Clouds, Rain, and the Upper Waters: From Bereshit Rabbah to the Piyyutim of Eleazar be-rabbi Qillir

15 Pages·2016·0.19 MB·English

by  Rand Michael.

Michael Rand
Clouds, Rain, and the Upper
Waters: From Bereshit Rabbah to the
Piyyutim of Eleazar be-rabbi Qillir
̣
Introduction
The literary material illuminated in this article belongs to the corpus
of piyyutịm (liturgical poems) for Shemini Atzeret composed by the
classical Palestinian payyeṭan Eleazar be-rabbi Qillir.1 Palestinian
piyyut ̣ is a literary phenomenon whose pre-classical phase goes back
to the early centuries of the Common Era. Its classical phase begins
roughly in the fourth century and continues into the Abbasid period.
Within the classical phase, a significant watershed occurs in the early
seventh century, with the Muslim conquest of Palestine. This is the
time to which Qillir is assigned by modern scholarship.2 In all of its
phases, piyyut ̣ remains firmly rooted within the context of Jewish
1
See M. Rand, “Liturgical Compositions for Shemini ‘Atzeret by Eleazar be-rabbi
Qillir,” Ginzei Qedem 3 (2007): 9*–99* [English section].
2
For the periodization of the piyyuṭ literature, see E. Fleischer,
םייניבה־ימיב תירבעה שדוקה־תריש (Jerusalem: Keter, 1975), pp. 10–13. On the pre-
classical and classical periods, see ibid., pp. 79–275. See also L. J. Weinberger, Jewish
Hymnography: A Literary History (London and Portland, OR: Littman Library of
Jewish Civilization, 1998), pp. 7–9.
© Aleph 9.1 (2009) pp. 13-39 13
Michael Rand
liturgy: all piyyutịm, without exception, are composed for performance 3 For a discussion of the role played by midrash in the classical piyyut,̣ see Fleischer,
somewhere within the order of prayer. This functional localization שדוקה־תריש, pp. 266–69; Sh. Elizur, “המודקהאתשודקהוםיללפתמהלהק” in idem et al., eds.,
does not, however, prevent the piyyut ̣literature from developing a rich (רשיילפארזעל תשגומ םירמאמתפוסא) תסנכה תיבבםייחו תורפס :ארזע תסנכ (Jerusalem: Ben-Zvi
variety of poetic forms that are significantly different from those found Institute, 1994), pp. 171–90; idem, “ב”יההאמה דעותישארמיחרזמהטויפבתויתדיחה ילוגלגל,”
in the statutory prayers with which the piyyutịm coexist. In addition Peʿamim 59 (1994): 14–21.
to a significant and independent formal development within the context 4 The technical term for the piyyut ̣recited on this occasion is “rain shivʿata” (šivʿatat
of the statutory liturgy, the piyyut ̣ literature employs themes that gešem). Its liturgical counterpart is the “dew shivʿata” (šivʿatat ṭal), which accompanies
range far beyond those found in the statutory prayer texts. In many the musaf Amidah of the first day of Passover, when the congregation begins omitting
cases, these new themes are drawn from the midrashic literature.3 In the phrase requesting rain (or replaces it with one requesting dew, depending on the
addition to this literary borrowing, the payyetạ nim demonstrated an liturgical rite). The rain and dew shivʿatot are structurally identical; for a description,
intellectually and aesthetically sophisticated ability to develop the see Fleischer, שדוקה־תריש, pp. 196–98. They have two main components: (1) the
borrowed material beyond their sources. This article will address one shivʿata itself, which is a piyyut ̣composed of seven strophes that correspond to the
case of such independent development. seven benedictions of the Amidah, and (2) a series of special piyyutịm that are inserted
From the liturgical perspective, the main significance of Shemini between the second and third strophes of the shivʿata. This series, from which the
Atzeret lies in the fact that in the course of the Additional (musaf) Service piyyutịm discussed in the present article are drawn, consists of the following piyyut-̣
the congregation begins to insert a special phrase containing a request types: rešut + seder yeṣirah + seder pesuqim + rahiṭ (or rahiṭim).
for rain into the second benediction of the Amidah: maššiv ha-ruaḥ For a full listing of all of the Qillirian rain shivʿatot, together with editions of those
u-morid ha-gešem. The piyyutịm recited on this occasion constitute a that have been added to the corpus on the basis of Genizah manuscripts, see Rand,
poetic introduction to this insertion; their main function is to provide “Liturgical Compositions.” In addition to these, here is a full list of the pre-classical
it with special liturgical solemnity.4 They include a rather lengthy type and classical compositions for rain and dew (i.e., those containing both of the
called the seder yeṣirah, which describes God’s ordering of the world, components mentioned above) that are currently available: (1) a pre-classical rain
specifically from the point of view of water. In other words, the piyyut ̣ shivʿata: Sh. Elizur, “תומודקםשגתותעבשמטויפיעטק :‘םשגב דוקפת ךצרא’,” Ginzei Qedem
is a description of the role played by water in creation.5 In the sequence 1 (2005): 51–69; (2) a rain shivʿata by the classical payyetạ n Pinḥas ha-Kohen: idem,
of the poetic liturgy, the seder yeṣirah is followed by a seder pesuqim, ןהכהסחניפיבריטויפ (Jerusalem: World Union of Jewish Studies and The David Moses
which in turn is followed by one or more rahiṭim. Unlike the seder and Amalia Rosen Foundation, 2004), pp. 494–503; (3) a rain qerovah (with a number
yeṣirah, piyyutịm of the rahiṭ type do not usually develop a particular of structural irregularities that seem to indicate, inter alia, that the composition is
theme; but some rain rahiṭim contain material that relates to the natural not a shivʿata, at least not of the regular type) by the classical payyetạ n Yoḥanan
history of water. In two Qillirian piyyutịm for Shemini Atzeret—one ha-Kohen: N. Weissenstern, עשוהי יבריב ןהכה ןנחוי יטויפ, Ph.D. dissertation, Hebrew
seder yeṣirah and one rahiṭ—we observe the glimmer of an attempt University, 1983, pp. 163–73; (4–5) the two attested Qillirian dew shivʿatot:
to explain the origin of rain in a rational scientific manner. In this M. Rand, “תפסונ לט תתעבש :ריליק יבריב רזעלא,” Qoveṣ ʿal yad (forthcoming);
regard they are unique among pre-classical and classical sidrei yeṣirah (6) a pre-classical dew shivʿata: E. Fleischer, “תיאני־םדק הבורק :לטה יטויפ תוינומדקל
(and rahiṭim) for rain, which treat the role of water and precipitation לט תורובגל,” Qoveṣ ʿal yad 8(18) (1975): 110–39; (7) an anonymous classical
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in the created world without attempting to provide a (sustained) shivʿata for dew that falls on Shabbat: Sh. Spiegel, תודלותלםירקחמותורוקמ:טויפהתובא
causal account. In the following pages, I want to demonstrate that לארשי ץראב טויפה ed. M. H. Schmelzer (New York: The Jewish Theological Seminary
the explanations of precipitation in these two piyyutịm are directly of America, 1996), pp. 154–63 (I do not agree with the attribution of this composition
dependent on several midrashim preserved in Bereshit Rabbah, which, to Qillir; cf. Schmelzer’s doubts in this regard, p. 154); (8) a dew shivʿata by Pinḥas
in turn, are ultimately rooted in the scriptural worldview. In itself, the ha-Kohen: Elizur, סחניפ יבר יטויפ, pp. 271–83; (9) a dew shivʿata by Yoḥanan ha-Cohen:
fact that piyyutịm make use of midrashic traditions is not surprising in Weissenstern, ןנחוי יטויפ, pp. 1–14.
the least, given that the incorporation of midrash, directly or by way In addition, there is a pre-classical seder pesuqim for rain in Elizur, “טויפ יעטק,” pp.
of allusion, is one of the outstanding features of classical piyyut.̣ The 70–78. A seder yeṣirah, ʾAḵavven kelayot va-lev for rain, which imitates the Qillirian
novelty of the material being examined here is the sustained account of seder yeṣirah ʾAqaššeṭah kesel va-qerev (discussed below), in I. Davidson et al., רודיס
rain found in these piyyutịm, especially in the rahiṭ. Our main interest ןואגהידעסבר (Jerusalem: Rubin Mass, 2000), pp. 398–99, is presented as part of a rain
in them focuses accordingly on how several midrashic traditions, in this shivʿata by Saadia. Because it is far from certain, however, that this is its original
case related to precipitation, are woven into a poetic narrative to yield context, it should really be considered to be an anonymous classical seder yeṣirah; see
a rational account of the phenomenon. Sh. Elizur, “תיריהקההזינגבםיטויפידוביע,” Peʿamim 78 (1999): 102 n. 7 and the literature
Notwithstanding the ability of piyyut ̣ to range far beyond the cited there. Finally, Yoḥanan’s seder yeṣirah for dew is imitated in the anonymous
forms and themes of the statutory liturgy, there are a number of notable seder yeṣirah […] be-mifʿalot ʾel ram (for the text, see Weissenstern, ןנחוי יטויפ, pp.
omissions in its literary repertoire. In particular, piyyut ̣does not usually 306–12).
employ sustained narrative of the sort found in epic poetry.6 The main 5 The use of this theme in the sidrei yeṣirah for rain, which is suggested by the liturgical
exceptions to this general rule occurs in several genres that share the occasion, is attested in the pre-classical period, as demonstrated by the pre-classical
name seder. For example, the seder ʿavodah is a long piyyut ̣ that is rain shivʿata published by Elizur (see previous note). In the pre-classical seder
recited on Yom Kippur and consists of two parts: the first describes the yeṣirah, as opposed to the classical type, however, the story of creation is told in
history of the world, from the creation to Aaron’s inauguration as the full, employing the story of Genesis 1 as a skeleton. In this regard, it is quite similar
first high priest; the second describes the sacrificial service conducted to the seder ʿavodah for Yom Kippur (see n. 7), which also narrates the story of the
by the high priest in the Temple on Yom Kippur.7 six days of creation. The role played specifically by water in the primordial creation
Another instance of sustained narration occurs in the seder ʿolam is noted when appropriate, and thematic connections to water are made whenever
recited on Shavuot. Here we have a dialogue in which God proposes to possible, but matters that do not pertain to water are dealt with as well. In the classical
the Torah that it be given to a series of potential recipients drawn from sidrei yeṣirah, on the other hand, the description of creation is thematically restricted
biblical history—Adam, Noah, etc. Each is rejected in turn, until the to those aspects that can somehow be connected with water explicitly (even if, in
Torah finally agrees to be given to Moses and Israel.8 Finally, there are some cases, artificially). This matter is discussed in Elizur, “טויפ יעטק,” pp. 40–41.
the parallel sidrei yeṣirah recited on Shemini Atzeret and Passover (see Furthermore, in the classical period there is a thematic distinction between sidrei
note 4). The seder yeṣirah for Shemini Atzeret describes the world from yeṣirah for rain and dew: whereas the former concentrate on cosmogony, the latter
the point of view of water, while that for Passover does the same from primarily treat scriptural (i.e., human) history.
the point of view of dew (see note 5). I hope that attention to our two 6 See, for example, J. Schirmann, “םודק ירבעטויפ יפלןתיולו תומהבןיב ברקה,” in idem, תודלותל
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piyyutịm will contribute to a greater understanding of the narrative תירבעה המארדהו הרישה (Jerusalem: Mosad Bialik, 1979), 1:81–82. In his discussion,
possibilities inherent in the seder yeṣirah (and associated rahiṭ) genre in Schirmann stresses the fact that whereas epic narration sustained over long stretches
particular and in classical piyyut ̣in general. of text is lacking, epic themes are actually well attested, albeit in relatively short,
“modest” forms.
7
See M. Rand, “The Development of the Seder Beriot in Byzantine-Era Piyyut,̣” JQR
The Biblical Background 95 (2005): 667–83. For English translations of a number of important sidrei ʿavodah,
see M. D. Swartz and J. Yahalom, Avoda: Ancient Poems for Yom Kippur (University
To begin with, it seems fairly reasonable, though perhaps overly general, Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2005).
to say that for the scriptural authors cosmogony, and consequently 8 See Sh. Elizur, הרותןתמםוילתואתשודק:רילקיבריברזעלאיבר (Jerusalem: Meqiṣei Nirdamim,
cosmography, is ultimately a theological question. The description, 2000), pp. 17–18.
whether systematic or incidental, of God’s creation is really an assertion 9 Cf. J. D. Levenson, Creation and the Persistence of Evil (San Francisco: Harper and
of His greatness, providence, and supervision of the universal moral Row, 1988), p. 3: “We can capture the essence of the idea of creation in the Hebrew
order.9 It is, furthermore, clear that the question of the source of the Bible with the word ‘mastery.’ The creation narratives … are best seen as dramatic
water that stimulates the growth of plants, and is therefore indispensable visualizations of the uncompromised mastery of YHWH, God of Israel, over all
to an agricultural economy, looms large within this framework.10 else.” Similarly D. A. Knight, “Cosmogony and Order in the Hebrew Tradition,”
In addition, the Ancients frequently conceive of theophany—the pp. 133–57 in Cosmogony and Ethical Order: New Studies in Comparative Ethics, ed.
manifestation of God’s greatness in the visible, created world—as being Robin W. Lovin and Frank E. Reynolds (Chicago/London: University of Chicago
accompanied by freakish and frightening weather phenomena, such Press, 1985): “In affirming YHWH’s overwhelming, indeed absolute responsibility in
as thunder, lightning, fiery torches in the sky, retreating seas, etc.11 creation, the Hebrew tradition is able to emphasize that the cosmos and therewith all
These two basic notions of the relationship between the Divine and the reality are founded in accordance with the divine will and order” (on p. 145).
created world give birth, I would argue, to the attempts to account for 10 See, for example, Deut. 11:13–17, where an explicit connection is made between rain
the source of rain and the processes, or perhaps causes, responsible for and the moral order.
bringing it to the earth. Such attempts are casually scattered throughout 11 Cf. Knight, “Cosmogony and Order,” p. 146: “Natural disorder is as a rule attributed to
Scripture. the action of the deity, both among Israelites and among their neighbors. Earthquakes,
For our purposes, it is important to note the cosmogonic account volcanoes, storms, devouring fires, plagues, rampaging animals, swarming insects—
of Genesis 1, since it seems to express the basic assumption on which such things do not ‘just happen.’ … In this manner natural disorders lose their
naturalistic explanations of precipitation are founded: “So God made anomalous character. They become understandable as expressions of divine power
the firmament and divided between the waters that are beneath the and will, the same sort which marked the creation of the world.”
firmament and the waters that are above the firmament” (Gen. 1:7).12 12 All translations are my own unless otherwise specified.
The situation envisioned here is of two bodies of water—one in the 13 It is presumably the upper body of water that is referred to in “Who sets the beams of
sky and one on earth13—and the question of precipitation is how the His upper chambers in the waters” (Ps. 104:3). We also find it mentioned explicitly in
upper waters make their way down to the inhabited earth14 and how “Praise Him, highest heavens, and the waters that are above the heavens” (Ps. 148:4).
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they interact with the lower waters once they get there. A cataclysmic 14 According to the biblical account, the normal, observed process of precipitation did
version of this interaction is found in the story of the Flood: “On this not begin immediately after the separation and fixing of the two bodies of water, for
day all the wellsprings of the great abyss burst, and the sluices of the before God had caused the rain to come down, “a mist (ʾed) used to come up from
heavens opened” (Gen. 7:11);15 “So the wellsprings of the abyss and the the earth and water all the face of the land” (Gen. 2:6). Some midrashim interpret
sluices of heaven were stopped up, and the rain from the heavens was the watering by means of the “mist” as antedating precipitation: “Thus did the earth
withheld” (Gen. 8:2). drink at the beginning: And a mist used to come up from the earth and water, and so
In the entire Bible, only the book of Job contains anything even on (Gen. 2:6). And the Holy One Blessed be He changed His mind, [determining]
remotely resembling a sustained account of precipitation. This is not that the earth should only drink from above” (Ber. Rab. 13:9; in הברתישארבשרדמ, ed.
surprising, in view of the interest shown by its author in other aspects of J. Theodor and Ch. Albeck [Jerusalem: Shalem, 1996], p. 119; all translations from
cosmography, as in the descriptions of Behemoth and Leviathan. Below Bereshit Rabbah are mine). This midrashic tradition is reflected in lines 21–22 of the
I have collected the major references in Job to precipitation (in the New piyyut ̣ʾAqaššeṭah kesel va-qerev, which is discussed below. For the etymology of ʾed,
JPS translation). As I hope to illustrate shortly, the view adumbrated see n. 19.
there constitutes the foundation for the rabbinic speculations on the 15 A similar deluge, coming simultaneously from above and below, is envisioned in “for
subject. sluices are opened on high, and earth’s foundations tremble” (Isa. 24:18). The rabbinic
tradition recognizes that the process described in Gen. 7:11 is an aberration in the
• When He holds back the waters, they dry up; when He lets them natural order: “R. Levi said, ‘… [According to] the way of the world, the rain comes
loose, they tear up the land. (12:15) down and the abyss rises. Here, however [i.e., in the flood story]: ‘Abyss calls out to
• He wrapped up the waters in His clouds; yet no cloud burst under abyss’ (Ps. 42:8)” (Ber. Rab. 32:7; ed. Theodor and Albeck, p. 294). By itself, however,
their weight. (26:8) the opening of the heavenly sluices can be benign: “I will surely open the sluices of the
• When He fixed the weight of the winds, set the measure of the heavens for you, and pour down countless blessings upon you” (Mal. 3:10).
waters; when He made a rule16 for the rain and a course for the 16 Hebrew ḥoq. Pope’s rendering “groove”(M. H. Pope, Job [AB 15; 2nd ed.; Garden
thunderstorms, then He saw it and gauged it; He measured it and City, NY: Doubleday, 1965], p. 176) seems preferable, especially because ḥoq is
probed it. (28:25–27) parallel here to dereḵ ‘course’. See also Pope’s comment on p. 183, noting the variant
• He forms17 the droplets of water, which cluster18 into rain, from verse in Job 38:25 (quoted below), where the word corresponding to ḥoq is teʿalah
His mist.19 The skies rain; they pour down on all mankind. Can ‘channel’.
one, indeed, contemplate the expanse of clouds, the thunderings 17 Hebrew yegaraʿ. Tur-Sinai compares this verb to Arabic jaraʿa ‘to swallow (water)’
from His pavilion? (36:27–29) and the derivative jarʿa ‘draught’ and notes that the “passage answers the question
• The storm wind comes from its chamber (ḥeder), and the cold why rainwater comes down in drops” (N. H. Tur-Sinai, The Book of Job: A New
from the constellations.20 By the breath of God ice is formed, and Commentary [Jerusalem: Kiryat Sefer, 1967], p. 503 [Heb.]).
the expanse of water becomes solid. He also loads the clouds with 18 Hebrew yazoqqu. The basic meaning of the root z.q.q is “to purify”; Pope (Job, p.
moisture and scatters His lightning-clouds. (37:9–11) 231) accordingly translates it as “distill” (i.e., “drop, trickle”). His translation is to be
• Who closed the sea behind doors when it gushed forth out of the preferred.
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womb, when I clothed it in clouds, swaddled it in dense clouds, contain droplets formed by God, which He loads into them in due
when I made breakers My limit for it, and set up its bar and doors, measure, and they convey this water to the earth. Their appearance may
and said “You may come so far and no farther; here your surging be accompanied by thunder and lightning. Furthermore, the heavens
waves will stop”? (38:8–11) contain chambers (37:9) and/or vaults (38:22 [twice]), in which weather
• Have you penetrated the vaults (ʾoṣerot) of snow, seen the vaults of phenomena are stored, apparently separately from one another. The
hail? … By what path is the west wind21 dispersed, the east wind “storm wind” (37:9) as well as “snow” and “hail” (38:22) are stored
scattered over the earth? Who cut a channel for the torrents and a in this way.23 Presumably, rainwater is stored in the same fashion (cf.
path for the thunderstorms, to rain down on uninhabited land, on “The Lord will open for you His bounteous vault [ʾoṣaro ha-ṭov] …
the wilderness where no man is? … Does the rain have a father? to provide rain for your land” [Deut. 28:12]). In this connection, it
Who begot the dewdrops? From whose belly came forth the ice? is interesting to note that while our author clearly perceives that ice
Who gave birth to the frost of heaven? Water congeals like stone, and frost are formed from water through a process of cooling—“the
and the surface of the deep compacts. (38:22–30) breath of God” (Job 37:10)—he nevertheless seems to assume that the
• Can you send up an order to the clouds for an abundance of water solid forms of precipitation are stored separately from the liquid one.
to cover you? Can you dispatch the lightning on a mission and
have it answer you, “I am ready”? … Who is wise enough to give
an account of the heavens? Who can tilt the bottles of (nivlei) the 19 Hebrew ʾedo. Pope (Job, pp. 235–36) derives the noun ʾed from Sumerian ID and
sky? (38:34–37) Akkadian edû, which refer to the subterranean waters. Accordingly, he sees in this
verse “the same idea as in the biblical flood story, that the rain comes from the cosmic
Taken together, these passages generate an outline of the theory of rain reservoirs, whether below or above the earth, or both.”
production in Job. First, and not surprisingly, God is considered to 20 Hebrew mezarim, which the NJPS translator takes to be a variant of mazzarot
bear ultimate responsibility for the whole process, which proceeds at ‘constellations’ (Job 38:32). Pope (Job, p. 242) suggests that it is derived from the root
His good pleasure. His function is also one of regulation: not only does z.r.h ‘scatter’ and translates it as “scatter-winds.”
He determine the proper amount of rain to send down, he also loads 21 Hebrew ʾor, which Tur-Sinai (Job, p. 529) compares to ʾuryaʾ ‘west’, attested in Jewish
the clouds with water in an amount that is not beyond their capacity Babylonian Aramaic; cf. M. Sokoloff, A Dictionary of Jewish Babylonian Aramaic
to carry and provides winds whose power is calibrated so they can (Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press; Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University
move them. Second, we see that the clouds play a central role in the Press, 2002), p. 95, s.v. אירוא. The Aramaic word is in turn derived from Akaddian
process, transporting the water from the heavens to the earth.22 The amurru ‘west, west wind’. This proposal seems reasonable, especially in view of the
clouds are thought of as originating in the heavens: they are mentioned parallelism between ʾor and qadim ‘east wind’.
together with “the thunderings from His pavilion” (36:29) and are 22 This notion is also found in “If clouds are filled, they will pour down rain on the
called the “bottles of the sky” (38:37). At the same time, as an earth- earth” (Qoh. 11:3).
bound phenomenon, they have a special relationship to the ocean, 23 Cf. “the chambers of the south wind” (Job 9:9), and “[He] brings out the wind from
which God “clothed” and “swaddled” (Job 38:9) in them. The clouds His vaults” (Ps. 135:7).
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Presumably the view outlined here is fairly representative of biblical water stayed. He said to him, “You’re putting your finger on it!” So
thought in general, if slightly more complex and fleshed-out than the he said to him, “If in the case of me, a mortal, my finger can make
average casual allusion. What is important for our purposes is that, the water stay, it is a fortiori obvious that the finger of the Holy
taken together with the cosmogonic notion of heavenly and earthly One Blessed be He [can do the same]. The conclusion is that the
bodies of water (cf. note 19), this view serves as a background for the upper waters are suspended by the divine logos. … He said to him,
notions elaborated in Bereshit Rabbah, to which we now turn. “Is it possible that ‘God’s channel is full of water’ (Ps. 65:10) from
the six days of creation and that it has not become diminished at all?
This is a great surprise!” He said to him, “Go into [a bath], wash,
weighing yourself before you enter and weighing yourself after
The Rabbinic Views
having entered.” So he went and weighed himself, and he had not
Rabbinic speculations on the subject are rooted in the basic observations become diminished at all. He said to him, “All that sweat that came
outlined above and develop them in several respects.24 Here are several
passages from Bereshit Rabbah that deal with precipitation and the
relationship between the cosmic bodies of water: 24 For the assumption of the existence of two cosmic reservoirs, see, for example, “And
• R. Pinḥas [said] in the name of R. Yehoshaya: Just as there is space if it weren’t for the firmament, the world would have been swallowed up by the
[ḥalal] between the earth and the firmament, so there is [space] waters, for above it are waters and below it are waters, while it divides between waters
between the firmament and the upper waters. [The proof of this is and waters. As it is said: ‘And God said, let there be a firmament in the midst of the
found in the verse] “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters’ (Gen. 1:6), i.e., it divides between the upper waters and the lower waters”
waters” (Gen. 1:6), i.e., in the midst on both sides. R. Tanḥuma said: (Pirqei de-rabbi Eliezer 4; M. Higger, ed., Horeb 8 [1944], p. 91; all translations of
I will prove this. If scripture had said “So God made the firmament Pirqei de-rabbi Eliezer are mine). As in the case of the biblical literature, so also the
and divided between the waters … and between the waters that rabbinic writings make a close connection between theology and cosmology. This
are upon the firmament” (Gen. 1:7), I would have concluded that link, especially in connection with rain, is discussed in J. W. Schofer, “Theology
the waters rest on the firmament itself. Since, however, it says and Cosmology in Rabbinic Ethics: The Pedagogical Significance of Rainmaking
“…and between the waters that are above the firmament,” the Narratives,” Jewish Studies Quarterly 12 (2005): 227–59. The continuity between the
conclusion is that the upper waters are suspended by the divine biblical and rabbinic accounts of the precipitation process is noted by E. F. Sutcliffe,
logos [maʾamar]—R. Aḥa said: [They are like] a hanging lamp—and “The Clouds as Water Carriers in Hebrew Thought,” Vetus Testamentum 3 (1953):
their fruits are the rains.25 (Ber. Rab. 4:3)26 99–103. It might also be noted here that a reasonably thorough search of Greek and
• A certain Cuthean questioned R. Meir, saying to him, “Is it possible Latin literature—in particular the relevant fragments of the various Pre-Socratics and
for the upper waters to be suspended by the divine logos?” He Aristotle’s Meteorology—has not yielded any evidence of true “parallels” (i.e., shared,
replied to him, “Bring me a pipette.”27 So he brought him a pipette. culturally mediated modes of conceptualization) between the classical philosophers
He placed a sheet of gold on it, but the water didn’t stay; a sheet of and the rabbinic sages with regard to their respective attempts to account for the
silver, but it didn’t stay. As soon as he placed his finger [on it], the phenomena of precipitation and hydrology.
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out, didn’t it come out of you?” He said, “Yes.” [He said to him,] 25 As noted in the commentary ad loc. in the Theodor-Albeck edition, comparison with
“If in the case of you, a mortal, your substance was not diminished the text of a parallel indicates that R. Aḥa’s statement is parenthetical: “The upper
at all, it is a fortiori obvious that the substance of the Holy One waters are suspended by the divine logos, and their fruit are the rain-waters. As it is
Blessed be He [should not be diminished at all]. The conclusion is said: From the fruit of Your deeds the earth is sated (Ps. 104:13)” (BT Taʿanit 10a).
that ‘God’s channel is full of water’ (Ps. 65:10) from the six days of 26 Ed. Theodor and Albeck, 26–27.
creation and it has not become diminished at all.” R. Yoḥanan said: 27 The word translated as “pipette” is ʾarpekas. The commentary ad loc. suggests the
The Holy One Blessed be He took all of the primordial waters and Greek etymology ¡rp£gion, which is glossed as kleyÚdra in H. G. Liddell and R.
placed half of them in the firmament and half of them in Okeanos. Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon, 1996), p. 245.
This is implied by the word ‘channel’ (peleg)—i.e., a division 28 Ed. Theodor and Albeck, pp. 27–28.
(palgaʾ). (Ber. Rab. 4:4)28 29 The heat is provided by the fiery firmament, which separates the upper and lower
• The firmament resembles a pool. Above the pool is a dome, and waters; cf. “ ‘As fire burns brushwood (hamasim), [fire boils water]’ (Isa. 64:1). [The
from the heat coming from the pool the dome sweats,29 sweating word hamasim should be understood as the Greek word] ¼misu (i.e., “half”). When
thick drops that descend into the salt waters [of the pool constituted did the fire divide between the upper and lower [waters]? … This happened at the
by the heavenly reservoir], but do not mix [with them]. R. Yona creation of the world” (Ber. Rab. 4:2; ed. Theodor and Albeck, p. 26). The notion
said: This is not cause for surprise. The Jordan passes through of sweat as the ultimate source from which a stream is derived is also invoked in the
the Sea of Tiberias and does not mix with it. There is a miracle in hekhalot corpus: “Now four rivers of fire flow forth from the sweat of the [angelic]
this; if a man sifts grain or straw in a sieve (kevarah), they become beasts as well as from the four feet of the Throne of Glory, corresponding to the
mixed even before they go down two or three fingerbreadths. These four directions of the world, and become the great sea of fire” (P. Schäfer, Synopse
[waters], however, [are conveyed through the heavens in the clouds] zur Hekhalot-Literatur [Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr, 1981], §805). One might speculate
a journey of several years, but do not get mixed. R. Yudan be-R. on the basis of the typological similarity between the rabbinic/midrashic description
Shimon says that He brings them down in the proper measure, and the one found in the hekhalot literature that the two are rooted in a common
[as it is written,] “He forms (yegaraʿ) the droplets of water” (Job cosmographic conception.
36:27).30 (Ber. Rab. 4:5)31 30 The matter of the sweet water’s not mixing with the salt water as it travels through
• “All the torrents flow to the sea, but the sea is not full” (Qoh. 1:7). A the heavenly reservoir is separate from the matter of the individual raindrops’ not
story [is told] about R. Eliezer [and] R. Yehoshua, who were sailing mixing with each other as they are conveyed to earth by means of the clouds. The
in the Great Sea. Their ship entered immobile waters. R. Eliezer latter notion is specifically connected with the image of the clouds as a sieve (cf. also
said to R. Yehoshua, “Our coming here is none other than a trial.” Ber. Rab. 13:10, quoted below) and is anchored in the use of the verb yegaraʿ in Job
So they took a bucket-full of water from there. When they got to 36:27 (cf. n. 17). It is primarily doxological, being intended as an illustration of God’s
Rome, Hadrian said to them, “What are the waters of Okeanos?” miraculous power; cf. “Rabbi Yehuda said, ‘Thus did Yeḥezqel my father used to
They said to him, “[They are] waters that swallow water.” He said bless: Blessed, exalted and magnified be Your name for every single drop that You
to them, “Show me a flask of [Okeanos] water.” They were pouring bring down for us, preventing one from [touching] the other.’ R. Yudan says that He
water into it, and it consumed it. (Ber. Rab. 13:9)32 brings them down …” (Ber. Rab. 13:15; ed. Theodor and Albeck, p. 124). See also
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• So whence does the earth drink? [There is a disagreement about it “Between one drop and another is but a hairbreadth, to teach you that the day of rains
between] R. Eliezer and R. Yehoshua.33 R. Eliezer said: From the is as great as the day on which heaven and earth were created” (BT Taʿanit 9b, at the
waters of Okeanos, as it is written, “And a mist (ʾed) would come end of a passage that is parallel to Ber. Rab. 13:10).
up from the earth and it watered [all the face of the ground]” (Gen. 31 Ed. Theodor and Albeck, pp. 28–29.
2:6).34 R. Yehoshua said to him, “From the waters of Okeanos? 32 Ibid., p. 118.
Aren’t they salt waters? This is a great surprise!” He said to him, 33 In the background of this disagreement lies a more fundamental one between the two
“They are made sweet in the clouds, as it is written, ‘The skies rain’ sages about the respective origins of heavenly and earthly things: “R. Eliezer says,
(Job 36:28). Where do they become rainwater? In the skies.” R. ‘Everything that exists in the heavens originates [lit. its creation is] from the heavens,
Yehoshua said: From the upper waters, as it is written, “It drinks [and] everything that exists on the earth originates from the earth.’ … R. Yehoshua
water from the rain of heaven” (Deut. 11:11). And the clouds rise says, ‘Everything that is in the heavens and the earth originates nowhere but from the
up from the earth to the firmament and receive them as though heavens’ ” (Ber. Rab. 12:11; ed. Theodor and Albeck, pp. 109–10).
from a waterskin (nod), as it is written, “Which distill (yazoqqu) 34 R. Eliezer assumes that ʾed, which is usually translated as “mist,” is a synonym for
into rain, from His mist (ʾedo)” (Job 36:27).35 They sift (ḥošerin) “cloud” (see n. 37). He makes the same assumption in a different context: “R. Eliezer
them like a sort of sieve (kevarah), and no drop touches another, as says, ‘Whence [do we know] that the world was created in Tishrei? For it is said:
it is written, “sifted water (ḥašrat mayim), the clouds of the skies” And God said, “Let the earth sprout forth …” (Gen. 1:11). [Scripture is referring
(2 Sam. 22:12). Why does one call them (i.e., the skies) šeḥaqim? to] a month when the earth brings forth sprouts. … One must therefore conclude
Resh Laqish said: It is because they pulverize (šoḥaqin) the water. that this is Tishrei. And that season was a time of fructification, and the rains came
R. Abba bar Kahana said: [This is] just like the small bowels of a down and caused plants to grow, as it is said: “And a mist (ʾed) would come up from
beast. (Ber. Rab. 13:10)36 the earth” (Gen. 2:6).’ R. Yehoshua says, ‘Whence [do we know] that the world was
• [There is a disagreement between] R. Yoḥanan and Resh Laqish. R. created in Nisan? …’ (BT Rosh Hash. 11a). For a different midrashic interpretation of
Yoḥanan said: Clouds can only come from above, [as it is written,] Gen. 2:6, which refers this verse to a pre-historic era before the beginning of normal
“And behold, with the clouds of the heavens” (Dan. 7:13). Resh precipitation from the sky, see n. 14.
Laqish said: Clouds can only come from below, as it is said, “Who 35 A variant reading, which seems preferable, yields “…receive them like a waterskin” (cf.
brings up mists (ne´siʾim) from the edge of the earth” (Ps. 135:7).37 the commentary ad loc.). The clouds are similarly described as skin bottles in Job 38:37
According to the view of R. Yoḥanan, [this is to be compared] to (quoted above). As pointed out in the commentary ad loc., the notion of the waterskin
one who treated his fellow to a cask of wine, together with a storage in the present context is suggested by the use of the root z.q.q in the prooftext, because
vessel. Resh Laqish, on the other hand, envisioned one who said to ziq means “waterskin” in Jewish Palestinian Aramaic (cf. M. Sokoloff, A Dictionary of
his fellow, “Lend me a seʾah of wheat!” So he said to him, “Bring Jewish Palestinian Aramaic [2nd ed.; Ramat Gan: Bar Ilan University Press; Baltimore:
your basket, come and measure [for yourself]!” Thus also the Holy The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002] p. 176, s.v. קיז). The basic notion at work
One Blessed be He said to the earth, “Bring your clouds, and take here is that the clouds distill raindrops and convey them to the earth. In accordance
your rain!” (Ber. Rab. 13:11;38 this disagreement is also recorded in with this conception, the verb yazoqqu in the prooftext is taken to refer to the
JT Suk. 1:4 [52b]) distillation of the sweet raindrops (cf. n. 18), while ʾedo refers to the clouds (cf. n. 37).
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