Abba Hilkiah was the grandson of Honi the Circle Drawer. Once upon a time there was a great drought, and the Jews were anxious for rain, so the rabbis sent to Hilkiah to ask him to pray for rain. When the two rabbis came to his house, they did not find him in, so they went out to the field to look for him. They found him in a vineyard, where he was removing the weeds to prevent their further growth. They greeted him with the words: "The Lord be with you," but he did not even turn his face to them.

When it grew dark, he turned homewards, and the two rabbis followed him. He carried the wood and the spade, which he had used at his work, on one shoulder and his mantle on the other. He walked barefoot all the way, but when he came to a river he put his shoes on. When he came upon thorns in his way, he lifted up his clothes,

but when he was on the highway he did not lift them up. When he came to his house, his wife came out to meet him in her best clothes. He let her go in first, then he went in, and after him the two rabbis. When he sat down at the table, he did not invite the rabbis to eat with him. Then he cut a loaf of bread and gave one slice to his eldest son and two slices to the youngest. Then he whispered to his wife, saying: "I know why the rabbis have come, they want me to pray to God for rain. Come, let us go to the

roof and pray for rain. Maybe God will listen to our prayer and grant us rain. We will then be able to say that the rain did not come because of our entreaties."

So they went up to the roof and Abba Hilkiah stood in one corner and his wife stood in another and they prayed. As they were praying, a rain cloud came up from the corner where his wife was praying, and it began to rain. Then they both came down without saying what they had done, and Rabbi Hilkiah said to the two rabbis: "What is your wish and what has brought you here?"

The two rabbis replied: "The sages sent us here to ask you to pray to God to send rain, for we are in great need of it."

Abba Hilkiah said: "Blessed be the Lord that you do not require my prayer, for it is raining already."

The rabbis replied: "We know very well that the rain has come for the sake of you two, but we should like you to explain your strange behavior on the road, which has made us wonder greatly."

"Very well," he said, "I will explain it to you."

So they said to him: "When we greeted you the first time, why did you not pay any attention to us?"

He replied: "I was hired to work by the day and could not spare the time to speak to you."

Then they said: "Why did you carry the spade and the wood on one shoulder and the mantle on the other? Why did you not carry everything on one shoulder?"

He replied: "The mantle is a borrowed one and was lent to me to wear, but not to carry things upon it."

Then they said again: "Why did you carry the shoes ill your hand all the way and when you had to cross the water you put them on?"

"All along the way," he said, "I could see what I was stepping on, but I could not see in the water, therefore I put my shoes on when I had to cross the water."

Then they said again: "Why did you allow your clothes to hang down all along

the road, and when you came upon thorn bushes you lifted them up? You should have let them hang against the thorns to protect your body."

He replied: "The wounds of the body can be healed, but the tears in the clothes cannot be mended."

Then they said: "Why did your wife come out to meet you in her best clothes?"

He replied: "That I should pay no attention to other women."

Then they said: "Why did you let her go into the house first, then you followed,

and we came in last?"

He said: "Because I did not know whether I could trust you, for it is not wise to assume that a person is honorable, unless one knows him to be such."

Then they asked him: "Why did you not ask us to share your meal?"

He replied: "I saw that there was not enough bread for us all, and I did not want to say one thing and mean another, for it is a great sin to be insincere in one's speech."

Then they said to him: "Friend, why did you give to the eldest son one slice and to the youngest two slices of bread?"

He replied: "The youngest boy is all day at school with the teacher and does not come home, whilst my eldest is always at home, and can eat whenever he likes; therefore I gave him one slice and the other two."

Then they asked again: "Friend, why did the rain cloud come up from the corner where your wife was standing?"

He replied: "Because my wife, being all day in the house, gives food to the poor,

which is more useful to them than money, for if I give them money they must first buy the food before they can eat it. I will also give you another reason. We have bad neighbors, who are great rogues, and I pray for their death, but my wife prays that they should repent and turn away from their evil deeds."