Komentarz do Taanit 1:10

מאימתי מזכירין גבורות גשמים – Since the Mishnah teaches in the Tractate Rosh Hashanah that it happens from there that we are judged by the water on the holiday [of Sukkot], the Mishnah teaches here “from when do we mention God’s power to cause rain?” And because the rains are one of the powers of the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written (Job 5:9-10): “Who performs great deeds which cannot be fathomed…Who gives rain to the earth,” because of this they call them “the power to cause rain [to fall].

Introduction During the rainy season during the second part of the Amidah, in the paragraph about God’s power, we add in the words “He causes the wind to blow and the rain to fall.” In our mishnah Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Joshua debate when we begin to say this phrase.

מיום טוב אחרון של חג – But not [during] all seven days of the holiday [of Sukkot], for rain during the days of Sukkot is a sign of a curse. There is a parable telling of a servant who came to pour a cup for his master and the master spilled the pitcher on his face, that is to say, I don’t need your service (see Mishnah Sukkah 2:9).

From when do they mention the powers of [bringing] rain? Rabbi Eliezer says: from the first day of the Festival [of Sukkot]. Rabbi Joshua says: on the last day of the Festival [of Sukkot]. This is the question that is debated in this mishnah when do we begin to mention that God has the power to bring rain? Both sages agree that we begin during Sukkot they argue over whether we begin mentioning rain on the first or on the last day of Sukkot.

אם כן – You state that we mention [God’s ability to cause the rain to fall], even though we don’t request [rain] since it implies [that we pray for rain] at its appropriate season; [for] even during the summer they mention God’s ability [to cause rain] and that you give a sign [for rain] from the first day of the holiday [of Sukkot]. And the Halakha is according to Rabbi Yehoshua.

Rabbi Joshua said to him: Since rain on the Festival is nothing but a sign of [God’s] curse why should he mention it? Rain on Sukkot is considered to be a rebuke by God (see Sukkah 2:9) because it prevents one from being able to dwell (eat and sleep) in the Sukkah. Therefore, Rabbi Joshua argues, it does not make sense to mention God’s rain-giving powers at this time.

Rabbi Eliezer said to him: I also did not say to request [rain] but to make mention, “He causes the wind to blow and the rain to fall” in its due season. Rabbi Eliezer agrees that rain on Sukkot is a curse. However, he responds that he was not suggesting that we ask for rain at the beginning of Sukkot, but rather that we just mention that God has the power to bring rain in its due season. We ask for rain in the ninth blessing of the Amidah when we say, “And provide dew and rain (ten tal umatar).”

He replied to him: if so one should at all times make mention of it. Rabbi Joshua responds that if all we are doing in this prayer is mentioning rain, why not mention it all throughout the year. The fact that Rabbi Eliezer agrees that we only mention it during the rainy season means that he too agrees that it is connected with actual rain. If so, then he should also agree that we shouldn’t mention it until the time when we hope that the rainy season will actually begin, that is at the end of Sukkot when we are done sitting in the sukkah. The halakhah is according to Rabbi Joshua.

אין שואלין את הגשמים – that is we don’t mention the rains.

Introduction The previous mishnah discussed the concept of “mentioning rain.” This mishnah adds in a discussion of the subject of “asking for rain.” This refers to the addition of the words “and give dew and rain (veten tal umatar)” in the ninth blessing of the Amidah, which is called “The Blessing of the Years.”

אלא סמוך לגשמים – that is the eighth day of the holiday [of Sukkot], for from the holiday and onwards is the time for rain, and the anonymous Mishnah is like the teaching of Rabbi Yehoshua. Another explanation: Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua argued above about the mentioning [of God’s power to cause] rain, but they admit that regarding the request/prayer, that is to say, “provide dew and rain” – we don’t make the request for rain until near the rainy season, that is on the third day of [the month of] Mar Cheshvan or on the seventh of it [Mar Cheshvan], as the Tannaim interpret further on in our Mishnah.

They don’t pray for rain except close to the rainy season. In Israel there is a clearly defined rainy season, which lasts roughly from Sukkot to Pesah. It does not rain in the summer in Israel. The mishnah teaches that we request rain only in the season in which it is normal for it to rain. There are probably two reasons for this. First of all, rain in the wrong season can destroy crops, so one shouldn’t ask for something if it will cause damage. Secondly, we ask God for nature to perform in a predictable and stable fashion, for it to run its course. We do not ask God for miracles, nor do we rely on them or expect them.

האחרון – He who recites the Musaf prayer mentions, “who causes the rain to fall.”

Rabbi Judah says: One who goes down before the ark on the last day of Sukkot the last one mentions [rain], the first does not; on the first day of Pesah, the first mentions, the last does not. This section returns to discuss the “mentioning of rain” that comes during the second blessing of the Amidah. In yesterday’s mishnah Rabbi Joshua said that we begin to mention rain on the last day of Sukkot. Rabbi Judah in our mishnah agrees and merely points out that there are two prayer leaders on a festival, one for Shacharit and one for Mussaf. On the last day of Sukkot the prayer leader, one who “goes down before the ark” for Mussaf begins to mention rain. The prayer leader for Shacharit does not. The opposite is true at the other end of the spectrum. On the first day of Pesah, the prayer leader for Shacharit still mentions the rain, but the prayer leader for Mussaf does not. In other words, at both times the change is made during Mussaf. This means that there is almost no point in the festival during which rain is mentioned rather dew is basically mentioned all of the time. This is because dew, which falls during the summer months, is a blessing during the festival because it doesn’t disrupt people’s travel. While rain is good for the land, we all still love a bright sun shiny day!

והראשון – He who recites the Morning Amidah prayer does not mention rain, but [only the prayer for] dew. And the Halakha is according to Rabbi Yehuda, and since it is taught nearby in the Mishnah that Rabbi Yehuda says that [one makes the request for rain] until Passover passes, and here Rabbi Yehuda is speaking about the first day of the holiday of Passover; [in] the last prayer [i.e. Musaf], one does not mention [the request for rain]. These are two different Tannaim according to Rabbi Yehuda.

Up until when do they request rain? Rabbi Judah says: Until Pesah is over. Rabbi Meir says: Until Nissan is over, as it says, “Now He makes the rain fall in the first month, early rain and late rain” (Joel 2:23). In this section two sages disagree with regard to how long in the season we ask for rain. Rabbi Judah says that we ask until Pesah is over. We should note that Rabbi Judah’s opinion in this section seems to disagree with what he said before, that we stop mentioning rain on the first day of Pesah. The Talmud resolves this problem by saying that there are two different versions of Rabbi Judah’s opinion within this mishnah. Rabbi Meir says that we ask for rain until the entire month of Nissan is over. He uses the verse from Joel as a prooftext that rain is a blessing in the entire first month, the month of Nissan.

בשלשה במרחשון שואלין את הגשמים – We recite “ and grant dew and rain for a blessing” in the blessing of the years (the ninth blessing of the Amidah on weekdays), and these words (of reciting the prayer “and grant dew and rain for a blessing”) are in the Land of Israel. But in the Diaspora, we don’t request [for rain] until sixth days from the autumnal equinox, and on the sixtieth day itself, we begin to pray for rain.

Introduction This mishnah teaches when we begin to ask for rain in the ninth blessing of the Amidah. We should note that at the very beginning of the rainy season we begin to mention rain but we do not yet ask for it. Later, when the rainy season should really begin in full force, we begin to ask for rain. In our prayers we slowly build up to really petitioning God for rain.

האחרון שבישראל לנהר פרת – those who came up [to Jerusalem] for the festival [of Sukkot] who are returning to their homes, so that the rains don’t stop them [from traveling].

On the third of Marheshvan they [begin to] ask for rain. The third of Marheshvan (today called Heshvan), the second month of the year, is when we begin to ask for rain. This is when the rainy season is supposed to begin.

Rabban Gamaliel says: on the seventh, fifteen days after the Festival [of Sukkot] so that the last of the Jews reaches the river Euphrates. Rabban Gamaliel delays asking for rain until the seventh of Marheshvan, which gives pilgrims who were making their way back from Israel time to reach the river Euphrates in Babylonia. It would not be appropriate to begin to ask for rain while Jews were still returning from performing the important mitzvah of making a pilgrimage to the land of Israel and to the Temple in Jerusalem.

הגיע שבעה במרחשון – and three time periods have already passed – which are the third of Mar Cheshvan, the seventh [of Mar Cheshvan] and the seventeenth [of the month].

Introduction Our mishnah proceeds chronologically from the last mishnah. There we learned that on either the third or seventh of Marheshvan they add into the Amidah a request for rain. If that prayer has not been answered by the seventeenth of Marheshvan, then a series of progressively more stringent fasts begins.

התחילו היחידים – scholars/Sages

If the seventeenth of Marheshvan came and no rain fell, individuals begin to fast three fasts. The first set of fasts is not observed by the entire community, but rather only by individuals, probably rabbis and other public figures.

שלש תעניות – Monday, Thursday [and the following] Monday.

They eat and drink after it gets dark and they are permitted to do work, to bathe, to anoint themselves with oil, to wear shoes, and to have marital relations. The lightness of the fasts is expressed in the fact that the night before the fast they can eat the fast only begins in the morning. Furthermore, the only prohibition that they take upon themselves is eating and drinking. All of the other prohibitions that sometimes apply on fast days do not apply here. The idea of progressively making the fasts more stringent is an interesting idea. We relate to God as we would to another human being. If we really want something, but it is something that we are going to need frequently, we don’t pull out all of the stops immediately.

אוכלים ושותים משחשיכה – They are permitted to eat and drink all the night of the fast until the crack of dawn all the while that they are not sleeping. But after one has had one’s fixed period of sleep, it is forbidden to each or drink if one didn’t make a condition [to do so] at first prior to going to sleep. And there are those who say that eating requires a condition made. Drinking does not require a condition made, for there is no fixed period for drinking and that makes sense.

Introduction This mishnah continues with the next series of fasts.

If Rosh Hodesh Kislev came and no rain fell the court ordains upon the community three fasts; they may eat and drink while it is still dark and it is permissible to do work, to bathe, to anoint oneself with oil, to wear shoes, and to have marital relations. The only difference between these fasts and the previous three is that these are observed by the entire community. Other than that, everything is still the same. They eat and drink the night before, and only eating and drinking is prohibited.

שהן שלשה עשר תעניות על הציבור – for they already have fasted six [times] and the individual fasts are not part of the count.

Introduction This mishnah continues with the series of increasingly more stringent fasts.

מתריעין – with Shofars

If these passed and there was no answer, the court decrees three more fasts on the community. If after the first three communal fasts there is still no rain, then the court decrees another set of three fasts on the community.

בשני מטין – on the second of the fasts, they open the doors of the stores slightly towards evening. But they don’t take their wares outside.

They may eat and drink [only] while it is still day; they may not work, bathe, anoint themselves with oil, wear shoes, or have marital, relations. And the bathhouses are closed. These fasts are stricter because they begin the night before. The mishnah refers to the day before the fast and rules that one can eat only while it is still day. On these fasts all of the major prohibitions apply. These are the same prohibitions that apply on Yom Kippur. The bathhouses are closed because there is no need for them to be open. Also, this is a very public sign of mourning.

ובחמישי מותרים – to open [the stores] all day long.

If these passed and there was no answer the court decrees upon the community a further seven, making a total of thirteen. If these three fasts are not effective, then another seven are decreed, bringing the total number of communal fasts to thirteen.

These are greater than the first, for on these they blast the shofar and they lock the shops. All of the prohibitions from the previous three fasts still apply and new practices are added. They blow the shofar as a sign of distress (on this practice see the introduction to the tractate). They also close the shops as a further sign of communal mourning and distress.

On Mondays the shutters [of the shops] are opened a little when it gets dark, but on Thursdays they are permitted [the whole day] because of the Shabbat. The problem with closing the stores is that people need to buy supplies for the next day. Therefore they allow the stores to open their shutters a little bit towards the end of the day on Monday. On Thursday the stores are allowed to be opened all day because people need to buy food for Shabbat. We can see a value statement being made here. As important as it is to pray for rain and as dire as the situation of drought may be, people must remember and be able to honor the Shabbat.

בבנין ובנטיעה – and specifically joyous building, such as a wedding hall to conduct his wedding; or joyous planting, such as a large tree throwing a shadow (forming a tent) over the ground (see Mishnah Ohalot Chapter 8, Mishnah 2) to carry the kings underneath. But a home to live in or the planting of a tree for its fruit is permitted.

Introduction In the final mishnah of this chapter we learn what the community would do if all of their fasts had not worked and God still had not sent rain.

יצא ניסן הגשמים סימן קללה – when rain did not fall at all prior to the end of Nisan. And all of these laws [apply] in the Land of Israel and areas similar to it, but the further islands – at the time when tie r rains are not like the time of the rains in the Land of Israel, each person prays for rain at the time that he needs them. And if the known time has passed and rains have not fallen, the Jewish court of that place decrees fasts on the community after individuals have fasted according to the order taught in our Mishnah.

If these passed and there was [still] no answer then they restrict engaging in business, and in building, planting, betrothal and marriage, and in greeting one another, as if they were people undesirable to God. By this point, it seems that the fasts just aren’t going to be effective. They therefore go into a state of semi-mourning. They cut back on the normal creative activities of life, perhaps as a symbol that all around them there is death. By this point, the crops have probably died, many animals have probably died and people’s health and wellbeing is in great danger. Indeed, it seems that God has rejected the entire community; it is as if He put them into a state of excommunication. The community is in despair and until things are set aright, they make few plans for the future.

The individuals go back to fasting anew until the end of Nisan. The community no longer takes upon itself more fasts. Only those individual leaders, those who began fasting at the outset, go back to fasting. These are people whose merit was supposed to help bring rain in the first place. In essence, the failure to achieve rain is partially seen as being their fault.

If Nisan passes and then rain falls this is a sign of a curse, as it is written, “It is the season of the wheat harvest. [I will pray to the Lord and He will send thunder and rain; then you will take thought and realize what a wicked thing you did in the sight of the Lord when you asked for a king” (I Samuel 12:17). If Nisan, the last rainy month passes, and then it rains, this too is perceived as a curse. Rain in Nisan in the land of Israel will further damage the crops. It is if God is being particularly cruel, not giving rain at the proper time and then giving it at the improper time. The prooftext demonstrates quite clearly that rain at the improper time is a way of God rebuking the people of Israel.