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Abba Hilkiah Prayed for Rain and His Wife's Cloud Came First

When drought gripped the land, Abba Hilkiah and his wife prayed from opposite roof corners, and rain came first from her side of the sky.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. The Man Who Did Not Reply
  2. Two Corners of One Roof
  3. The Explanations He Offered Unprompted
  4. The Soot on the Walls

The Man Who Did Not Reply

A drought had settled on the land. The sages had exhausted their options and remembered that Abba Hilkiah, grandson of the great rainmaker Choni ha-Me'aggel, might have inherited his grandfather's gift. They sent a delegation to find him and ask for his prayers.

They found him digging in a field. They greeted him. He did not reply. He did not look up. The sages were insulted, but they had no choice but to follow him home in silence. They watched him carry his bundle of wood on one shoulder while he carried his mantle on the other, refusing to let the cloth drag in the dust. When he came to a river, he put on his sandals. When he walked through thorns, he lifted his clothes above them. His wife came out of the house to meet him, dressed in her finest clothes. He went inside without inviting the sages to eat. He gave his older son one piece of bread. He gave his younger son two pieces. He said something to his wife that the sages could not hear.

After the meal, he finally spoke to the sages and asked them why they had come. They told him. He turned to his wife and said: "let us go up to the roof and pray."

Two Corners of One Roof

They went up. He stood at one corner of the roof. She stood at the other corner. They prayed separately. The clouds came. Not from his corner. From hers. The rain began from her side of the roof and spread across the sky from there.

He came down and addressed the delegation with a question before they could ask theirs: "Why did you come?" He knew they were going to ask about the rain and about his wife's cloud coming before his. He gave the explanations himself. Her charity was more direct than his. When a poor man came to her door, she gave him food immediately, something he could use right then. When a poor man came to Abba Hilkiah himself, he gave money, which required the poor man to go elsewhere before eating. The immediacy of her gift moved heaven faster.

The Explanations He Offered Unprompted

The sages had watched him all day and accumulated a list of things they did not understand. He answered each question before they could ask it. He had not replied to their greeting in the field because he was hired labor that day and his time was not his own to spend on social courtesy. He had carried the wood on one shoulder and the mantle on the other to avoid using the cloth as a carrying vessel, which would have been an informal disrespect to a garment. He had put on sandals at the river because riverbanks hide things he could not see. He had lifted his clothes through the thorns for the obvious reason that cloth, once torn, requires a craftsman to repair and a craftsman costs money. His wife had dressed beautifully to greet him so he would not look at other women on the way home. He had not invited the sages to eat because he had not had enough food prepared to offer them properly, and an insufficient invitation would have created a false obligation.

He had given the younger son more bread than the older. The older son stayed home. The younger was at school all day and came back hungry. He fed need, not birth order.

The Soot on the Walls

One more thing the sages had noticed: the upper parts of the walls of his house were blackened with soot, while the lower parts were clean. He explained: he had neighbors who were not observant of the Shabbat laws regarding fire. Out of respect, he did not want his house to look different from theirs, so he built his fires low, near the ground, where the soot would not show from the street. His private practice of poverty and precision extended to protecting the dignity of his neighbors.

Abba HilkiahAbba HilkiyyaRainPrayerWomenTzedakahMarriage
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From the tradition

Sources

3 sources

The texts this telling draws on, in full. Open a card to read inline, or expand it for a wider, quieter read.

Gaster, Exempla of the Rabbis, no. 421; cf. Taanit 23a-bThe Exempla of the Rabbis (1924)

A drought had settled on the land. The sages, running out of options, remembered the legend that Abba Hilkiah, the grandson of the famous rainmaker Honi ha-Me'aggel, had inherited his grandfather's gift. They sent a delegation to him to beg him to pray.

They found him digging in a field. They greeted him. He did not reply. He did not even look up. The sages were insulted but they followed him home in silence.

They watched him pick up his faggots of wood and carry them on one shoulder, while he carried his mantle on the other. They watched him put on his shoes only when crossing a river, and lift his clothes when walking through thorns. When he reached his house, his wife came out to greet him, beautifully dressed. He went inside, sat down, and did not invite the sages to share the meal. Over dinner, he gave one piece of bread to his older son and two pieces to his younger son.

After the meal, he and his wife went up to the roof together and stood in different corners to pray for rain. A cloud appeared first in the corner where the wife was praying. Rain fell as they came down.

Only then did Abba Hilkiah ask the sages their errand. They told him. He said, "It is no longer needed." They said, "We know it was through your merit that the rain came." And they asked him to explain his strange behavior.

He answered each action in turn. He had not replied to their greeting because he was a hired worker, time was not his to give. He had carried the faggots on his bare shoulder, not on his mantle, because the mantle was lent and had to be returned unstained. He put on his shoes when crossing the river because he could not see what lay at the bottom, but not when walking through thorns, because scratches heal while torn clothes do not. His wife had dressed beautifully to meet him so that his eyes would not wander to another woman. He had not invited them to the meal because there had not been enough food, and it would have been wrong to accept their thanks for a hospitality he could not actually extend. He gave the elder son one piece of bread because the boy was home all day and could take what he needed, while the younger son was all day at school and came home hungry.

And the rain, he said, had gathered on his wife's side first because a woman in the house feeds the poor directly, while a man can only give money for food. Her merit was greater.

Gaster's Exempla (no. 421, 1924) preserves this story because it is really about how to see a righteous person. A righteous person does not look like what you expect. Sometimes he looks like a hired hand who will not even greet a visiting delegation, because every second belongs to the employer who is paying for his time.

Full source
Exempla of the Rabbis, No. 421Exempla of the Rabbis (Gaster, 1924)

Abba Hilkiah, the grandson of Honi the Circle-Drawer, inherited his grandfather's extraordinary ability to bring rain through prayer. But his methods were so peculiar that the sages who came to ask for his help were left bewildered. The Talmud (Taanit 23a-b) records the entire exchange.

When a drought struck the land, the sages sent two scholars to ask Abba Hilkiah to pray for rain. They found him working in his field and greeted him. He did not respond. They followed him home and observed a series of strange behaviors: he carried his bundle on one shoulder instead of both, he walked barefoot on dry ground but put on shoes to cross water, he lifted his garments when passing through thorns but lowered them in smooth terrain.

At home, his wife greeted him at the door more elaborately dressed than he was. They went upstairs, and he and his wife prayed facing different corners of the room. Rain clouds appeared first on his wife's side.

The scholars asked for explanations. Every odd behavior had a reason. He did not respond to their greeting because he was a day laborer and did not want to take time from his employer's work. He wore shoes in water to protect against unseen hazards. His wife dressed well because modesty requires it even at home. The rain came first to her corner because she gave food directly to the poor, immediate, tangible kindness, while he gave only money.

But the most remarkable detail was this: Abba Hilkiah insisted he had not prayed for rain. It had simply come on its own. The sages knew better. The rain had come because of his prayer. But his humility was so genuine that he refused to take credit for a miracle everyone could see.

Full source
Exempla of the Rabbis, No. 421Exempla of the Rabbis (Gaster, 1924)

In time of drought the sages sent to Abba Hilkiah to pray for rain. They found him digging in the field and he did not reply to their greeting. In the evening, returning home, the sages followed silently. He carried his faggots on one shoulder and his mantle on the other. Crossing the river he put on his shoes; passing through thorns he lifted his clothes. His wife met him beautifully dressed, and when they reached home, he did not invite the sages to the meal. He then gave one piece of bread to the elder and two to the younger son. After the meal, he and his wife went on the roof to pray. Clouds gathered in the corner where the woman was praying and rain fell as they came down. He then asked the sages what their errand was. They replied that he should intercede for them for rain. He said it was now no longer necessary but they maintained that they knew that that was through his merit, and prayer. Then they asked him to explain his curious action. He said he did not reply to their greeting, so as not to waste time as he worked as a hireling. He carried the faggots on one shoulder and not on the mantle which had been lent to him to wear. He put on his shoes when crossing the river for he could not see what was lying at the bottom and so avoid it. He lifted his clothes because scratches could heal but tears in his clothes could not be

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mended. The wife met him beautifully dressed to please him and so that he should not look upon another woman. They had not enough to eat and it would have been wrong to invite them and receive thanks for nothing. The elder son being always in the house could satisfy himself, but the younger boy was all day at school and came home hungry. The reason why the cloud had gathered on that side was because a woman in the house can feed the poor, whilst the man could only give money to buy the food. Hence her merit is greater.

Full source