Pt3 From Desperation to Downpour: Talmudic Stories of Rainmaking (Taanit 24a-b)
Stories of Rava; Rav Pappa; and R' Ḥanina ben Dosa
This is the third and final part of a three-part series, on a sugya of eleven talmudic stories of rainmaking. The first part is here; second part here.
Rava's Rain Prayer: A Test of Divine Intervention and a Warning from Beyond
Pt1
The Talmud tells a story about Rava, who sentenced a man to be flogged for having sex with a non-Jewish woman. The man died from the flogging, leading King Shapur of Persia (שבור מלכא) to consider punishing Rava for imposing what he thought was a death penalty without royal permission.
However, Ifra Hormiz (איפרא הורמיז), the king's mother, advised against interfering with the Jews, noting that whatever they pray for, God grants them. To test this, King Shapur challenged Rava to pray for rain in the summer.
ההוא גברא, דאיחייב נגדא בבי דינא דרבא, משום דבעל נכרית.
נגדיה רבא, ומית.
אשתמע מילתא בי שבור מלכא,
בעא לצעורי לרבא.
אמרה ליה איפרא הורמיז, אימיה דשבור מלכא, לברה:
לא ליהוי לך עסק דברים בהדי יהודאי,
דכל מאן דבעיין ממרייהו, יהיב להו.
אמר לה: מאי היא?
בעין רחמי, ואתי מיטרא.
אמר לה:
ההוא משום דזימנא דמיטרא הוא.
אלא לבעו רחמי האידנא בתקופת תמוז, וליתי מיטרא.
The Gemara relates another story that deals with prayer for rain. There was a certain man who was sentenced to be flogged by Rava’s court because he had relations with a gentile woman.
Rava flogged the man and he died as a result.
When this matter was heard in the house of the Persian King Shapur,
he wanted to punish Rava for imposing the death penalty, as he thought, without the king’s permission.
Ifra Hormiz, mother of King Shapur, said to her son:
Do not interfere and quarrel with the Jews,
as whatever they request from God, their Master, He gives them.
He said to her: What is this that He grants them?
She replied: They pray for mercy and rain comes.
He said to her:
This does not prove that God hears their prayers, as that occurs merely because it is the time for rain, and it just so happens that rain falls after they pray.
Rather, if you want to prove that God answers the prayers of the Jews, let them pray for mercy now, in the summer season of Tammuz, and let rain come.
Pt2
Rava prayed, but initially, no rain came. He then appealed to God, recalling the miracles of old, and rain suddenly poured, flooding the city of Meḥoza.
That night, Rava's father appeared to him in a dream, warning him that it was inappropriate to trouble Heaven for rain out of season and advised him to move his bed.
The next morning, Rava found his original bed slashed (מרשם) by knives.
שלחה ליה לרבא: כוין דעתך, ובעי רחמי, דליתי מיטרא.
בעי רחמי, ולא אתי מיטרא.
אמר לפניו:
רבונו של עולם!
״אלהים, באזנינו שמענו, אבותינו ספרו לנו, פעל פעלת בימיהם, בימי קדם״,
ואנו בעינינו לא ראינו!
אתא מיטרא, עד דשפוך מרזבי דמחוזא לדיגלת.
אתא אבוה, איתחזי ליה בחלמיה, ואמר ליה:
מי איכא דמיטרח קמי שמיא כולי האי?!
אמר ליה: שני דוכתיך.
שני דוכתיה,
למחר, אשכחיה דמרשם פורייה בסכיני.
Ifra Hormiz sent a message to Rava: Direct your attention and pray for mercy that rain may come.
He prayed for mercy, but rain did not come.
He said before God:
Master of the Universe,
it is written: “O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what work You did in their days, in days of old” (Psalms 44:2),
but we have not seen it with our own eyes.
As soon as he said this, rain came until the gutters of Meḥoza overflowed and poured into the Tigris River.
Rava’s father came and appeared to him in a dream and said to him:
Is there anyone who troubles Heaven so much to ask for rain out of its season?!
In his dream, his father further said to him: Change your place of rest at night.
He changed his place,
and the next day he found that his bed had been slashed by knives.
Rav Pappa's Embarrassment Brings Rain: A Tale of Sarcasm and Divine Response
The Talmud recounts that Rav Pappa decreed a fast for rain, but no rain came. Weakened by hunger, he ate a bowl of porridge and prayed again, but still no rain.
Rav Naḥman bar Ushpazti sarcastically suggested that if Rav Pappa ate another bowl, rain would come. Embarrassed and upset by the comment, Rav Pappa's emotional reaction led to the arrival of rain.
רב פפא גזר תעניתא
ולא אתא מיטרא.
חלש ליביה,
שרף פינכא דדייסא
ובעי רחמי
ולא אתא מיטרא.
אמר ליה רב נחמן בר אושפזתי: אי שריף מר פינכא אחריתי דדייסא, אתי מיטרא.
איכסיף, וחלש דעתיה,
ואתא מיטרא.
The Gemara relates: Rav Pappa decreed a fast,
but rain did not come.
His heart became weak from hunger,
so he swallowed [seraf] a bowl [pinka] of porridge,
and prayed for mercy,
but rain still did not come.
Rav Naḥman bar Ushpazti said to him: If the Master swallows another bowl of porridge, rain will come. He was mocking Rav Pappa for eating while everyone else was fasting.
Rav Pappa was embarrassed and grew upset,
and rain came.
R' Ḥanina ben Dosa prays for rain to stop and start
The Talmud recounts a story about R' Ḥanina ben Dosa, who prayed for rain to stop while he was traveling, as he was getting wet. His prayer was answered, and the rain ceased.
Once he reached home, R' Ḥanina prayed again, asking for the rain to resume, as the world needed it, and the rain began again.
רבי חנינא בן דוסא הוה קא אזיל באורחא,
אתא מיטרא.
אמר לפניו: רבונו של עולם, כל העולם כולו בנחת, וחנינא בצער?!
פסק מיטרא.
כי מטא לביתיה,
אמר לפניו: רבונו של עולם, כל העולם כולו בצער, וחנינא בנחת?!
אתא מיטרא.
[...]
The Gemara tells another story about prayer for rain. R' Ḥanina ben Dosa was traveling along a road
when it began to rain.
He said before God: Master of the Universe, the entire world is comfortable, because they needed rain, but Ḥanina is suffering, as he is getting wet.
The rain ceased.
When he arrived at his home,
he said before God: Master of the Universe, the entire world is suffering that the rain stopped, and Ḥanina is comfortable?
The rain began to come again.
[...]
Appendix - Table Summarizing All the Stories of Rainmaking
