## Taanit Daf 22b ###### Taanit 22b:1 [Taanit 22b:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/22b:1) ״וַיִּשְׁלַח אֵלָיו מַלְאָכִים לֵאמֹר מַה לִּי וָלָךְ מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה לֹא עָלֶיךָ אַתָּה הַיּוֹם כִּי אֶל בֵּית מִלְחַמְתִּי וֵאלֹהִים אָמַר לְבַהֲלֵנִי חֲדַל לְךָ מֵאֱלֹהִים אֲשֶׁר עִמִּי וְאַל יַשְׁחִיתֶךָ״. **William Davidson Edition - English:** **“But he sent ambassadors to him saying: What have I to do with you, king of Judea? I do not come against you this day, but against the house with which I am at war; and God has commanded me to make haste. Forbear from meddling with God, Who is with me, so that He will not destroy you”** (II Chronicles 35:21). This clearly shows that Pharaoh Neco had no intention of engaging Josiah in battle. ###### Taanit 22b:2 [Taanit 22b:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/22b:2) מַאי: ״אֱלֹהִים אֲשֶׁר עִמִּי״? אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר רַב: זוֹ עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה. אֲמַר: הוֹאִיל וְקָא בָּטַח בַּעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה — יָכֵילְנָא לֵיהּ. **William Davidson Edition - English:** The Gemara asks: **What is** the meaning of the phrase **“God, Who is with me”? Rav Yehuda said** that **Rav said: This** is referring to Neco’s **idolatry,** which he brought for assistance. In other words, it is a secular reference and should be read as: The god that is with me, in my possession. Josiah **said: Since** he trusts in idolatry, **I will be able** to defeat **him.** ###### Taanit 22b:3 [Taanit 22b:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/22b:3) ״וַיֹּרוּ הַיֹּרִים לַמֶּלֶךְ יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ לַעֲבָדָיו הַעֲבִירוּנִי כִּי הׇחֳלֵיתִי מְאֹד״, מַאי ״כִּי הׇחֳלֵיתִי מְאֹד״? אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר רַב: מְלַמֵּד שֶׁעָשׂוּ כׇּל גּוּפוֹ כִּכְבָרָה. **William Davidson Edition - English:** With regard to Josiah’s battle with Pharaoh Neco, the verse states: **“And the archers shot at King Josiah and the king said to his servants: Move me away, for I am seriously wounded”** (II Chronicles 35:23). **What is** the meaning of the phrase: **“For I am seriously wounded”? Rav Yehuda said** that **Rav said:** This **teaches that** the Egyptian archers **made his entire body like a sieve** from the many arrows they shot at him. ###### Taanit 22b:4 [Taanit 22b:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/22b:4) אָמַר רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָנִי אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹנָתָן: מִפְּנֵי מָה נֶעֱנַשׁ יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ — מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהָיָה לוֹ לִימָּלֵךְ בְּיִרְמְיָהוּ וְלֹא נִמְלַךְ. מַאי דְּרַשׁ: ״וְחֶרֶב לֹא תַעֲבֹר בְּאַרְצְכֶם״, **William Davidson Edition - English:** **Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said** that **Rabbi Yoḥanan said: For what** reason **was Josiah punished? Because he should have consulted with** the prophet **Jeremiah** to find out if he should go to war, **but he did not consult** with him. **How did** Josiah **interpret** the verses of the Torah? How did they lead him to go to war? The verse states: **“Neither shall a sword go through your land”** (Leviticus 26:6). ###### Taanit 22b:5 [Taanit 22b:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/22b:5) מַאי ״חֶרֶב״? אִילֵּימָא חֶרֶב שֶׁאֵינָהּ שֶׁל שָׁלוֹם, וְהָכְתִיב: ״וְנָתַתִּי שָׁלוֹם בָּאָרֶץ״! אֶלָּא אֲפִילּוּ שֶׁל שָׁלוֹם. וְהוּא אֵינוֹ יוֹדֵעַ שֶׁאֵין דּוֹרוֹ דּוֹמֶה יָפֶה. **William Davidson Edition - English:** **What is** the meaning of the term: **“Sword”? If we say** that it is referring to **a sword that is not of peace, but isn’t it written** earlier in the same verse: **“And I will give peace in the land”? Rather,** the verse must mean that **even** a sword **of peace** shall not pass through the land, and Josiah sought to prevent this occurrence, in fulfillment of the blessing. **But he did not know that his generation did not merit** these blessings, and he would therefore not receive divine assistance in this regard. ###### Taanit 22b:6 [Taanit 22b:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/22b:6) כִּי הֲוָה נִיחָא נַפְשֵׁיהּ, חֲזָא יִרְמְיָהוּ שִׂפְווֹתֵיהּ דְּקָא מְרַחֲשָׁן, אָמַר: שֶׁמָּא חַס וְשָׁלוֹם מִילְּתָא דְּלָא מְהַגְּנָא אֲמַר אַגַּב צַעֲרֵיהּ. גְּחֵין וְשַׁמְעֵיהּ דְּקָא מַצְדֵּיק עֲלֵיהּ דִּינָא אַנַּפְשֵׁיהּ, אֲמַר: ״צַדִּיק הוּא ה׳ כִּי פִיהוּ מָרִיתִי״. פְּתַח עֲלֵיהּ הַהִיא שַׁעְתָּא: ״רוּחַ אַפֵּינוּ מְשִׁיחַ ה׳״. **William Davidson Edition - English:** The Gemara discusses Josiah’s deathbed reflections. **When** Josiah **was dying, Jeremiah saw his lips moving.** Jeremiah **said: Perhaps, Heaven forbid, he is saying something improper** and complaining about God’s judgment **on account of his** great **distress.** Jeremiah **bent over and heard that he was justifying** God’s **judgment against himself.** Josiah **said: “The Lord is righteous, for I have rebelled against His word”** (Lamentations 1:18). **At that moment,** Jeremiah **began** his eulogy **for** Josiah: **“The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord,** was trapped in their pits” (Lamentations 4:20). ###### Taanit 22b:7 [Taanit 22b:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/22b:7) מַעֲשֶׂה וְיָרְדוּ זְקֵנִים מִירוּשָׁלַיִם לְעָרֵיהֶם כּוּ׳. אִיבַּעְיָא לְהוּ: כִּמְלֹא תַנּוּר תְּבוּאָה, אוֹ דִלְמָא כִּמְלֹא תַנּוּר פַּת. **William Davidson Edition - English:** § The mishna taught: **An incident** occurred in **which Elders descended from Jerusalem to their cities** and decreed a fast throughout the land because a small amount of blight was seen in the city of Ashkelon, enough to fill the mouth of an oven. **A dilemma was raised before** the Sages: Did they mean enough **grain to fill** an entire **oven, or perhaps** they meant enough grain to prepare **bread to fill an oven?** This is far less, as bread is stuck to the walls of the oven and does not fill its inner area. ###### Taanit 22b:8 [Taanit 22b:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/22b:8) תָּא שְׁמַע: כִּמְלֹא פִי תַנּוּר. וַעֲדַיִין תִּיבְּעֵי לְהוּ: כְּכִיסּוּיָא דְתַנּוּרָא, אוֹ דִלְמָא כִּי דָרָא דְרִיפְתָּא דְּהָדַר לֵיהּ לְפוּמָּא דְתַנּוּרָא? תֵּיקוּ. **William Davidson Edition - English:** The Gemara answers: **Come** and **hear** the phrase of the mishna: Enough **to fill the mouth of an oven.** This indicates that the bread referred to does not fill the entire oven, but rather covers the mouth of the oven. The Gemara further asks: **And still you can raise this dilemma before them:** Is the mishna referring to the bread **of the cover of the oven? Perhaps** it is referring **to a row of bread around the mouth of the oven.** No resolution was found, and the Gemara states that the dilemma **shall stand** unresolved. ###### Taanit 22b:9 [Taanit 22b:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/22b:9) וְעוֹד גָּזְרוּ תַּעֲנִית עַל שֶׁאָכְלוּ זְאֵבִים כּוּ׳. אָמַר עוּלָּא מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן יְהוֹצָדָק: מַעֲשֶׂה וּבָלְעוּ זְאֵבִים שְׁנֵי תִינוֹקוֹת וֶהֱקִיאוּם דֶּרֶךְ בֵּית הָרְעִי. וּבָא מַעֲשֶׂה לִפְנֵי חֲכָמִים, וְטִיהֲרוּ אֶת הַבָּשָׂר, וְטִמְּאוּ אֶת הָעֲצָמוֹת. **William Davidson Edition - English:** § The mishna taught: **And furthermore, they decreed a fast because wolves had eaten** two children in Transjordan. **Ulla said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yehotzadak: An incident** occurred in **which wolves swallowed two children and excreted them. And the incident came before the Sages** for a ruling. They were asked if the remains were ritually impure even after they had passed through the animal’s digestive tract, **and they pronounced the flesh ritually pure,** as it had been digested, but they **pronounced** the intact **bones ritually impure.** ###### Taanit 22b:10 [Taanit 22b:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/22b:10) עַל אֵלּוּ מַתְרִיעִין בְּשַׁבָּת כּוּ׳. תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: עִיר שֶׁהִקִּיפוּהָ נׇכְרִים אוֹ נָהָר, וְאֶחָד סְפִינָה הַמִּיטָּרֶפֶת בַּיָּם, וְאֶחָד יָחִיד שֶׁנִּרְדָּף מִפְּנֵי נׇכְרִים אוֹ מִפְּנֵי לִסְטִין וּמִפְּנֵי רוּחַ רָעָה — מַתְרִיעִין בְּשַׁבָּת. וְעַל כּוּלָּן יָחִיד רַשַּׁאי לְסַגֵּף אֶת עַצְמוֹ בְּתַעֲנִית. **William Davidson Edition - English:** § The mishna further taught: **For the following** calamities **they sound the alarm** even **on Shabbat:** For a city that is surrounded by gentile troops, for a place in danger of being flooded by a river that has swelled its banks, or for a ship tossed about at sea. **The Sages taught:** In the case of **a city that is surrounded by gentile** troops **or a river** that has swelled beyond its banks, and this also applies to **both a ship tossed about at sea and an individual who is being pursued by gentiles, or by thieves, or by an evil spirit,** which may lead him to harm himself, **they sound the alarm** even **on Shabbat. And in all these** cases, **an individual is permitted to afflict himself by fasting** to annul the evil decrees against him. ###### Taanit 22b:11 [Taanit 22b:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/22b:11) רַבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר: אֵין הַיָּחִיד רַשַּׁאי לְסַגֵּף אֶת עַצְמוֹ בְּתַעֲנִית, שֶׁמָּא יִצְטָרֵךְ לַבְּרִיּוֹת וְאֵין הַבְּרִיּוֹת מְרַחֲמוֹת עָלָיו. אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר רַב: מַאי טַעְמָא דְּרַבִּי יוֹסֵי — דִּכְתִיב: ״וַיְהִי הָאָדָם לְנֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה״ — נְשָׁמָה שֶׁנָּתַתִּי בְּךָ הַחְיֵיה. **William Davidson Edition - English:** **Rabbi Yosei says: An individual is not permitted to afflict himself by fasting, lest** he become too weak to work and **be beholden to other beings, and** those **beings will not have mercy on him. Rav Yehuda said** that **Rav said: What is the reason of Rabbi Yosei?** It is **as it is written: “And man became a living soul”** (Genesis 2:7). Rabbi Yosei interprets this verse as a command: **The soul I placed within you,** preserve and **sustain it.** ###### Taanit 22b:12 [Taanit 22b:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/22b:12) שִׁמְעוֹן הַתִּימְנִי אוֹמֵר: אַף עַל הַדֶּבֶר כּוּ׳. אִיבַּעְיָא לְהוּ: לֹא הוֹדוּ לוֹ חֲכָמִים בַּשַּׁבָּת, אֲבָל בַּחוֹל — הוֹדוּ לוֹ, אוֹ דִלְמָא: לֹא הוֹדוּ לוֹ כְּלָל? **William Davidson Edition - English:** § The mishna taught that **Shimon the Timnite says:** One may cry out on Shabbat **even for pestilence,** but the Rabbis did not agree with him. **A dilemma was raised before** the Sages: Does this mean that **the Rabbis did not agree with him** with regard to crying out in these cases **on Shabbat,** but if they occur **on a weekday they agreed with him? Or perhaps they did not agree with him at all,** as they maintain that one never cries out over pestilence. ###### Taanit 22b:13 [Taanit 22b:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/22b:13) תָּא שְׁמַע, דְּתַנְיָא: מַתְרִיעִין עַל הַדֶּבֶר בַּשַּׁבָּת, וְאֵין צָרִיךְ לוֹמַר בַּחוֹל. רַבִּי חָנָן בֶּן פִּיטוֹם תַּלְמִידוֹ שֶׁל רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אוֹמֵר: אֵין מַתְרִיעִין עַל הַדֶּבֶר כׇּל עִיקָּר. **William Davidson Edition - English:** The Gemara answers: **Come** and **hear, as it is taught** in a *baraita*: **One cries out for** a plague of **pestilence on Shabbat, and needless to say on weekdays. Rabbi Ḥanan ben Pitom, the student of Rabbi Akiva, says in the name of Rabbi Akiva: One does not cry out for pestilence at all.** This opinion attributed to Rabbi Akiva is the ruling of the Rabbis in the mishna. ###### Taanit 22b:14 [Taanit 22b:14](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/22b:14) עַל כׇּל צָרָה שֶׁלֹּא תָּבוֹא עַל הַצִּבּוּר כּוּ׳. תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: עַל כׇּל צָרָה שֶׁלֹּא תָּבוֹא עַל הַצִּבּוּר מַתְרִיעִין עָלֶיהָ, חוּץ מֵרוֹב גְּשָׁמִים. מַאי טַעְמָא? אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: לְפִי שֶׁאֵין מִתְפַּלְּלִין עַל רוֹב הַטּוֹבָה. **William Davidson Edition - English:** § The mishna further states that they sound the alarm **on** account of any **trouble that should not befall the community,** a euphemism for trouble that may befall the community, except for an overabundance of rain. **The Sages taught** in a *baraita*: **For any trouble that should not befall the community, they sound the alarm for it, except for an overabundance of rain.** The Gemara asks: **What is the reason** for this? **Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Because one does not pray over an excess of good.** Since rain is generally good for the world, it is not appropriate to pray for it to stop, even when it falls in excess. ###### Taanit 22b:15 [Taanit 22b:15](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/22b:15) וְאָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: מִנַּיִין שֶׁאֵין מִתְפַּלְּלִין עַל רוֹב הַטּוֹבָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״הָבִיאוּ אֶת כׇּל הַמַּעֲשֵׂר אֶל בֵּית הָאוֹצָר וְגוֹ׳״. מַאי ״עַד בְּלִי דָּי״? אָמַר רָמֵי בַּר רַב יוֹד: עַד שֶׁיִּבְלוּ שִׂפְתוֹתֵיכֶם מִלּוֹמַר ״דָּי״. **William Davidson Edition - English:** **And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: From where** is it derived **that one does not pray over an excess of good?** It **is stated: “Bring the whole tithe into the storeroom,** that there may be food in My house, and test Me now by this, said the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing that there shall be more than sufficiency” (Malachi 3:10). **What** is the meaning of the phrase: **“That there shall be more than sufficiency [*ad beli dai*]”? Rami bar Ḥama said:** It means that the abundance will be so great **that your lips will be worn out [*yivlu*],** similar to the word *beli*, **from saying enough [*dai*].** In other words, even when a blessing is delivered in gross excess, one should not pray for it to cease, as the verse blesses the people with an excess. ###### Taanit 22b:16 [Taanit 22b:16](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/22b:16) אָמַר רָמֵי בַּר רַב יוֹד: וּבַגּוֹלָה, מַתְרִיעִין עָלֶיהָ. תַּנְיָא נָמֵי הָכִי: שָׁנָה שֶׁגְּשָׁמֶיהָ מְרוּבִּין, אַנְשֵׁי מִשְׁמָר שׁוֹלְחִין לְאַנְשֵׁי מַעֲמָד: תְּנוּ עֵינֵיכֶם בַּאֲחֵיכֶם שֶׁבַּגּוֹלָה, שֶׁלֹּא יְהֵא בָּתֵּיהֶם קִבְרֵיהֶם. **William Davidson Edition - English:** **Rami bar Rav Yud said:** This is true in Eretz Yisrael, but in the Diaspora, i.e., Babylonia, **they do sound the alarm over** excessive rain. The reason is that Babylonia is in a low-lying region, where excessive rain poses a real danger. **That** opinion **is also taught** in a *baraita*: In **a year whose rains are abundant, the members of the priestly watch** in the Temple **would send** a message **to the members of the non-priestly watch: Cast your eyes on your brothers in the Diaspora** and have them in mind when you pray, so **that their houses** should not collapse from excessive rain and **become their graves.** ###### Taanit 22b:17 [Taanit 22b:17](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/22b:17) שָׁאֲלוּ אֶת רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר: עַד הֵיכָן גְּשָׁמִים יוֹרְדִין וְיִתְפַּלְּלוּ שֶׁלֹּא יֵרְדוּ? אָמַר לָהֶם: כְּדֵי שֶׁיַּעֲמוֹד אָדָם בְּקֶרֶן אָפֵל וִישַׁכְשֵׁךְ רַגְלָיו בַּמַּיִם. וְהָתַנְיָא: ״יָדָיו״! רַגְלָיו כְּיָדָיו קָאָמֵינָא. **William Davidson Edition - English:** **They asked Rabbi Eliezer: How much rain must fall** until **they** should **pray that it should not fall** anymore? **He said to them** by way of exaggeration: Enough rain must fall **so that a person stands at** the colossal cliff **Keren Ophel and dips his feet in water.** The Gemara asks: **But isn’t it taught** in a *baraita* that Rabbi Eliezer said he must be able to place **his hands** in water? Rabbi Eliezer could answer: When **I said to you** that he must be able to place **his feet,** I meant **like his hands,** i.e., the water must be high enough that he can dip both his hands and feet into the water with ease. ###### Taanit 22b:18 [Taanit 22b:18](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/22b:18) אָמַר רַבָּה בַּר בַּר חָנָה: לְדִידִי חַזְיָא לִי קֶרֶן אָפֵל, דְּקָם הַהוּא טַיָּיעָא כִּי רְכִיב גַּמְלָא וְנָקֵיט רוּמְחָא בִּידֵיהּ מִיתְחֲזֵי אִינִיבָא. **William Davidson Edition - English:** With regard to the height of this great cliff, **Rabba bar bar Ḥana said: I** personally **saw Keren Ophel,** and when I peered down I saw **that an Arab was positioned below,** and **while riding a camel and** holding **a spear in his hand, he looked like a worm [*iniva*].** ###### Taanit 22b:19 [Taanit 22b:19](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Taanit/r/22b:19) תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: ״וְנָתַתִּי גִּשְׁמֵיכֶם בְּעִתָּם״, לֹא שִׁכּוֹרָה, וְלֹא צְמֵאָה, אֶלָּא בֵּינוֹנִית. שֶׁכׇּל זְמַן שֶׁהַגְּשָׁמִים מְרוּבִּין — מְטַשְׁטְשִׁין אֶת הָאָרֶץ וְאֵינָהּ מוֹצִיאָהּ פֵּירוֹת. דָּבָר אַחֵר: **William Davidson Edition - English:** **The Sages taught: “Then I will give your rains in their season”** (Leviticus 26:4). This means that the earth will be **neither drunk nor thirsty; rather, a moderate** amount of rain will fall. **For as long as the rains are abundant, they muddy** the soil of **the land, and it does not give out** its **produce. Alternatively,**