Ascetic Perceptions in the Babylonian Talmud: Rava, Rav Judah, and the Drought

Abstract: This article explores the questionable standpoint of the Babylonian Talmud concerning standardized fasting rituals such as fasting for rain, as shown in two adjacent stories from the third chapter of tractate Taʿanit (b. Taʿanit 24a–b). Using literary methods, it examines the intertwined legends. It shows that together they form a diachronic line between a pseudo-mythical and threatening past ruled by holy sages and their magical acts and the established, yet limited, ritualistic rabbinic logic in the Amoraic present. By considering the cultural engagements of rabbinic thought with the diverse monastic, Manichaean, and Zoroastrian perceptions of the deprived body as a theurgical instrument, this article proposes that the Babylonian Talmud conveys a moderate ascetic doctrine, which criticizes both standardized ascetic rituals and the performance of the charismatic holy man. This indicates that the most disturbing element of asceticism, according to the Babylonian tractate Taʿanit, is the theological problem embodied in the mortal attempt to coerce God into taking a specific course of action using bodily deprivation as a channel of divine negotiation.