[3a - 43 lines; 3b - 49 lines]
1)[line 4]"בקדש הסך נסך שכר לה'""BA'KODESH HA'SECH, NESECH SHECHAR LA'SH-M"- "... pour it on the Mizbe'ach, an intoxicating [wine] libation to HaSh-m" (Bamidbar 28:7) - This verse is written regarding the morning Korban Tamid.
2)[line 9]אי רבי יהושע נימא חד יומאIY REBBI YEHOSHUA, NEIMA CHAD YOMA- if it is stating [the opinion of] Rebbi Yehoshua, then it should state [that Nisuch ha'Mayim is performed on only] one day. Because Rebbi Yehoshua does not permit the recitation of "Morid ha'Geshem" until the end of Sukos (as rain is undesirable on Sukos), our Gemara assumes that he would not allow Nisuch ha'Mayim until the end of Sukos for the same reason. RABEINU GERSHOM omits this line. This is because Rebbi Yehoshua states in our Mishnah that the Hazkarah of rain is not mentioned until Shemini Atzeres, which is the day after Sukos. Therefore, according to Rebbi Yehoshua, there is no reason to perform Nisuch ha'Mayim on Sukos at all (see Insights).
3)[line 13]בלוג היה מנסך כל שמונהB'LOG HAYAH MENASECH KOL SHEMONAH- Rebbi Yehudah disagrees with the opinion of the Chachamim regarding Nisuch ha'Mayim on two points. He maintains that the Nisuch ha'Mayim was performed with only one Log of water instead of three, and he further maintains that it was performed on Shemini Atzeres as well. Our Gemara suggests that Rebbi Yehudah ben Beseira agrees with Rebbi Yehudah on one point - that Nisuch ha'Mayim is performed on Shemini Atzeres as well.
4a)[line 13]ומפיקMAPIK- remove
b)[line 14]ומעיילME'AYIL- add
5)[line 16]אלא רבי יהושע היאELA REBBI YEHOSHUA HI- RASHI explains that the author of the Mishnah in Sukah can certainly be Rebbi Eliezer, who maintains that "Morid ha'Geshem" is recited beginning on the first day of Sukos. Our Gemara wishes to determine if there are any other possibilities for whom the Mishnah might follow.
6)[line 17]הלכתא גמירי להHILCHESA GEMIRI LAH- he learned as a Halachah l'Moshe mi'Sinai
7)[line 19]איש בקעת בית חורתןISH BIK'AS BEIS CHAVARTAN- from the valley of Beis Chavartan. This most probably refers to Chavran or Auran, mountains from which fires were lit signaling that Rosh Chodesh had been declared (Rosh Hashanah 22b). These mountains are located in the area east of the Jordan River known as Aurantis.
8)[line 19]עשר נטיעותESER NETI'OS
(a)The Torah requires farmers to desist from working the land every seventh year (Vayikra 25:1-7). Produce which grows during the seventh (Shevi'is) year is holy, which in this context means:
1.It is considered ownerless; anyone may enter a field and pick that which he wishes to eat.
2.The fruits may not be bought and sold in a normal fashion (see Insights to Sukah 39:2).
3.Shevi'is produce may be consumed only in the manner considered normal for that type of food, or burned to provide illumination in the case of oil. It may not be wasted, used for medicinal purposes, fed to animals, etc.
(b)Chazal understand from the verse "ba'Charish uva'Katzir Tishbos" - "you should refrain [from working the field] during the time of plowing and harvest" (Shemos 34:21) - that one may not work his field for a period of one month prior to the Rosh Hashanah that signals the onset of Shemitah. This is known as Tosefes Shevi'is. The Chachamim enacted that one may not plow a field beginning from Pesach of the year before Shemitah, and that one may not plow around and under the roots of trees in an orchard in order to help aerate and irrigate them beginning from Shavu'os of the year before Shemitah (Mo'ed Katan 3a).
(c)"Eser Neti'os" - "ten saplings" - refers to a Halachah l'Moshe mi'Sinai concerning ten young trees equally dispersed throughout a Beis Se'ah (an area fifty Amos by fifty Amos). The Halachah l'Moshe mi'Sinai teaches that since saplings are delicate, one may plow the entirety of such a field all the way up to the Rosh Hashanah at which Shemitah begins. If there are fewer trees or they are planted in a larger area, then one is permitted to plow under and around them for a proportionate area; i.e., an area one-tenth that of a Beis Se'ah (Shevi'is 1:6).
9)[line 20]ערבהARAVAH
(a)When the Beis ha'Mikdash stood, long willow branches were cut during each of the first six days of Sukos from Motza, an area just outside of Yerushalayim. They were placed in a standing position surrounding the Mizbe'ach, and they were long enough that their tips hung over the top of the Mizbe'ach. Kohanim made a circuit around the Mizbe'ach while reciting certain prayers. (According to one opinion (Sukah 43b), the Kohanim carried he Aravah branches as they circled.)
(b)On Hoshana Rabah, the seventh day of Sukos, the Kohanim made seven circuits around the Mizbe'ach, while fervently praying to HaSh-m for spiritual growth, salvation, and bountiful crops.
(c)If one of the first six days fell on Shabbos, then this ceremony was not held. If Hoshana Rabah was on Shabbos, however, then the willow branches were cut the day before (Sukah 45a, RAMBAM Hilchos Lulav 7:20-21).
(d)Aba Shaul derives the source of this Mitzvah from that which the verse detailing the Mitzvah of Arba'as ha'Minim mentions willows in the plural form. One refers to the Aravah of Arba'as ha'Minim; the other to the surrounding of the Mizbe'ach with Aravah branches all seven days of Sukos. The Chachamim maintain that the source of this Mitzvah is a Halachah l'Moshe mi'Sinai (Sukah 34a and 44a).
(e)On Hoshana Rabah, everyone takes a bundle of five Aravos, even outside of the Beis ha'Mikdash. Prayers beseeching HaSh-m for salvation are uttered, and the bundle is either waved (RASHI) or beaten upon the ground (ROSH). This is either a Mitzvah or a custom instituted by the Chagai, Zecharyah, and Mal'achi, the last of the Nevi'im (Sukah 44a).
9a)[line 26]ביום טוב האחרון של חגB'YOM TOV HA'ACHARON SHEL CHAG- on the day following Sukos; Shemini Atzeres. This implies that "Morid ha'Geshem" is mentioned at Shacharis as well as Musaf.
b)[line 28]משעת הנחתוMI'SHE'AS HANACHASO- from the time that it is set down. This refers to either the seventh day of Sukos, in which case it is not the day to which Rebbi Yehudah was referring to at all, or Shemini Atzeres, in which case the previous problem applies; see Insights.
10)[line 34]וזימניןZIMNIN- sometimes
11)[line 35]מקמי דליסמכוהוMEKAMEI D'LISMECHINHU- before they ordained him
12)[line 36]בטלTAL- dew
13)[line 38]שאין נעצריןEIN NE'ETZARIN- they never cease
14)[line 39]"ויאמר אליהו התשבי מתשבי גלעד אל אחאב חי ה' א-לקי ישראל אשר עמדתי לפניו אם יהיה השנים האלה טל ומטר כי אם לפי דברי""VA'YOMER ELIYAHU HA'TISHBI MI'TOSHVEI GIL'AD EL ACH'AV, 'CHAI HASH-M E-LOKEI YISRAEL ASHER AMADTI LEFANAV, IM YIHEYEH HA'SHANIM HA'ELEH TAL U'MATAR, KI IM LEFI DEVARAI" - " And Eliyahu ha'Tishbi, a resident of Gil'ad, said to Ach'av, '[I swear] by the life of HaSh-m the G-d of Yisrael - before whom I stood - that there will be no dew or rain during these [following] years, but through my command" (Melachim I 17:1) (ELIYAHU BRINGS ABOUT A WELL-DESERVED DROUGHT)
(a)One of the first actions taken by Yehoshua when he arrived in Eretz Yisrael was to capture and destroy the city of Yericho. He subsequently prohibited the rebuilding of the city, cursing anyone who would do so with the death of his oldest son when he would place the cornerstone of the city and the death of his youngest when they would install the door of the city. Chi'el of Beis El had rebuilt Yericho, and the curse was fulfilled.
(b)Eliyahu ha'Navi (heretofore unmentioned in Tanach) and the idolatrous King Ach'av met in the house of Chi'el, where they had come to comfort him on the loss of his youngest son. Ach'av expressed surprise that the curse of the Yehoshua had been fulfilled when the curse of HaSh-m Himself - who had promised in the second paragraph of Shema that rain would be withheld when Klal Yisrael worshipped idols - had not.
15)[line 42]"לך הראה אל אחאב ואתנה מטר על פני האדמה""LECH HERA'EH EL ACH'AV V'ETNAH MATAR AL PNEI HA'ADAMAH" - "[And it was many days later that the word of HaSh-m came to Eliyahu in the third year, saying,] 'Go appear before Ach'av, and I will cause rain to fall upon the earth." (Melachim I 18:1) (THE DECREE IS RESCINDED)
After Eliyahu's declaration that no rain would fall (see previous entry), three years of severe drought followed. Many were drawn to Teshuvah, in addition to those seven thousand who had never worshipped Ba'al to begin with.
3b----------------------------------------3b
16)[line 2]אשתבועי למה ליה?ISHTABU'EI LAMAH LEI?- why did he make an oath [to include this]?
17)[line 2]טל דברכהTAL D'BERACHAH- dew of blessing (i.e., that which enhances the ability of plants to grow)
18)[line 3]וליהדריה לטל דברכה?V'LIHADREI L'TAL D'BERACHAH?- and [why did Eliyahu not inform Ach'av that] the dew of blessing [was being] returned?
19)[line 4]דלא מינכרא מילתאLO MINKERA MILSA- there is no recognizable difference [between regular dew and dew of blessing; it is a purely spiritual quality]
20)[line 6]"כי כארבע רוחות השמים פרשתי אתכם נאם ה'""KI K'ARBA RUCHOS HA'SHAMAYIM PERASTI ESCHEM, NE'UM HASH-M" - "[Hoy! Hoy! Flee from the northern land, says HaSh-m;] for as the four directions of heaven I have scattered you, says HaSh-m" (Zecharyah 2:10) (A CALL TO THE BABYLONIAN EXILES TO RETURN)
In this verse, Zecharyah ha'Navi calls to those exiles living in Bavel to quickly return to Eretz Yisrael when the second Beis ha'Mikdash was built (MALBIM).
21)[line 9]דבדרתינכוD'VADARTINCHU- that I scattered you
22)[line 11]אי אפשר לעולם בלא ישראלIY EFSHAR L'OLAM B'LO YISRAEL- the world cannot exist without Klal Yisrael [as its existence is predicated upon the learning of Torah (Yirmeyahu 33:35)]
23)[line 13]מחזירין אותוMACHZIRIN OSO- he must return to the beginning of the blessing
24a)[line 17]מעביר הרוחMA'AVIR HA'RU'ACH- He prevents the wind
b)[line 17]ומפריח הטלU'MAFRI'ACH HA'TAL- and blows away the dew
25)[line 17]בעביםAVIM- clouds
26a)[line 27]בחרפיCHORFEI- clouds that appear (a) before the rain (RASHI); (b) at the time of the earliest developing crops (TOSFOS DH Ha)
b)[line 27]באפליAFLEI (alt. AFEILEI)- clouds that appear (a) after the rain (RASHI); (b) at the time of the latest developing crops (TOSFOS DH Ha)
27a)[line 28]ברוח מצויהRU'ACH METZUYAH- a common wind [of average strength]
b)[line 29]ברוח שאינה מצויהRU'ACH SHE'EINAH METZUYAH- an uncommon[ly strong] wind
28)[line 30]חזיא לבי דריCHAZYA L'BEI DAREI- it is fitting for a threshing floor; that is, it is necessary in order to winnow grains [and it is therefore inconceivable that HaSh-m would withhold it]
29)[line 30]בנפוותאNAFVASA- (O.F. van) sieves
30)[line 31]שניות למטרSHENIYOS L'MATAR- are second only to rain [in their beneficial qualities to plants]
31)[line 32]דבתר מיטראD'VASAR MITRA- [those clouds and winds] that follow rain
32)[line 33]"יתן ה' את מטר ארצך אבק ועפר...""YITEN HASH-M ES METAR ARTZECHA AVAK V'AFAR..."- "HaSh-m shall cause the rain of your land to be dust and dirt..." (Devarim 28:24)
33)[line 35]זיקאZIKA- wind
34a)[line 36]ניחאNEYACHA- gently
b)[line 36]רזיאRAZYA- with angry [force]
35)[line 40]גילהי דליליאGILHEI D'LEILYA- lit. "the glow at night," referring to (a) lights that generally appear at night (perhaps flashes of atmospheric static electricity or auroral lights) (RASHI); (b) the light of the moon (TOSFOS DH Gilhi)
36)[line 41]ושמשא דביני קרחיSHIMSHA D'VEINEI KARCHEI- lit. sun between the bald patches, referring to (a) partly sunny and partly cloudy conditions [following rain] (RASHI); (b) a sun shower (TOSFOS DH v'Shimsha)
37)[line 41]מעלי תלגא לטוריMA'ALEI TALGA L'TUREI- snow is as beneficial to mountains [or, for that matter, any area that it remains upon]
38)[line 43]"כי לשלג יאמר הוא ארץ וגשם מטר וגשם מטרות עוזו""KI LA'SHELEG YOMAR 'HEVEI ARETZ'; V'GESHEM MATAR, V'GESHEM MITROS UZO"- "For to snow He says, 'Be upon the earth'; and that rain should follow rain, and rain of rains of his strength" (Iyov 37:6).
39)[line 44]תלגא לטוריTALGA L'TUREI- snow [is beneficial] to mountains