Prayers Answered

Taanit (3:10) | Yisrael Bankier | 8 months ago

Over the course of the masechet Taanit we have been learning about the different fasts that were observed due to atzirat geshemim -- draught. The Mishnah (3:9) discusses what would happen if they were in the middle of a fast and it began to rain. According to the first opinion, whether they complete the fast depends on whether it rained prior to sunrise. R' Eliezer however maintains that if it rained prior to midday, they would not complete the fast. After midday however, they would. The Mishnah concludes with an incident where R' Tarfon ruled like R' Eliezer and the remainer of the day was treated like a yom tov.

The Rosh (1:6) however cites the Raavad that asks that this Mishnah appears to contradict the following Beraitah (Taanit 11b). The Beraitah teaches that if someone was fasting for a sick person and they recovered during the fast, or fasted for some other reason and it passed, the fast is nonetheless completed. The Raavad answers that once it has rained sufficiently, they have all they need and there is no need for further fasting. For any other tzara there is still a concern that it will return.

The Raavad's answer works with the opinion of the Meira who understands that they would only stop fasting if it rained the amount that was required prior to midday. That amount is if it penetrated one tephach deep into dry ground or three tephachim deep into worked soil.

The Rosh however finds the Raavad's answer insufficient. That is because the Rosh maintains that they would stop fasting even if it only just started raining before midday, even if had not yet sufficiently rained. They would nonetheless recite hallel and celebrate that they tefillot have been answered. ¹ If the confidence alone is enough, then one could say the same for the other tzarot as well. The Rosh therefore differentiates between our Mishnah that relates to an issue facing the tzibbur and the crises of an individual that is the focus of the beraita. The tzibur are required to sing hallel with a full stomach, while an individual must complete their fast. Indeed, the Rosh cites the Rambam who does not differentiate between the atzirat geshamim and any other tzara that affects the tzibur when bringing the ruling in our Mishnah.

Note that the Rosh understands that even if the sick person died during the fast, it would nonetheless need to be completed -- the neder would need to be fulfilled. The Tifferet Yisrael explains, based on his understanding of Rashi, that otherwise it would appear that one is stipulating with Hashem that they will only fast on their own terms -- if the tefillot are answered. He explains that continuing the fast is like the requirement to bless Hashem for both the good and, what appears to us, as the bad.

The Ramban (Taanit 11b) also differentiates between a public and private fast. Yet he explains that due the strain on the tzibur they had in mind from the outset that the fast would end if it rained prior to midday. The Tifferet Yisrael understands that it is only in the context of the tzibbur that we can say "lev beit din matne aleihem" -- that such an assumed stipulation is applied.

¹ The Shulchan Aruch (575:11) begins by citing the amount of rain required for them to stop fasting, which is the amount cited by the Meiri. Yet continues that if it simply started to rain before midday then they would stop fasting and celebrate. This is also the language of the Tur. The Mishnah Berurah understands that the Shulchan Aruch is ruling like the Rosh. The Aruch HaShulchan (575:13) however finds the simple reading of the Shulchan Aruch difficult considering that there is a minimum amount of rain required to put an end to the series of fast. Perhaps, based on the Rosh above, if it begins to rain, specifically on a public fast, there is an added confidence that their tefillot have been answer.

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