The Strange Case of December 4 TB Taanit 6

The Gemara has already established that we mention (הזכרה) rain on Shemini Atzeret by saying “You cause the wind to blow in the rain to fall-מַשִּׁיב הָרֽוּחַ וּמוֹרִיד הַגֶּֽשֶׁם” in the second blessing of the Amidah. On today’s daf TB Taanit 6 Rabban Gamliel fixes the date we begin to petition (שאלה) God for rain in its correct season by saying “Grant dew and rain for blessing- וְתֵן טַל וּמָטָר לִבְרָכָה” in the ninth blessing of the Amidah. “Rabban Gamliel says: On the seventh (day of Heshvan-gg) one begins to request rain. Rav Ḥisda said: The halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Rabban Gamliel.” (Sefaria.org translation) The Shulkhan Arukh poskins that in the land of Israel one begins to request rain on the seventh day of Heshvan. (Orekh Hayim, 117:1) 

But what about us who live in the Diaspora? Check any prayer book and you will see that we begin requesting rain either on December 4 or December 5 in a Hebrew year divisible by four. This year we shall recite the prayer for rain 50 days after the Jews in Israel began praying for rain. That is a significant difference between when Israelis request rain and when we do.

Arnold A. Lasker and Daniel J. Lasker explain everything in their article “The Strange Case of December 4 published in Conservative Judaism, Vol. 38(1), Fall 1985 .

“The date for starting to pray for rain in the Land of Israel derives from a discussion in the Mishnah (Ta’anit 1:3), where we read: “On the third of Marheshvan one is to begin praying for rain; Rabban Gamaliel says: ‘On the seventh of that month, fifteen days after the feast of Tabernacles, so that even the tardiest Israelite may reach the Euphrates [on the return journey from the pilgrimage to Jerusalem].’” The Babylonian Talmud (Ta‘anit 10a) quotes Rabbi Eleazar as stating that the law is in accordance with Rabban Gamaliel, that one must postpone the start of the request for rain so as to give pilgrims an opportunity to return home while the roads are still dry. On this basis, the date of the seventh of Marheshvan is followed in Israel to this day.[5]

“That explains the date for the Land of Israel, but already in Mishnaic times that date was not followed by Jews everywhere. We are told in a baraita (Ta‘anit 10a) that Hananiah, who had lived in Babylonia, reported that the Jews there started praying for rain at a different time. He is quoted as saying, “But in the Golah, [one waits] until the sixtieth day from the [autumnal] equinox.” This statement is followed by the assertion of Samuel that “the halakhah is in accordance with Hananiah.”[6]

“The date given by Hananiah was “shishim yom batekufah” (which we have translated here as “the sixtieth day from the [autumnal] equinox”). The term tekufah is used in the Talmud either to indicate a season (winter, spring, etc.) or the beginning of a season (solstice or equinox).[7] Hence, “sixty days in the tekufah” can mean either the sixtieth day from the [autumnal] equinox or the sixtieth day of the [autumn] season.[8] This still is not sufficient to define the date conclusively. There are two questions involved. First, is the day of the tekufah to be considered as the end of the preceding season or the beginning of the new season? Second, does the prayer for rain begin on the sixtieth day or on the morrow? The answers are that the day of the tekufah is counted as the first day, and the prayer is begun on the sixtieth day. Hence, the saying of tal umatar starts fifty-nine days after the day of the tekufah. [9]

 “The Babylonian practice, as reported by Hananiah, was apparently a wellestablished one. The reason for the late start for the recitation of tal u-matar in that country as compared with the date in the Land of Israel is, however, not specified in the talmudic sources.[10] Various explanations, meteorological, topographical and agricultural, have been suggested for this divergence. Among them all, the most compelling reason for the delay in Babylonia seems to have been the desire of the inhabitants there to avoid the likelihood of rain until after the date crop had been fully harvested.[11] Whatever the reasons may have been, it is quite evident that the Jews both in the Land of Israel and in Babylonia set the beginning dates of their prayers for rain according to their respective local needs.[12]

“When Jews found themselves in other countries, they were confronted with the question: should they also pray for rain according to the needs of their own country of residence, or should they follow an already established schedule, either that of the Land of Israel or that of Babylonia? Since Babylonian procedures were usually followed in the whole Diaspora, it became the general practice of Jews almost everywhere outside the Land of Israel to offer their prayers for rain on the same dates as did their Babylonian coreligionists.

“The most noteworthy attempt to alter the practice was made by Rabbenu Asher ben Yehiel (Rosh, c. 1250-2327). He tried to establish the principle that Jews in each country would decide for themselves when to say tal u-matar, but he was rebuffed by his contemporaries. The fact that an authority of such repute was unsuccessful in this endeavor made it practically impossible for the question to be raised, at least in Europe, ever again. (The problem did arise in a different context when Jews settled in the southern hemisphere, where the order of the seasons is reversed. General rabbinic opinion has been that the Babylonian pattern should still be followed.[13]) The result is that Jews throughout the Diaspora set their liturgical calendar according to the agricultural needs of Iraq, the site of ancient Babylonia, starting to pray for rain on the sixtieth day after the autumnal equinox regardless of local needs and conditions.

“6. Golah refers here only to Babylonia, not the entire Diaspora. Hananiah’s statement is repeated also in Jerusalem Talmud, Ta‘anit 63d, in which it is clear that Hananiah was reporting the practice that he had found in Babylonia, rather than giving his own ruling. Hananiah, the nephew of Rabbi Joshua, was a second century tanna, who had moved to Babylonia; see Berakhot 63a, Sanhedrin 326. Samuel, the third century amora, is called “Yarhina’ah” for his astronomical skills; see Bava Mezia 856 and below.

7. See our article, “ Birkat Hahammah: The Blessing of the Sun,” Conservative Judaism, XXXIV:3 (Jan./Feb., 1981), p. 18.

 8. There is no question that the autumnal equinox, Tekufat Tishrei, is meant here. The seasonal nature of rain in Babylonia. fixes that period, and tradition has always made this assumption. For precipitation amounts and patterns in Iraq (modern-day Babylonia), see Climates of the World, p. 23.

9. Inclusion of the day of the tekufah is according to Rabbi Jose’s opinion in Sanhedrin 13a. The issue of the sixtieth day is discussed in Ta‘anit 10a, with the halakhah following the opinion of Rav, not Samuel. 10. That the date is considerably later is clear. In the third century, the seventh of Marheshvan fell between October 3 and November 1 (Gregorian), while the sixtieth day after the astronomical autumnal equinox is November 21. Of course, we do not know for sure exactly how the equinox was calculated but, in any event, sixty days from the equinox must have been much later than the seventh of Marheshvan.

11. For a full discussion, see the authors’ “The Jewish Prayer for Rain in Babylonia,” The Journal for the Study of Judaism (June, 1984), pp. 123-144.

12. There has been no difference between the Jews of the Land of Israel and those of Babylonia (or elsewhere) regarding the date for starting the “mentioning of rain” (i.e., mashiv haruah) in the second benediction (Gevurot) of the Shemoneh ‘Esreh. The reason is because it is not a petitionary prayer (as is “grant dew and rain”) but a praise of God who “causes the wind to blow and the rain to fall.” Despite the objection that even mentioning rain might cause precipitation before it is wanted (cf. Ta ‘anit 1:1), apparently this was not a strong enough argument to warrant postponing mashiv haruah from Shemini Atzeret either in the Land of Israel or in Babylonia.” (https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/public/resources-ideas/cj/classics/11-29-11-calendar/strange-case-december-4.pdf)

 

If you’re interested in a deeper dive into this topic, I encourage you to read the entire article.