Nakdimon ben Gurion and the Twelve Wells
Nakdimon ben Gurion borrows twelve wells of water for the pilgrims, and when the lender demands payment, his prayers bring rain and then make the sun break through.
One time, when all of Bnei Yisrael came up on pilgrimage (oleh regel) to Jerusalem, there was no water available for drinking. 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.” The lord then 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.”)