16 Taanit 9b

A verse was read to Rav Pappa in a dream: “And I cut off the three shepherds in one month” (Zechariah 11:8). The next day, when they took their leave from him, Rav Pappa said to them: May the Rabbis go in peace, a hint that this would be their final parting. Rav Pappa thought that the three Sages would die as punishment for their behavior and he would never see them again. The Gemara relates a similar incident: Rav Shimi bar Ashi was often found before Rav Pappa and would raise many objections against the opinions of Rav Pappa. One day Rav Shimi bar Ashi saw Rav Pappa fall on his face after prayer. He heard him say: May the Merciful One save me from the embarrassment of Shimi, and as a result Rav Shimi bar Ashi resolved to be silent and not to raise any further objections against Rav Pappa, as he saw how greatly they pained his teacher. § The Gemara returns to the issue of rain. And Reish Lakish also maintains that rain can fall for the sake of an individual, as Reish Lakish said: From where is it derived that rain falls even for the sake of an individual? As it is written: “Ask of the Lord rain at the time of the last rain; even of the Lord who makes thunderclouds, and He will give them showers of rain; for a man grass in the field” (Zechariah 10:1). One might have thought that rain falls for the sake of all the Jewish people. The verse therefore states: “For a man,” i.e., for the needs of an individual And it was further taught in a baraita: If rain falls “for a man,” one might have thought that the rain is for all his fields. Therefore the verse states: “Field,” which indicates that at times it rains on only one field. If it rains on one field, one might have thought that the rain is for the entire field. This is why the verse states: “Grass”; rain can fall for the sake of even a single plant in the field. This is like the practice of Rav Daniel bar Ketina, who had a certain garden. Every day he would go and inspect it, to see what it needed. He would say: This bed requires water and this bed does not require water, and rain would come and water everywhere that required water, but nowhere else. With regard to the aforementioned verse, the Gemara asks: What is the meaning of the phrase: “The Lord Who makes thunderclouds”? Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said: This teaches that for every righteous person, the Holy One, Blessed be He, prepares a separate thundercloud. The Gemara asks: What is the precise meaning of “thunderclouds”? Rav Yehuda said: Flying clouds. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: A sign of approaching rain is flying clouds. The Gemara asks: What are flying clouds? Rav Pappa said: A flying cloud is a thin cloud under a thick cloud. Rav Yehuda said that there is another sign of imminent rain: Drizzle before rain means that rain is coming. However, drizzle that falls after rain is a sign that the rain is stopping. Rav Yehuda provides an analogy by way of explanation: Drizzle before rain means that rain is coming, and your mnemonic is a sieve: Just as small quantities of flour drop from the sieve even before one begins to actively sift it, so too drizzle falls before rain. Conversely, drizzle that falls after rain signifies that the rain is stopping, and your mnemonic is goat dung. A goat’s initial droppings are large, whereas its latter droppings are small. The Gemara relates that when Ulla happened to come to Babylonia, he saw flying clouds. He said to the local residents: Put away your vessels, as the rain is coming now. Ultimately, despite the presence of flying clouds, rain did not fall. He said: Just as Babylonians are liars, so too, their rains are liars, as flying clouds are a reliable sign of rain in Eretz Yisrael, but not in Babylonia. The Gemara recounts another incident that occurred when Ulla happened to come to Babylonia. He saw a basket full of dates on sale for one dinar, and he said: One can buy a basket full of honey dates for a dinar, and yet these Babylonians do not occupy themselves with Torah. In a place where excellent food is so inexpensive, and where there is no need to engage in hard labor for one’s material needs, the inhabitants should be able to occupy themselves with Torah. Ulla himself ate many dates, but during the night they caused him pain and diarrhea. He subsequently said: A basket full of knives for a dinar, and yet somehow these Babylonians are able to occupy themselves with Torah, despite the trouble these dates cause. § The Gemara discusses the source of rain. It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Eliezer says: The entire world drinks from the waters of the ocean [okeyanos], i.e., evaporated ocean water is the source of rain. As it is stated: “And there went up a mist from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground” (Genesis 2:6). Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: But the waters of the ocean are salty, whereas rainwater is sweet. Rabbi Eliezer said to Rabbi Yehoshua: The waters are sweetened in the clouds, before they fall to the earth. In contrast, Rabbi Yehoshua says: The entire world drinks from the upper waters, as it is stated: “And it drinks water as the rain of heaven comes down” (Deuteronomy 11:11). The baraita asks: But according to the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua, how do I uphold the verse: “And there went up a mist from the earth”? Rabbi Yehoshua could answer that this verse teaches that the clouds grow stronger, and rise to the firmament, and open their mouths like a leather bottle, and receive the rain waters from above, as it is stated: “For He draws away the drops of water, which distill rain from His vapor” (Job 36:27). And the clouds are perforated like a sieve, and they come and sprinkle water onto the ground, as it is stated: “Gathering of waters, thick clouds of the skies” (II Samuel 22:12). And between each and every drop there is only a hairbreadth, and yet each drop emerges individually. This serves to teach you that the day of rains is as great as the day on which Heaven and Earth were created, i.e., rainfall is as miraculous as creation. As it is stated, with regard to the creation of the world: “Who does great things past finding out” (Job 9:10), and as an example of this it is written: “Who gives rain upon the earth” (Job 5:9–10). And it is written below: “Have you not known? Have you not heard that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not faint and is not weary; His discernment is past finding out” (Isaiah 40:28). The repetition of “past finding out” indicates that rainfall is as wondrous as the creation of the world. The Gemara adds: And it is written in a psalm that deals with rainfall: “Who by Your strength sets fast the mountains; Who is girded about with might” (Psalms 65:7). The Gemara asks: In accordance with whose opinion is that verse which is written: “Who waters the mountains from His upper chambers” (Psalms 104:13)? And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: This phrase indicates that the water comes from the upper chambers of the Holy One, Blessed be He. In accordance with whose opinion is this statement? It is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua, who maintains that rain falls from above the sky. The Gemara asks: And Rabbi Eliezer, how does he explain this verse? The Gemara answers: According to Rabbi Eliezer, since the clouds ascend there, to the heavens, the verse “who waters the mountains from His upper chambers” calls and describes rainfall as descending from the heavens. As, if you do not say so, with regard to the verse: “Powder and dust from the heavens” (Deuteronomy 28:24), where do you find this phenomenon? Is there powder and dust in Heaven? Rather, you must say that since dust rises up there, they are called dust: “From the heavens.” So too, as the clouds ascend there, they are called and described: “Who waters the mountains from His upper chambers.” The Gemara asks: In accordance with whose opinion is that which Rabbi Ḥanina said, concerning the verse: “He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; he lays up the deep in storerooms” (Psalms 33:7): What caused the storerooms to be filled with produce? It was the deep, which is the source of the water that nourishes the produce. The Gemara answers: This explanation is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer. And Rabbi Yehoshua, how does he explain this verse? Rabbi Yehoshua would say: That