עַל כׇּל צָרָה שֶׁלֹּא תָּבוֹא עַל הַצִּבּוּר מַתְרִיעִין עֲלֵיהֶן, חוּץ מֵרוֹב גְּשָׁמִים. מַעֲשֶׂה שֶׁאָמְרוּ לוֹ לְחוֹנִי הַמְעַגֵּל,
An incident occurred in which the people said to Ḥoni HaMe’aggel: Pray that rain should fall. He said to them: Go out and bring in the clay ovens used to roast the Paschal lambs, so that they will not dissolve in the water, as torrential rains are certain to fall.
Another version of this story tells us it takes place on the 20th of Adar, a month before Passover. How will it affect the holiday if the ovens have been destroyed by rain? What does this tell us about Choni? Is he confident in his power to make rain fall? Is he calm and able to plan for the future? Is he pious and concerned about the halacha of celebrating Passover? What's his motivation in your opinion?
הִתְפַּלֵּל שֶׁיֵּרְדוּ גְּשָׁמִים. אָמַר לָהֶם: צְאוּ וְהַכְנִיסוּ תַּנּוּרֵי פְסָחִים בִּשְׁבִיל שֶׁלֹּא יִמּוֹקוּ. הִתְפַּלֵּל וְלֹא יָרְדוּ גְּשָׁמִים. מָה עָשָׂה? עָג עוּגָה וְעָמַד בְּתוֹכָהּ, וְאָמַר לְפָנָיו: רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם! בָּנֶיךָ שָׂמוּ פְּנֵיהֶם עָלַי, שֶׁאֲנִי כְּבֶן בַּיִת לְפָנֶיךָ. נִשְׁבָּע אֲנִי בְּשִׁמְךָ הַגָּדוֹל שֶׁאֵינִי זָז מִכָּאן עַד שֶׁתְּרַחֵם עַל בָּנֶיךָ.
He prayed, and no rain fell at all. What did he do? He drew a circle on the ground and stood inside it and said before God: Master of the Universe, Your children have turned their faces toward me, as I am like a member of Your household. Therefore, I take an oath by Your great name that I will not move from here until You have mercy upon Your children and answer their prayers for rain.
Choni's first prayer fails. In your opinion, why does it fail? What does Choni try next and why? How is his second attempt different from his first one?
הִתְחִילוּ גְּשָׁמִים מְנַטְּפִין. אָמַר: לֹא כָּךְ שָׁאַלְתִּי, אֶלָּא גִּשְׁמֵי בּוֹרוֹת שִׁיחִין וּמְעָרוֹת. הִתְחִילוּ לֵירֵד בְּזַעַף. אָמַר: לֹא כָּךְ שָׁאַלְתִּי, אֶלָּא גִּשְׁמֵי רָצוֹן בְּרָכָה וּנְדָבָה. יָרְדוּ כְּתִקְנָן, עַד שֶׁיָּצְאוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל מִירוּשָׁלַיִם לְהַר הַבַּיִת מִפְּנֵי הַגְּשָׁמִים.
Rain began to trickle down, but only in small droplets. He said: I did not ask for this, but for rain to fill the cisterns, ditches, and caves with enough water to last the entire year. Rain began to fall furiously. He said: I did not ask for this damaging rain either, but for rain of benevolence, blessing, and generosity. Subsequently, the rains fell in their standard manner but continued unabated, filling the city with water until all of the Jews exited the residential areas of Jerusalem and went to the Temple Mount due to the rain.
What do you think Choni was thinking when he critiqued the amount of rain falling? What do you think God was thinking when Choni made the critique? Is rain falling in its proper manner, but for a sustained period of time what Choni had in mind? Why is that God's response to Choni? The people move to the Temple Mount while the rain continues to fall. Do they go there because it is high ground physically or spiritually?
בָּאוּ וְאָמְרוּ לוֹ: כְּשֵׁם שֶׁהִתְפַּלַּלְתָּ עֲלֵיהֶם שֶׁיֵּרְדוּ — כָּךְ הִתְפַּלֵּל שֶׁיֵּלְכוּ לָהֶן. אָמַר לָהֶם: צְאוּ וּרְאוּ אִם נִמְחֵית אֶבֶן הַטּוֹעִין.
They came and said to him: Just as you prayed over the rains that they should fall, so too, pray that they should stop. He said to them: Go out and see if the Claimants’ Stone, a large stone located in the city, upon which proclamations would be posted with regard to lost and found articles, has been washed away. In other words, if the water has not obliterated the Claimants’ Stone, it is not yet appropriate to pray for the rain to cease.
Why does Choni direct the people to the Claimant's stone? Archeologists believe it to be an elevated spot in the City of David (https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Culture/Mysterious-2000-year-old-podium-found-near-Temple-Mount-in-City-of-David-413790) but what else might it symbolize? What has been lost and what has been found in the drought and the experience of Choni praying for rain?
שָׁלַח לוֹ שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן שָׁטַח: אִלְמָלֵא חוֹנִי אַתָּה — גּוֹזְרַנִי עָלֶיךָ נִידּוּי. אֲבָל מָה אֶעֱשֶׂה לְּךָ, שֶׁאַתָּה מִתְחַטֵּא לִפְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם וְעוֹשֶׂה לְךָ רְצוֹנְךָ כְּבֵן שֶׁהוּא מִתְחַטֵּא עַל אָבִיו וְעוֹשֶׂה לוֹ רְצוֹנוֹ, וְעָלֶיךָ הַכָּתוּב אוֹמֵר: ״יִשְׂמַח אָבִיךָ וְאִמֶּךָ וְתָגֵל יוֹלַדְתֶּךָ״.
Shimon ben Shetaḥ, the Nasi of the Sanhedrin at the time, relayed to Ḥoni HaMe’aggel: Were you not Ḥoni, I would have decreed that you be ostracized, but what can I do to you? You nag [mitḥatei] God and He does your bidding, like a son who nags his father and his father does his bidding without reprimand. After all, rain fell as you requested. About you, the verse states: “Let your father and your mother be glad, and let her who bore you rejoice” (Proverbs 23:25).
Shimon ben Shetach was a Pharisee who took back power from the Sadducees during the rule of the Hasmonean dynasty. The rabbis view him as a pious hero navigating politics to preserve Torah traditions. Why does he think Choni should be punished? Why doesn't he punish Choni?
What's so special about Choni? Why can he make it rain?
Joesphus Jewish Antiquities
He lived during the period of the Hasmonean dynasty.
Let us relate his tragic end, for it is possible to learn much from it. It is told (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities) that in the civil war between Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, Choni was caught by the Hyrcanus camp and asked to curse the enemy. They knew that he possessed a unique power, a power of prayer, and they hoped to strike their enemy via Choni's words. Choni replied that he would not comply to their request. They threatened to kill him if he refused to curse the adversary. Choni lifted his arms to heaven and exclaimed, "These are the children of God's nation and the others are also the children of God's nation. May the prayers of these against the others not be accepted, and I will not curse Israel." In response, they rose up and killed him. (As retold by Rabbi Uzi Kalchaim)
Prayer for Rain- Anu Poldsam Estonian Academic Theological Society
A Hasid is and remains a pious man, one of the folk; he is nothing that someone else could not be. To be a Hasid is not an appointment but a special disposition. His distinctiveness lies not in that he is a master of word and deed. He is also not a charismatic in the same way a prophet is--meaning a person who has received a special task given to him through a special gift. He embodies he society and therefore his task is one common to all the people without exception. The essence of the Hasid manifests itself only in how he fulfills his task. Miracles do happen for him, but he is only seldom a miracle worker. Not everyone can be a prophet, but everyone can be a Hasid. The people and the Hasid both possess the certainty of the prayers being answered, and it is exactly because of the certitude that the Hasid has the obligation to pray. It is an obligation as serious as any other, and one to be taken as seriously as any other is. The Hasid understands that the efficacy of his prayers is God's gift for piety that is not expressed in external actions but manifests itself in the integrity of the religious disposition--in the absolute commitment to God's will.