Originally posted 11/21/95-12/05/95

I thought we might look at three parallel texts and consider the question, "What are the advantages and dangers of being very close to God?"

We will aim, in this span, to expose you not only to three views of an important story but also to explore the nature of these three documents and compare and contrast them.

Those of you who work primarily in English might want to look at the recently published volume of the Steinsaltz English Talmud (Volume 14) which contains the story we're going to consider.

Here's the text from the Mishnah:
The alarm is sounded on account of any visitation that comes upon the community except on account an over-abundance of rain. It once happened that they said to Honi Ham'aggel: "Pray that rains may fall." He said to them: "Go out and bring in the ovens for the Paschal sacrifices so that they will not dissolve." [They were made of clay and would deteriorate in the rain that Honi was quite sure would fall.] He prayed, but rains did not fall. What did he do? He drew a circle and stood within it and he said before Him: "Master of the Universe! Your children have turned their faces to me, for I am like a member of your household. I swear by Your great Name that I will not move from here until You have mercy on Your children." Rains began to come down in drops. He said: "I did not ask [for] this, but [for] rains [to fill] pits, ditches and caves." They began to come down heavily (lit., "in anger"). He said: "I did not ask [for] this but [for] rains of benevolence, blessing and generosity." They fell in their normal way, until Israel went out of Jerusalem to the Temple Mount because of the rains. They came and said to him: "Just as you prayed for them that they should fall, so pray that they should go away." He said to them: "Go out and see if the Stone of Claimants is covered." [This was a large stone in Jerusalem where those who lost and found items would try to connect with each other. Honi didn't want to stop for a blessing, i.e., rain, to end and this is why he waits until it is so very high until he does so.] Shimon ben Shetach [the head of the Sanhedrin] sent [word] to him: "If you were not Honi I would decree a ban upon you. But what shall I do to you, for you act like a spoiled child before God and He does your will for you, like a son who acts like a spoiled child with his father and he does his will for him? And about you the verse says: "Your father and your mother shall be glad and she who bore you shall rejoice." (M. Taanit 3:8)
Some commentary to get you started:

The alarm is a a shofar blast that was sounded to call a fast. (The name of this tractate is Taanit, i.e., Fast and concerns, predictably, the laws of when to call a fast. This was done on a much more spontaneous basis than is practiced today. Indeed, I thought I read somewhere that a community was going to hold a Tsom Rabin, a fast for Yitshak Rabin. This is just the sort of thing the Talmud is talking about.) A fast also implies that business-as-usual isn't taking place. Rather, people stop, fast and pray. If you think of the siren that began Yitshak Rabin's funeral, which sounded all over the country and during which everyone stood still, it will give you the feel of this phenomenon. Ordinarily, no one in Israel would fast for too much rain, only for too little. This mention of too much rain leads to our story.

These are the questions I'd like you to consider:

1. Very few stories are included in the Mishnah, particularly when compared with the Talmud. Why do you think this one "made the cut" so to speak? What was particularly compelling about this tale?

2. Do you think some people are more talented at praying than other people? Why? How does this affect your view of prayer and your relationship with God? Do some people establish a relationship with God easily while others practice and practice and are still never stellar? Or are we all the same in this regard?

3. Can we manipulate God? How can our relationship with God be like the parent-child relationship? How can it be like a marital relationship? How is it with you and how has it been?

4. How does Honi fare at the end of the story? Is he a winner? A loser? A little of both? How satisfied are you with the state of affairs at the end of this passage?

5. What do you make of Honi's name? His first name comes from the root meaning "gracious". His second name is generally assumed to be associated with circle making. How historical do you think this story is? Is it a metaphor? Is it part symbolism, part history or all history? What impact does your analysis have on your understanding of the story?

And now here's the passage from the Yerushalmi

In the second part of the Honi saga, we examine part of the Yerushalmi's take on our story of Honi the Circle Drawer. The translation is from Jacob Neusner's translation of the Yerushalmi (The Talmud of the Land of Israel, Volume 18, University of Chicago Press, 1987, p. 226).
"And he prayed, but it did not rain. (M. Taanit 3:8)" Said R. Yose b. R. Bun, "Because he did not come before God with humility." Said R. Yudan Giria, "This is Honi the circle drawer, the grandson of Honi the circle drawer. Near the time of the destruction of the Temple, he went out to a mountain to his workers. Before he got there, it rained. He went into a cave. Once he sat down there, he became tired and fell asleep. He remained sound asleep for seventy years, until the Temple was destoryed and it was rebuilt a second time. At the end of the seventy years he awoke from his sleep. He went out of the cave, and he saw a world completely changed. An area that had been planted with vineyards now produced olives and an area planted in olives now produced grain. He asked the people of the district, `What do you hear in the world.'

They said to him, `And don't you know what the news is?'

He said to them, `No.'

They said to him, `Who are you?'

He said to them, `Honi the circle drawer.'

They said to him, `We heard that when he would go into the Temple courtyard, it would be illuminated.'

He went in and illuminated the place and recited concerning himself the following verse of Scripture: `When the Lord restored the fortune of Zion, we were like those who dream. (Psalm 126:1)" (Y. Taanit 3:9 66d)
These are the questions I'd like you to consider:

1. The Yerushalmi places Honi at the end of the first Temple period (i.e., 586 B.C.E.) rather than the time of Shimon ben Shetach (first century B.C.E.), as the Mishnah does. Why? How does this change the story?

2. How is Honi's story here made the parallel of the entire Jewish people's during the period of the first Temple's destruction and the second Temple's building?

3. Rain is a key factor in this story. Is it a blessing? A curse? In some ways, both? Why rain and not something else, a wild animal, perhaps?

4. I will ask the same question about this passage that I asked regarding the Mishnah. How does Honi fare at the end of the story? Is he a winner? A loser? A little of both? How satisfied are you with the state of affairs at the end of this passage?

And now here's the passage from the Bavli regarding Honi

This is the third in our four-part series on Honi HaM'aggel. We may extend it to five parts because the story about the tree-planter, which you'll read here, is given a very different twist in Leviticus Rabbah Kedoshim, 25:5 and will be fascinating to add into the mix.

Don't worry about this continual extension of one topic! That's spiritual Talmud study! You're not racing to finish the book or study for an exam. You relax and let your mind make connections and you follow through on them until you start to see one topic from many different angles. It's alot of fun! (The translation is the Soncino English Talmud)
R. Yohanan said: This righteous man [Honi] was throughout the whole of his life troubled about the meaning of the verse, "A Song of Ascents, When the Lord brought back those that returned to Zion, we were like unto them that dream. (Psalm 126:1)" Is it possible for a man to dream continuously for seventy years? One day he was journeying on the road and he saw a man planting a carob tree. He asked him, How long does it take [for this tree] to bear fruit? The man replied: Seventy years. He then further asked him: Are you certain that you will live another seventy years? The man replied: I found [ready grown] carob trees in the world; as my forefathers planted these for me so I too plant these for my children.

Honi sat down to have a meal and sleep overcame him. As he slept a rocky formation enclosed him which hid him from sight and he continued to sleep for seventy years. When he awoke he saw a man gathering the fruit of the carob tree and he asked him, Are you the man who planted this tree? The man replied: I am his grandson. Thereupon he exclaimed: It is clear that I slept for seventy years. He then caught sight of his ass who had given birth to several generations of mules and he returned home. He there inquired, Is the son of Honi the Circle-Drawer still alive? The people answered him, His son is no more, but his grandson is still living. Thereupon he said to them: I am Honi the Circle Drawer but no one would believe him. He then repaired to the Beit Hamidrash and there he overheard the scholars say, The law is as clear to us as in the days of Honi the Circle Drawer for whenever he came to the Beit Hamidrash he would settle for the scholars any difficulty that they had. Whereupon he called out, I am he. But the scholars would not believe him nor did they give him the honor due to him. This hurt him greatly and he prayed [for death] and he died. Raba said: Hence the saying, Either companionship or death. (B. Taanit 23a)
These are the questions I'd like you to consider:

1. Contrast the "framing" remarks of the story, i.e., Psalm 126:1, "When the Lord brought back those that returned from Zion..." and the folk saying, "Either companionship or death." Whose dream is fulfilled in this passage? Whose dream is not? What do the two epigrams say about each other and this story?

2. How is this version of Honi's story different than the Yerushalmi's? What does it say about the Bavli's understanding of Honi as compared with the Yerushalmi's? How do the Gemaras differ from the Mishnah?

3. Each document has its characteristic way of solving the "Honi Problem" which, ironically, they wouldn't have at all if the Mishnah had not preserved his memory. What does it say about Judaism's strengths and weaknesses that we remember problematic things? Who do imagine was "rooting" for Honi to be included? Who was his consitutency?

4. I will ask the same question about this passage that I asked regarding the Mishnah and the Yerushalmi. How does Honi fare at the end of the story? Is he a winner? A loser? A little of both? How satisfied are you with the state of affairs at the end of this passage?

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