fallen asleep in the Beth Hamidrash for any length of time or even momentarily, nor have I rejoiced at the disgrace of my friends, nor have I ever called my neighbour by a nickname given to him by myself, or, some say by the nickname given to him by others. Raba said to Rafram b. Papa: Tell me some of the good deeds which R. Huna had done. He replied: Of his childhood I do not recollect anything, but of his old age I do. On cloudy [stormy] days they used to drive him about in a golden carriage and he would survey every part of the city and he would order the demolition of any wall that was unsafe; if the owner was in a position to do so he had to rebuild it himself, but if not, then [R. Huna] would have it rebuilt at his own expense. On the eve of every Sabbath [Friday] he would send a messenger to the market and any vegetables that the [market] gardeners had left over he bought up and had then, thrown into the river. Should he not rather have had these distributed among the poor? — [He was afraid] lest they would then at times be led to rely upon him and would not trouble to buy any for themselves. Why did he not give the vegetables to the domestic animals? — He was of the opinion that food fit for human consumption may not be given to animals Then why did he purchase them at all? — This would lead [the gardeners] to do wrong in the future [by not providing an adequate supply]. Whenever he discovered some [new] medicine he would fill a water jug with it and suspend it above the doorstep and proclaim, Whosoever desires it let him come and take of it . Some say, he knew from tradition a medicine for that disease, Sibetha and he would suspend a jugful of water and proclaim, Whosoever needs it let him come [and wash his hands] so that he may save his life from danger. When he had a meal he would open the door wide and declare, Whosoever is in need let him come and eat. Raba said: All these things I could myself carry out except the last oneʷˣʸᶻᵃᵃᵃᵇᵃᶜᵃᵈᵃᵉᵃᶠ