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    Chapter 1 · MeEimatai

    Three keys

    Lesson 2 of 15 22 min

    Rabbi Yochanan lists three keys held by God and not entrusted to a messenger: rain, childbirth, and resurrection; this statement is not presented here as an explanation of rain's placement in prayer.

    Lesson goals
    • 01Restate the source in your own words.
    • 02Identify the central distinction and explain its significance.
    • 03Apply the distinction in the exercise without adding a ruling absent from the source.
    01

    Source and decoding - Taanit 2a

    Taanit 2a
    שְׁלֹשָׁה מַפְתְּחוֹת בְּיָדוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שֶׁלֹּא נִמְסְרוּ בְּיַד שָׁלִיחַ, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן: מַפְתֵּחַ שֶׁל גְּשָׁמִים, מַפְתֵּחַ שֶׁל חַיָּה, וּמַפְתֵּחַ שֶׁל תְּחִיַּית הַמֵּתִים.

    Rabbi Yochanan: three keys are in God’s hand and were not given to a messenger: the key of rain, the key of childbirth, and the key of resurrection.

    Rabbi Yochanan: three keys are in God’s hand and were not given to a messenger: the key of rain, the key of childbirth, and the key of resurrection. All three point to areas with no intermediary.

    02

    Building the reasoning

    1. 1Restate the source in your own words.
    2. 2Identify the central distinction and explain its significance.
    3. 3Apply the distinction in the exercise without adding a ruling absent from the source.
    03

    Terms to decode

    מפתח
    key
    שליח
    an agent acting on behalf of the sender; here, the three keys were not entrusted to such an agent
    חיה
    a woman giving birth
    04

    Before moving on

    Insight

    This lesson is a study framework, not a halachic ruling. Check everything in the sources, and bring practical questions to a rabbi.

    05

    The sugya's flow - from Mishnah to conclusion

    1. 01·Mishnah / BaraitaTaanit 2a

      שְׁלֹשָׁה מַפְתְּחוֹת בְּיָדוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שֶׁלֹּא נִמְסְרוּ בְּיַד שָׁלִיחַ

      Rabbi Yochanan's statement: Three keys are held by God and were not handed over to an agent: rain, childbirth, and resurrection.

    2. 02·RayaTaanit 2a

      The Gemara brings a biblical verse as proof for the key of rain: 'The Lord will open for you His good treasury.'

    3. 03·The Gemara asksTaanit 2a

      The Gemara asks from where the source for the key of childbirth is derived.

    4. 04·RayaTaanit 2a

      The Gemara brings proof from the verse said regarding Rachel: 'And God remembered Rachel, and listened.'

    5. 05·Conclusion of the sugyaTaanit 2a

      The Gemara concludes that these vital realms remain under God's exclusive control without any intermediary.

    Practice

    Write in one sentence what the three keys share.

    Lesson wrap-up

    The three keys emphasize that rain, childbirth, and resurrection are held by God and were not entrusted to a messenger.

    Check your understanding

    Test yourself before marking the lesson complete.

    Question 1 of 3

    How many keys were not given to a messenger?

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