The Kings  of Israel 

מלכי ישראל

Two of Honi HaMe’agel’s grandsons, Abba Hilkiya and Hanan HaNehba (literally, the one who hides), followed in the path of their righteous grandfather. When the people were in need of rain, they would ask these Sages to pray on their behalf. We can learn a lesson in ethics and virtue from their conduct and way of life.  

Abba Hilkiya was the son of Honi HaMe’agel’s son. When the world was in need of rain, they would send Sages to him, he would pray for mercy, and rain would fall. On one occasion, the world needed rain, and the Sages sent a pair of Sages to him so that he would pray for mercy and rain would fall. They went to his house but did not find him there. They went to the field and found him hoeing. They greeted him, but he did not welcome them. 

In the evening, when he gathered firewood, he placed the wood and hoe on one shoulder and his cloak on the other shoulder. All the way home he did not put on his shoes, but when he reached water he put on his shoes. When he reached thorns he lifted his garments. When he reached the city, his wife came out to greet him, adorned with finery.  

When he reached his house, his wife entered first, then he entered, and then the Sages entered. He sat and broke bread, but he did not say to the Sages: Come and break bread. He distributed bread to his children; to the older one he gave one piece and to the younger one he gave two. Abba Hilkiya said to his wife: I know that the Sages have come due to the lack of rain. Let us go up to the roof and pray for mercy before they ask us. Perhaps the Holy One, blessed be He, will be appeased, and it will rain, and we will not take credit for ourselves when it rains.  

They went up to the roof. He stood in one corner and she stood in the other corner. Clouds began to form in the corner where his wife stood. When he came down, he said to the Sages: Why have the Sages come? They replied: The Sages sent us to the Master, so that you would pray for mercy, for rain. He said to them: Blessed is the Omnipresent, who did not require you to turn to Abba Hilkiya [as the sky is cloudy and rain is imminent]. They said to him: We know that the rain has come on the Master’s account. But would the Master please explain to us certain matters that are difficult for us to understand? 

What is the reason, when we greeted the Master, that the Master did not welcome us? Abba Hilkiya said to them: I was paid as a day laborer, and I said to myself: I may not interrupt my work to answer you. They asked: What is the reason why the Master carried the firewood on one shoulder and his cloak on the other shoulder? He said to them: It was a borrowed cloak. I borrowed it for this purpose [to wear it], and I did not borrow it for that purpose [to place wood on it. Doing so would have damaged the garment]. 

What is the reason that the Master did not wear his shoes the entire way, but when he reached water he put on his shoes? He said to them: I am able to see the ground the entire way [so there is no need to wear out my shoes], but I am unable to see the ground in the water. What is the reason why, when the Master reached thorns, he lifted his garments? He said to them: This [my flesh] will heal if it is scratched by thorns, but this [my garment] will not heal if it is torn. 

What is the reason, when the Master reached the city, that the Master’s wife came out adorned? He said to them: So that when I walk through the city I will not direct my eyes toward another woman. What is the reason she entered first, and then the Master entered, and only then we entered? He explained to them: It is because you have not been vetted by me [and I do not know if I can trust you to walk behind my wife].  

What is the reason, when the Master broke bread, that he did not say to us: Come and break bread [as would have been common courtesy toward guests]? He said: Because the bread is not plentiful, and I said to myself: Let me not have the Sages beholden to me for nothing. [So that you would not think that I am offering you food, when in fact I had none for you.] What is the reason that the Master gave the older child one piece of bread and the younger child two? He responded: This older child is at home and can eat when he is hungry, but this younger child sits and studies in the synagogue. 

What is the reason why the clouds began to form in that corner where the Master’s wife was standing? He said: Because my wife is at home, and she gives bread to the poor, the benefit of which is immediate. I give money to the poor, the benefit of which is not immediate [as the poor person must then take the money and purchase food with it]. Alternatively, certain hooligans were in our neighborhood, and I prayed for mercy that they would die; but she prayed for mercy that they would repent, and they repented. 

Hanan HaNehba was the son of Honi HaMe’agel’s daughter. When the world was in need of rain, the Sages would send schoolchildren to him, and they would grab him by the hem of his cloak and say to him: Father, Father, give us rain.  

Hanan said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, act on behalf of these children, who are unable to distinguish between God, their Father in Heaven, who provides rain, and me, the father who does not provide rain. Why was he called Hanan HaNehba? Because he would hide [<i>mahbi</i>] himself in the lavatory [so that people would not treat him with deference]. <source>(<i>Ta’anit</i> 23a) </source>

Two of Honi HaMe’agel’s grandsons, Abba Hilkiya and Hanan HaNehba (literally, the one who hides), followed in the path of their righteous grandfather. When the people were in need of rain, they would ask these Sages to pray on their behalf. We can learn a lesson in ethics and virtue from their condu