שלח לו שמעון בן שטח אלמלא חוני אתה גוזרני עליך נידוי שאילו שנים כשני אליהו שמפתחות גשמים בידו של אליהו לא נמצא שם שמים מתחלל על ידך
Thereupon Simeon B'Shetah sent this message to him, Were it not that you are Honi I would have placed you under the ban; for were the years like the years [of famine in the time] of Elijah<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Cf. I Kings XVII, 1ff.');"><sup>5</sup></span> would not the name of Heaven be profaned through you?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [Honi would not have hesitated to force, so to speak, the hand of Heaven even in the face of an oath such as Elijah had made in the name of God that there would be no rain for years (1 Kings XVII, 1ff) .]');"><sup>6</sup></span> But what shall I do unto you who actest petulantly before the Omnipresent and He grants your desire, as a son who acts petulantly before his father and he grants his desires; thus he says to him, Father, take me to bathe in warm water, wash me in cold water, give me nuts, almonds, peaches, and pomegranates and he gives them unto him.
Rashi on Taanit
If you were not Choni and a great man.
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Rashi on Taanit
For ostracism: As we ostracize [somone] on account of the honor of the master. And he cast [irreverent] statements and said, "I did not ask for this."
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Rashi on Taanit
For were these years like the years of Elijah: [A time of] a decree on the stoppage of the rain.
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Rashi on Taanit
And the key for rain was in Elijah’s hands: We teach [this version of the text].
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Rashi on Taanit
Wouldn’t the name of Heaven have been desecrated: By way of a question. As Eliyahu had sworn (I Kings 17:1), "As the Lord lives [...], there will be no dew or rain except by my word"; and you swore that you would not move until rain falls.
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Rashi on Taanit
Wouldn’t the name of Heaven have been desecrated: As one or the other would come to a vain oath.
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Chidushei Agadot on Taanit
Wouldn’t the name of Heaven have been desecrated by you, etc.: See the commentary of Rashi. However the expression, "desecrated by you," would appear to be better explained [as], that you would come to a false oath, since the key to stop the rain is in the hands of Eliyahu.
