Taanit 6 - November 18, 14 Kislev

Study Guide Taanit 6

Mazal tov to Daniel and Sara Berelowitz on the birth of a grandson - a son to Eliyahu and Hadar.

What is the source of the word “yoreh”, the first rains?  Does it comes from “moreh” meaning teaching (to prepare for the rainy season), “marveh” meaning saturating the ground, or from “yored” meaning it comes down softly. Since the phrase yoreh comes together with the word malkosh, it is clear that these are both positive things, and that “yoreh” shouldn’t be taken as something negative (to rip of the fruits). Yoreh comes in Cheshvan, and Malkosh in Nisan and we know this from the phrase “be-ito” (in its time). What is the source of the word “Malkosh”?  It either comes from “mal” meaning cutting where it cuts us to enable us to repent or from “maleh” meaning full since its fills the stalks, or from “melilot ve-kashin” meaning it falls on the full stalks. There are three potential dates for the yoreh. What are there? Three different opinions are brought. 3rd, 7th and 17th of Cheshvan, 7th, 17th and 23rd or 17th, 23rd, and the 1st of Kislev. Rav Chisda held like Rabbi Yosi who held by the last opinion. Ameimar had a different version of Rav Chisda’s psak (it is unclear whether it matches Rabbi Yehuda or Rabbi Yosi). Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said that if rain falls for 7 days (twice in a row), it can include all three “yoreh” days. This latter statement can only be according to Rabbi Yosi (since he never has a gap of more than 7 days). Regarding yoreh, what is the halachic significance of each of the three? The first is the date to begin requesting rain, the third is to begin fasting. What is the middle one for? Four possibilities are suggested: 1. Regarding vows, if a person says “I won’t get benefit from so and so until the rains,” his vow expires at the second yoreh.  2. For olives:  Gifts that are left for the poor can be reclaimed by the owners at a certain points.  For olives, this is the second yoreh. 3. The rabbis gave permission for people to pass through other people’s fields as shortcuts “shvilei reshut.”  But this permit expires at the second yoreh as it will ruin the crops.  4. At the second yoreh, one has to remove all Sabbatical fruits from his or her home (debate between Rambam and Ramban whether they need to be destroyed or simply removed from the house). Why is the rain called a reviah? It comes from the language of “roveh,” penetrating the land. Rain is called the husband of the earth. The first rain should saturate the earth. The second should make enough mud to create a cover for a barrel. If it starts raining before you say shema in the morning (i.e. before you say “and God will stop the rain,”) that is a good sign. Abaye says this is referring to the night shema. But there are other sources that say rain early in the morning is good. We can distinguish between rain with thick clouds and rain with thin clouds. If Tevet has no rain (it is an almana, widow), this is a good sign as people can still travel, or perhaps there is no plague on the plants. However, others think it is a good thing. It depends on whether there was or wasn’t rain earlier in the season. Rav Hisda says that if it rains in part of a country and not in another part, then this is not an indication that God is stopping the rain. However, it seems from verses in Amos that this is not a good sign. How is this reconciled? What blessing is said when a drought ends and at what point is it clear enough that the drought has ended?