Babylonian Talmud

Rodkinson 1918 — source 8, scan section 5

be made to say the prayer again. And not only this, but if the man said in his prayer the words, " He causeth the wind to cease and the dew to vanish," he need not repeat the prayer, because those words are of no consequence. We have learned in another Boraitha : The sages did not impose the duty of mentioning clouds and winds in the prayer ; but if a man chooses to do so he may, because they are not withheld. R. Jehudah said : The wind which comes after the rain does as much good as the rain itself ; the sun which comes after the rain does as much good as two rains. Rabha said : Snow to the mountains is as beneficial as five rains are to the ground, as it is written [Job, xxxvi. 6]: "For TRACT TAANITH (FASTING). 5 to the snow he saith, ' Be thou on the earth ' ; likewise to the pouring rain, and to the pouring rains of his strength." * Rabha said again : " Snow is good for the mountains ; a light rain is good for the trees ; a heavy rain is good for the budding fruit, and a shower is even beneficial to the seed lying dormant in the ground." Again Rabha said : "A young scholar is like a seed, lying in the ground, which, once sprouting, will continue to grow." And he said also : " When a young scholar appears excited, it should be known that it is his knowledge that is excited within him, as it is written [Jeremiah, xxiii. 29] : ' Is not thus my word like the fire? saith the Lord.' " And R. Ashi said that a scholar who is not as firm as iron cannot be considered a scholar, because the end of that passage reads : " And like a hammer that shivereth the rock." Said Rabhina : " Still, a man should train himself to speak calmly without anger, as it is written [Ecclesiastes, xi. 10] : 'And remove anger from thy heart.' " R. Samuel ben Na'hmeni in the name of R. Jonathan said : Three men prayed to God for things that were not suitable (for prayer). Two were answered in a proper manner, but one was answered accordingly. They are : Eliezer the slave of Abraham, Saul the son of Kish, and Jephthah of Gilead. Concerning Eliezer it is written [Genesis, xxiv. 14] : " Be (she) the one thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac." Now, the maiden may have been blind or maimed, but still the Lord ordained it so that Rebekah was the one. Concerning Saul the King it is written [I Samuel, xvii. 25] : "And it shall be that the man who killeth him, him will the king enrich and his daughter will he give him," etc. It might have happened that a slave or an illegitimate son might have accomplished the feat, but still the Lord destined it to be David. Concerning Jephthah it is written [Judges, xi. 31] : " Then shall it be, that whatsoever cometh forth out of the doors of my house ... I will burn it up for a burnt-offering." The prayer was improper, because an unclean thing (such as a swine or a dog) might have come forth which would not be a proper sacrifice, and the answer was also not proper, for his own daughter came forth to meet him. This causes the wrathful query of Jeremiah the prophet, as it is written [Jeremiah, viii. 22] : " Is there no more balm in Gilead ? or is no physician there ? " * This is signified because in the Hebrew rain is mentioned five times in this passage — including snow. 6 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. (meaning was there not Pin'has the high-priest in Gilead, who could have released Jephthah of his vow?).* And further, it is written [ibid. xix. 5] : " Which I had not commanded, nor spoken, and which had not come into my mind," which implies, " I had not commanded " refers to the sacrificing of the son of Mesha the King of Moab by his father [II Kings, iii. 27] : " now spoken," refers to the daughter of Jephthah ; and " which had not come into my mind," refers to Isaac, whom his father Abraham was willing to sacrifice. Said R. Berachiah : The congregation of Israel also prayed for an improper thing, but the Holy One, blessed be He, answered it in a proper manner, as it is written [Hosea, vi. 3] : " And let us feel it, that we may strive to know the Lord ; bright as the morning dawn is his rising ; and may He come as the rain unto us, as the latter rain that maketh fruitful the earth." And the Holy One, blessed be He, said : My daughter, thou askest a thing which at times is necessary and at other times is superfluous, but I will be to thee as a thing which is at all times needed, as it is written [Hosea, xiv. 6] : "I will be as the dew unto Israel." Once again the congregation of Israel prayed improperly, saying : " Sovereign of the universe ! Set me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thy arm " [Solomon's Song, viii. 6], and the Lord said : Thou askest me to do a thing which at times can be seen and at other times cannot, for sometimes the heart is closed and the arms are covered ; but I will set thee as a seal in a place that is always exposed; as it is written [Isaiah, xlix. 16]: " Behold, upon the palms of my hands have I engraved thee." " Shortly before the commencement of the rainy season." The schoolmen thought that mentioning rain in the prayer and pray- ing for it was one and the same thing, therefore they said that this Mishna is in accordance with the opinion of R. Jehoshua, who said previously that rain must be mentioned from the time that the palm-branch is laid aside. Said Rabha to them : " Nay ; this Mishna may even be in accordance with R. Eliezer's opinion, for mentioning rain and praying for it are two different things." " R. fehudah said : < The last of the ministers,'' " etc. Is this not a contradiction to what we learn in the next Mishna, namely : Until when is rain to be prayed for? R. Jehudah said : " Until * Elsewhere the Talmud rebukes both Jephthah and Pin'has ; Jephthah would not go to Pin'has because he, being a prince, considered himself the superior of Pin'has, while Pin'has, being high-priest, thought it below his dignity to go to Jephthah, and on account of this pride a human life was sacrificed. TRACT TAANITH (FASTING). 7 after the Passover," etc. Said R. Hisda : " This presents no diffi- culty. Our Mishna refers to the mention of the rain, while the Mishna quoted refers to praying for rain, and rain may be prayed for during the entire Passover." Said Ula : " This statement of R. Hisda is as vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes. If a man may mention rain even when he should not pray for it, why should he not when praying for it also be allowed to mention it ? " Therefore, says Ula, this contradiction can be explained from the fact that two Tanaim differ as to the opinion of R. Jehudah. R. Assi in the name of R. Johanan said : " The Halakha pre- vails according to R. Jehudah." How shall we do, however, who have two days as the last days