תענית 4 — Soncino English Talmud

¹drizzling rain [‘urpila] even to the seeds under a hard clod. What is ‘urpila? ‘Uru pili [‘Wake up ye cracks’]. Raba further said: A young scholar may be likened to the seeds under a hard clod; once he has sprouted he soon shoots forth. Raba further said: If a young scholar gets into a rage it is because the Torah inflames him, as it is said, Is not my word like a fire? said the Lord. R. Ashi said: A scholar who is not as hard as iron is no scholar, as it is said, And like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces. R. Abba said to R. Ashi: You have learnt this from that verse but we have learnt it from the following verse: A land whose stones are iron. Do not read, abaneha [stones] but boneha [builders]. Rabina said: Despite this, a man should train himself to be gentle, for it is said, Therefore remove vexation from thy heart, etc. R. Samuel b. Nahmani said in the name of R. Jonathan: Three [men] made haphazard requests, two of them were fortunate in the reply they received and one was not, namely, Eliezer, the servant of Abraham; Saul, the son of Kish; and Jephtha the Gileadite. Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, as it is written, So let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, ‘Let down thy pitcher etc.’ She might have been lame or blind, but he was fortunate in the answer given to him in that Rebecca chanced to meet him. Saul, the son of Kish, as it is written, And it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter. [He] might have been a slave or a bastard. He too was fortunate in that it chanced to be David. Jephtha, the Gileadite, as it is written, Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth out of the doors of my house etc. It might have been an unclean thing. He, however, was fortunate in that it so happened that his own daughter came to meet him. This is what the prophet had in mind when he said to Israel, Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?’’ And it is further written, Which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it to my mind. ‘Which I commanded not’: This refers to the sacrifice of the son of Mesha, the king of Moab, as it is said, Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead and offered him for a burnt-offering. ‘Nor spake it’; This refers to the daughter of Jephtha. ‘Neither came it to my mind’: This refers to the sacrifice of Isaac, the son of Abraham. R. Berekiah said: The Congregation of Israel also made a thoughtless request, yet God granted that request, as it is said, And let us know, eagerly strive to know the Lord. His going forth is sure as the morning: and He shall come to us as the rain. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to her [Israel]: My daughter, thou askest for something which at times is desirable and at other times is not desirable, but I will be unto thee something which is desirable at all times, as it is said, I will be as dew unto Israel. She further made another thoughtless request. She said before Him,: O God, Set me as a seal upon thy heart,- as a seal upon thine arm. Thereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, replied to her: My daughter, thou askest for something which at times can be seen and at other times cannot be seen. I, however, will make of thee something which can be seen at all times, as it is said, Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands. WE PRAY FOR RAIN ONLY etc. [The scholars] were of the opinion that ‘praying’ and ‘making mention’ are one and the same thing. Who is the authority for this?-Raba replied: It is R. Joshua, who said, [We begin to make mention of rain] from the time when the Lulab is discarded — Abaye said to him: You can even say, that it is R. Eliezer; ‘praying’, however, is one thing and ‘making mention’ is another. Others have the reading:^ᵃ^ᵇ^ᶜ^ᵈ^ᵉ^ᶠ^ᵍ^ʰ^ⁱ^ʲ^ᵏ^ˡ^ᵐ^ⁿ^ᵒ^ᵖ^ᵠ^ʳ^ˢ^ᵗ

^ᵃnote:Jer. XXIII, 29.
^ᵇnote:[So MSS. cur. edd., And R. Ashi said.]
^ᶜnote:Ibid.
^ᵈnote:Deut. VIII, 9.
^ᵉnote:Cf. Ber. 64a for a similar example of hre, kt. The scholar as the builder of minds must be adamantine and determined if he is to succeed in his lofty mission.
^ᶠnote:Eccl. XI, 10.
^ᵍnote:Lit., ‘asked not in a proper manner’, two they answered in a proper manner, and one they answered in a non-proper manner.
^ʰnote:Gen. XXIV, 14.
^ⁱnote:I Sam. XVII, 25.
^ʲnote:Jud. XI, 31. (11) Jer. VIII, 22. [Was there no remedy for Jephtha? Surely he could have had his
^ᵏnote:lbid. XIX, 5.
^ˡnote:II Kings III, 27.
^ᵐnote:[So MS.M., cur. ed., ‘this refers to Jephtha’.]
^ⁿnote:Cf. supra p. 10, n. 7.
^ᵒnote:Hos. VI, 3.
^ᵖnote:I.e., rain.
^ᵠnote:Hos. Xlv, 6.
^ʳnote:Cant. VIII, 6.
^ˢnote:Isa. XLIX, 16. A seal on the heart and arm is not always visible. Hence the reply of God.
^ᵗnote:Supra 2b. After the seventh day which is close to the rainy season.

²Shall we say it is R. Joshua, who said, From the time when the Lulab is disvow annulled by appealing to Phinehas who was in Gilead for a remission of the vow; cf. Gen. Rab. LX, .] carded? — Raba replied: You can even say that it is R. Eliezer; ‘praying’, however, is one thing and ‘making mention’ is another, R. JUDAH SAYS: THE LAST TO STEP BEFORE THE ARK etc. The following was cited in contradiction to this: Until when do we [continue] to pray for rain? R. Judah says: Until Passover is over; R. Meir says, Until the end of Nisan! — R. Hisda replied: The two statements [of R. Judah] are not contradictory; the one refers to ‘praying’ and the other to ‘making mention’; ‘praying’ one continues [until] the end of Passover] but ‘making mention’ is discontinued on the first day [of Passover]. ‘Ulla said: This [solution of the contradiction] by R. Hisda is as difficult as vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke for the eyes. If one makes mention of rain at such times when it is not permissible to pray for [it], how much more so should one make mention of rain when it is permissible to pray for it? — It must be, says ‘Ulla, that [there is a dispute] between two Tannaim as to the opinion of R. Judah. R. Joseph said: What is the meaning of, ‘Until Passover is over’? Until the first reader on the first day of Passover is over [with his prayers]. Said Abaye to him: Is there then a place in the Festival [Tefillah] for inserting the prayer for rain? He replied to him: Yes, the Meturgeman ‘prays’ — Does then the Meturgeman ever pray for something of which the community has no need? Therefore, the better solution is that of ‘Ulla. Rabbah said: What is the meaning of, ‘Until Passover is over’? Until the time limit for the slaughtering of the Paschal offering has passed; and as at its beginning so at its end; just as at its beginning one makes mention [of rain] although one has not yet [begun] to pray, so too at its end he makes mention although he no longer has to pray. Abaye replied: I can understand that one should make mention at the beginning, seeing that making mention is a form of propitiation [prefatory to prayer] but as for the end, what place is there for such propitiation? Therefore, the better solution is that of ‘Ulla. R. Assi said in the name of R. Johanan, The halachah is according to R. Judah. Thereupon R. Zera asked R. Assi: Could then R. Johanan [really] have said so? Have we not learnt: We [begin] to pray for rain on the third of Marcheshvan; Rabban Gamaliel said: On the seventh of the same month — And with reference to this R. Eleazar declared: The halachah is according to Rabban Gamaliel. He [R. Assi] replied to him: You set one authority against another! Moreover, if you like I will say there is no contradiction; the one [case] speaks of ‘praying’ and the other of ‘making mention’. But did not R. Johanan say: Whenever one prays one should also make mention? That [rule] applies only to the discontinuation [of ‘praying’]. But did not R. Johanan say: When one begins to make mention one should also [begin] to pray; when one discontinues to pray one should also cease to make mention? — There is really no contradiction; one statement refers to us [Babylonians] and the other to them [Palestinians], Why should we be different? — Is it because we have produce in the field? They also have Pilgrims? -R. Johanan speaks [of con — ditions] after Temple times. Now that you have arrived at this conclusion [I can say], Both teachings apply equally to them [Palestinians] and there is no contradiction; the one speaks [of conditions] in Temple times and the other [of conditions] after Temple times. But as for us who observe two days [of the festival], what shall our practice be? — Rab says: He begins [to make men-tion] in the Additional Service of the Eighth Day of the Feast, he discontinues in the Afternoon Service and in the Evening Service and in the Morning Service but resumes in the Additional Service of the second day. Samuel said to them [to the scholars]: Go and say to Abba: After you have declared the day holy can you declare it again a weekday? — Therefore Samuel said: He begins [to make mention] in the Additional Service and in the Afternoon Service and discontinues in the Evening Service and in the Morning Service [of the following day], and resumes it in the Additional Service^ᵘ^ᵛ^ʷ^ˣ^ʸ^ᶻ^ᵃᵃ^ᵃᵇ^ᵃᶜ^ᵃᵈ^ᵃᵉ^ᵃᶠ^ᵃᵍ^ᵃʰ^ᵃⁱ^ᵃʲ^ᵃᵏ^ᵃˡ^ᵃᵐ

^ᵘnote:V. supra p. 1, n. 4.
^ᵛnote:I.e., in the musaf of the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, the ‘prayer’ for rain being inserted only in the weekday Tefillah
^ʷnote:I.e., the Shaharith Tefillah. (v. Glos.). [MS.M. ‘until the time of the first... is over’].
^ˣnote:The translator or interpreter. The function of this official in Talmudic times was to interpret to the audience in the Synagogue in a popular manner and to enlarge upon the theme of the rabbi lecturing. Rashi, feeling that in our passage no such official could be referred to, explains that here the lecturing rabbi and interpreter are one and the same person, he who lectures on the first day of Passover, and that he included in his address a prayer for rain. V. however, the commentary of R. Hananel ad loc.
^ʸnote:I.e., noon of the fourteenth of Nisan.
^ᶻnote:I.e., of the rainy season.
^ᵃᵃnote:V. supra p. 1, n. 4.
^ᵃᵇnote:Having ceased to pray on the preceding day in the afternoon service, v. Rashi.
^ᵃᶜnote:R. Eleazar against R. Johanan.
^ᵃᵈnote:Which begins on the seventh whereas in regard to mentioning R. Johanan will rule in accordance with R. Judah.
^ᵃᵉnote:At the end of the rainy season we stop at the same time both the making of mention and the praying for rain; but at the beginning of the rainy season we commence with the making mention of rain and at a later date we also add the formal prayer for rain.
^ᵃᶠnote:[In Babylonia the harvest was gathered later than in Palestine and consequently the prayer for rain would also begin later].
^ᵃᵍnote:And therefore rain was not opportune as long as the harvest had not been gathered in.
^ᵃʰnote:And therefore mention of rain should be put off as late as possible to enable the Pilgrims to reach home in comfort before the rains set in. MISHNAH. UNTIL WHEN DO WE PRAY FOR RAIN? R. JUDAH SAYS: UNTIL THE PASSOVER IS OVER. R. MEIR SAYS: UNTIL
^ᵃⁱnote:When pilgrimages to Jerusalem, no longer took place.
^ᵃʲnote:[Because of doubt, In this case whether it is the eighth or seventh day of the Festival of Tabernacles.]
^ᵃᵏnote:I.e., Rab. His proper name was Abba Arika.
^ᵃˡnote:By making mention of rain indicating thereby that it is the eighth day of the Festival.
^ᵃᵐnote:[By discontinuing it at the afternoon service and then implying that it is still the seventh day which belongs to the half holiday.]