Don’t Let The Sun Come Down On Me

The Gemara (Avodah Zarah 25a) says that the sun stood still for three people: Moshe Rabbeinu, Yehoshua, and Nakdimon ben Gurion. Yehoshua was fighting against five kings to defend the Giv’onim, with whom they had a peace treaty. It was erev Shabbos and the war was not won yet. Yehoshua davened and Hashem granted them extra time to complete the war before Shabbos. There are various opinions as to how much extra time was miraculously given to them. According to some, it was as much as 48 hours.

The miracle of the sun standing still for Moshe Rabbeinu is not written anywhere in the Torah. In fact, there is a difference of opinion as to when that miracle occurred. It happened either during the war against Sichon or the war against Amalek. We will discuss Nakidimon ben Gurion shortly.

Tosefos asks why the Gemara doesn’t also list Yaakov Avinu among the people for whom the daylight was altered. After he was wounded by the Sar shel Eisav, the sun rose early to heal him. Tosefos answers that the extra time allotted to that day simply compensated for when the sun set earlier when Yaakov was leaving Be’er Sheva. The sun rising early for Yaakov Avinu was miraculous, but it wasn’t solely for his benefit. It was also to keep the world’s time in sync. The three people listed in the Gemara had the sun stand still just for them.

Tosefos further notes that extra time was allotted in a day for King Chizkiyah. Hashem had decreed that Chizkiyah should die prematurely. When Chizkiyah found out about the decree, he engaged in teshuvah and tefillah. Hashem accepted his repentance, and the decree was torn up. As a sign that his prayers were answered, the sun shone extra hours that day.

Why isn’t Chizkiyah on the list of people for whom the daylight was extended? Tosefos gives a similar answer to before: There was an ulterior purpose here as well. The sun had set early on the day of wicked Achaz’s burial. Hashem performed this miracle so that the populace would not eulogize an evil person. Hashem wanted to keep the world’s time in sync, so there was a day that would be extended. Hashem chose the day that Chizkiyah did teshuvah as a sign that his teshuvah was accepted. So there were two reasons that particular day was extended; it wasn’t solely for Chizkiyah’s sake. Hence, Chizkiyah did not make the list.

The Ra’avad offers a different answer for why Chizkiyah HaMelech and Yaakov Avinu are absent from the list. For Moshe Rabbeinu, Yehoshua, and Nakdimon ben Gurion, the sun stood still. For Yaakov Avinu, it rose early. For Chizkiyah, the sun went backwards. Having the orbits of the planets suddenly stop, thereby causing the sun to virtually halt, and still have the universe survive is a bigger miracle than having the sun rise early or go back along its orbit. Only the people for whom the bigger miracle was performed made the list. However, the Ra’avad’s answer is at odds with the Gevuras Ari, as I will explain.

Nakdimon ben Gurion’s story is mentioned in Ta’anis (19b–20a):

Once it happened when all Israel came up on pilgrimage (oleh regel) to Jerusalem that there was no water available for drinking. Thereupon Nakdimon ben Gurion approached a certain lord and said to him: “Loan me 12 wells of water for the pilgrims, and I will repay you 12 wells of water; and if I do not, I will give you instead 12 talents of silver.” The lord agreed, and they set a date for (re)payment.

When the time came for repayment and no rain had yet fallen, the lord sent a message to Nakdimon in the morning: “Send me either the water or the money of mine that you have.” Nakdimon replied, “I still have time; all day, in its entirety, is mine.” At midday the lord again sent him a message: “Send me either the water or the money of mine that you have.” Nakdimon replied, “I still have time left today.”

Late in the afternoon, the lord again sent him the message demanding payment of the water or the money. Nakdimon again replied, “I still have time left today.” Thereupon the lord sneeringly said, “The whole year has passed and rain has not fallen; now [in the short time remaining] rain will fall?” Thereupon he repaired in a happy mood to the baths. (The Maharsha explains that his intent was possibly to ridicule Nakdimon and the Jewish people, as if to say, “You don’t even have enough water to drink, and I have plenty—enough even to bathe in.”)

Meanwhile, while the lord had gone gleefully to the baths, Nakdimon entered the Beis HaMikdash sadly. He wrapped himself and stood in prayer: “Master of the Universe! It is revealed and known before You that I have not done this for my honor nor for the honor of my father’s house, but for Your honor have I done this, in order that water be available for the pilgrims.”

Immediately, the sky became overcast with clouds and there was a downpour of rain until the 12 wells were filled with water to a level higher than they were the year before. As the lord came out of the baths, Nakdimon ben Gurion came out from the Beis HaMikdash. The two met, and Nakdimon said to the lord, “Give me the money for the additional water of mine that you have.”

The latter replied, “I know that the Holy One, blessed be He, disturbed the world only for your sake, yet my claim against you for the money still holds, for the sun had already set—the rain that fell is mine [and your debt is still due].” Nakdimon thereupon reentered the Beis HaMikdash, wrapped himself, and stood in prayer: “Master of the Universe! Make it known that You have beloved ones in Your world.”

The clouds then immediately dispersed, and the sun broke through.

The simple understanding of this Gemara is that the sun stood still for a while, temporarily obscured by the clouds. This is indeed how the Ra’avad mentioned above explains it. The Gevuras Ari, however, explains that the sun had in fact set, but Hashem performed a miracle and brought the sun back out.

As for the fate of Nakdimon ben Gurion, the following Gemara (Kesubos 66b) is apropos: Once Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai was riding on a donkey, leaving the city of Jerusalem, and his students were walking behind him. He saw a young woman who was gathering barleycorns from the dung-droppings left by the animals of Arabs.

When this impoverished young woman saw the great sage, she respectfully covered her face with her hair and approached him with a plea, “O rabbi, please sustain me!”

Rabban Yochanan asked her, “My daughter, who are you?” She replied, “I am the daughter of Nakdimon ben Gurion.” The rabbi continued to inquire, “My daughter, the wealth of your father—where has it gone?” She responded, “Rabbi, do they not say this proverb in Jerusalem: ‘The only way to salt [i.e., preserve] money is to give it away? The only way to guarantee that you will keep your money is by giving your money to charity!’” [But Nakdimon ben Gurion did not disburse charity properly and therefore he lost all of his money.]

The Talmud concludes: How can anyone say that Nakdimon ben Gurion did not give charity? Have we not learned: “They would say about Nakdimon ben Gurion that when he walked from his residence to the house of study they would roll out an exquisite silk runner before him and he would allow the poor to walk behind and pick up the expensive material for themselves”? The Gemara offers two answers. One is that he gave tzedakah, but his primary motivation was for his own honor. The second answer is that although he gave an enormous amount of tzedakah, a man of his means was expected to give even more.

The commentators question the first answer. Isn’t charity given for ulterior motives also a mitzvah? They explain that charity given to further a personal agenda is indeed a mitzvah. However, that type of charity does not afford the protection of one’s wealth; only the merit of charity given for the proper reasons has the special fringe benefit of safeguarding one’s assets from loss.

The Maharsha’s commentary on this episode is somewhat enigmatic. He writes, “From here we learn a lesson regarding those people who become wealthy with money that is not justly acquired. These people use their ill-gotten gains to pledge large sums of money during a Mi SheBeirach for their honor and glory. They will not be saved from the punishment of thievery.” The Chasam Sofer wonders where the Maharsha sees this lesson in the aforementioned Gemara. True, the Gemara discusses the giving of charity for the purpose of receiving accolades, but nowhere does it discuss the means by which one attained his affluence.

The Chasam Sofer suggests that perhaps the Maharsha’s source is the Gemara quoted earlier from Ta’anis. When the sun miraculously reappeared, Nakdimon ben Gurion did not give the lord the 12 talents of silver. Perhaps he should have. True, Hashem miraculously brought the sun back out, but the day was already over, and the money was already past due. Perhaps according to the strict letter of the law, Nakdimon was allowed to keep the money. (Maybe actual nightfall, not sunset, should be the determinant—Iyun Yaakov.) Someone of his stature, though, is expected to act according to highest levels of honesty and integrity.

The Chasam Sofer explains that the value of the 12 talents of silver was presumably distributed to charity. (As a general rule, righteous people prefer not to have any benefit from miracles.) Since the charity was given for his honor, he was punished by the loss of his wealth. According to this explanation, the Maharsha holds it was the combination of both factors that brought about the demise of Nakdimon’s fortune: he should not have kept the 12 talents of silver, and he distributed these very same funds to tzedakah for his own honor.

Someone who achieves success using less-than-honest methods may momentarily seem to benefit. However, the Maharsha provides a powerful lesson to us regarding what the end results might be. Hashem should inscribe us all for a year of an honest parnasah tovah.