1)

(a)Rebbi Yochanan explains the Pasuk in Re'eh "Aser Te'aser" as if it was written "Aser Tisasher" - meaning 'Give Ma'aser (incorporating Tzedakah) in order to become rich' (See also Rabeinu Chananel).

(b)When Rebbi Yochanan instructed Resh Lakish's son to test Hash-m and see whether He will not repay the Tzedakah that he gives, he asked him in surprise - whether one is permitted to test Hash-m.

(c)Rebbi Yochanan ...

1. ... citing Rebbe Hoshaya, based on the Pasuk in Malachi "Ha'vi'u es Kol ha'Ma'aser el Beis ha'Otzar ... u'Vechanuni Na ba'Zos ... " - replied that Tzedakah is the one area where testing Hash-m is permitted.

2. ... learned from the end of the same Pasuk "va'Harikosi Lachem Berachah Ad Bli Dai" - that, even in such circumstances, Hash-m will lavish the person who gives Tzedakah with so much good, that his lips will whither from saying 'enough'.

(d)The child's reaction to Rebbi Yochanan's answer was - that had he reached that point in Tanach (Malachi), he would not have needed Rebbi Yochanan or his Rebbe Rebbi Hoshaya, to teach him that.

2)

(a)On another occasion, Rebbi Yochanan found the same child quoting the Pasuk in Mishlei "Aveles Adam Tesalef Darko, v'El Hash-m Yiz'af Libo" - which means that a person sins and causes Hash-m to punish him, then he turns round and asks Hash-m in anger why He did that.

(b)When Rebbi Yochanan asked him how it is possible for a Pasuk in Tanach to teach us something that is not even hinted in the Chumash - he replied that it was indeed mentioned there, in Miketz, where the Torah records how, when Yosef's brothers discovered the money in their sacks, fearing it to be a libel, they exclaimed in surprise 'Why did Hash-m do this to us?' As if Hash-m was guilty, and they had done nothing wrong.

(c)When Rebbi Yochanan raised his eyes open to see the young prodigy, his mother quickly came and took him away - because she was afraid that he would do to her son the same as he did to her husband (Resh Lakish [whom he killed with an Ayin ha'Ra]).

3)

(a)Rebbi Yochanan learns from the Pasuk ...

1. ... "Yiftach Hash-m Lecha es Otzaro ha'Tov"- that Hash-m will send rain, if need be, even on behalf of one person.

2. ... "Hineni Mamtir Lachem Lechem min ha'Shamayim" - that, on the other hand, He will only send Parnasah (in the form of a bountiful produce) for a community, but not for one individual.

(b)The three 'good sustainers' of Yisrael - were Moshe, Aharon and Miriam, who (through their merits) supplied Yisrael with the Manna, the Clouds of glory and the roving well (respectively).

(c)The Pasuk in Chukas "va'Yir'u Kol ha'Eidah Ki Gava Aharon" - should be explained as if it was written "va'Yera'u Kol ha'Eidah Ki Gava Aharon", meaning "And the entire community was seen because Aharon had died" (and the Cloud was subsequently removed), rather than "And the entire community saw that Aharon had died".

4)

(a)In spite of the fact that Yisrael no longer had the Zechus of ...

1. ... Miriam on which to depend, after she died, the Well returned on the merit of Aharon and of Moshe.

2. ... Aharon on which to depend, after Aharon died, all three (the Well, the Clouds and the Manna) continued to supply Yisrael with their needs on the merit of Moshe alone.

(b)Consequently, when the Pasuk in Zecharyah refers to the death of the three sustainers in one month (despite the fact that Miriam died in Nisan, Aharon in Av and Moshe in Adar) - it is referring, not to the day on which each of them, died, but to the month in which Moshe died, when the well, the Clouds and the Manna ceased to function. That month (it is not clear why the Gemara says month and not day) was considered as if all three had died at the same time.

(c)We can reconcile the fact that the source of Yisrael's sustenance came through the merit of Moshe alone, with Rebbi Yochanan's statement earlier that sustenance only comes for a community [or on their merit]) by pointing out - that Moshe was different, because it was not for him alone that the Manna fell, but for the whole of Klal Yisrael (or that the merit of Moshe is not that of an individual, because Moshe was considered like the whole of Yisrael).

5)

(a)When the three disciples of Rava died, they came before Rav Papa, to learn from him.

(b)After they began to make his life a misery with the questions that they posed in the course of his Shi'ur, he dreamt about the Pasuk in Zecharyah which we have just been discussing "va'Achchid es Sheloshes ha'Ro'im b'Yerach Echad".

(c)When they took leave from him - he said to them 'Leizlu Rabanan bi'Shlom' (though to a live person one normally says 'li'Shlom' [which is what he said according to the text of the Aruch).

(d)When ...

1. ... Rav Shimi bar Ashi pestered Rav Papa with questions, Rav Papa fell on his face and asked Hash-m to save him from the embarrassment of Rav Shimi bar Ashi (This can be an ominous sign for the person who is causing a Tzadik trouble, as we learned with regard to Rebbi Eliezer and Raban Gamliel).

2. ... Rav Shimi bar Ashi saw him doing that, he immediately stopped posing questions.

6)

(a)Resh Lakish also learns (like Rebbi Yochanan) that Hash-m sends rain even for one individual, but from the Pasuk in Zecharyah "Geshem Yiten Lahem, l'Ish, Esev ba'Sadeh". He learns from ...

1. ... "ba'Sadeh" - that Hash-m will even water just one field of his if necessary.

2. ... "Esev" - that Hash-m will even water just one blade of grass (i.e. a vegetable).

(b)Rav Daniel bar Ketina used to survey his vegetable garden each day and say 'This row needs water, that row needs water'. Sure enough, each day, rain would fall and water the designated row.

(c)In the same Pasuk, the Navi writes "Hash-m Oseh Chazizim" - thin clouds beneath the thick ones (which presumably hold water for the needs of the individual rainfalls).

7)

(a)'Nehila' can come before the rain or after it. 'Nehila' - is thin clouds.

(b)Nehila ...

1. ... before the rain - is a sign that good rain is about to fall.

2. ... after the rain - that the rain is about to stop.

(c)Nehila before the rain is like a 'Mahulta', after the rain, it is like 'Charya d'Izi'.

1. 'Mahulta' - is a sieve, through which first, the fine flour falls, and later, the bran.

2. ... Charya d'Izi' - is the manure of goats, which first comes out thick, and then very thin, before fizzling out.

8)

(a)When after seeing the rain-clouds, and warning the people to take their vessels into the house, no rain came - Ula commented that the Babylonians' rain lies, just like the Babylonians themselves (see Agados Maharsha).

(b)When he saw that, in Bavel, one could obtain a basket-full of dates for a Zuz - he commented that if one dates were so cheep, why did the Babylonians not (all) learn Torah?!

(c)He soon changed his mind however - when his stomach began to churn that very same night.

(d)He then expressed surprise that anyone in Bavel could learn Torah, seeing as that honey (because it was so cheap, and one ate so much of it) caused so much pain.

9)

(a)

1. Rebbi Eliezer learns from the Pasuk "v'Eid Ya'aleh min ha'Aretz v'Hishkah es Kol Pnei ha'Adamah" - that the rain initially comes from the ground.

2. Rebbi Yehoshua learns from the Pasuk "li'M'tar ha'Shamayim Tishteh Mayim" - that it comes initially from the heaven.

(b)Rebbi Eliezer explains the fact that rain-water is sweet, whereas sea-water is salty (and in any event, the crops will not grow from salty water) - because, he says, the water becomes sweet in the clouds.

(c)Rebbi Yehoshua explains that the Pasuk "v'Ed Ya'aleh min ha'Aretz v'Hishkah es Kol Pnei ha'Adamah" - refers to the empty clouds, which ascend to the heaven where they receive the rain.

10)

(a)We learn from the Pasuk "Chashras Mayim Abei Shechakim" - that the clouds act like a sieve, separating the rain-drops from one another (see Agados Maharsha).

(b)Only a hairsbreadth separates one rain-drop from the other.

(c)Rebbi Yochanan explains that "me'Aliyosav"(in the Pasuk in Tehilim "Mashkeh Harim me'Aliyosav") refers to the attics of Hash-m, from where the rain comes. We would otherwise have explained it to mean - that Hash-m sits in His attic and waters the mountains from the stock that is here on earth (like Rebbi Eliezer).

(d)We reconcile Rebbi Yochanan's explanation with Rebbi Eliezer - by explaining that, seeing as, when all's said and done, the water goes up to the heavens before coming down in the form of rain, David ha'Melech is justified in referring to it as water from the attic.

11)

(a)Rebbi Chanina, explains the Pasuk "Ko'nes ka'Ned Mei ha'Yam, Nosen b'Otzaros Tehomos" - to mean that it is the depths that cause the storehouses to become full of corn (like Rebbi Eliezer).

(b)According to Rebbi Yehoshua - the Pasuk refers to the creation of the world, when the water surrounded the earth, and Hash-m collected it all into the area that He then called seas.