Honi HaMe'agel

Honi HaMe'agel (Hebrew: חוני המעגל, romanized: Ḥōnī hamMəʿaggēl, lit.

His surname is derived from an incident in which, according to the Babylonian Talmud, his prayer for rain was miraculously answered.

However, Simeon ben Shetach, the brother of Salome Alexandra, queen regnant of Hasmonean Judah, excused him, saying that Honi had a special relationship with God.

[3] Two variations of a story are recorded—in the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds—in which Honi fell asleep for decades before awakening.

The Babylonian Talmud tells the following story, in which Honi slept for 70 years,[4] before awaking and then dying: Rabbi Yohanan said: "This righteous man Honi was troubled throughout the whole of his life concerning the meaning of the verse, 'A Song of Ascents: When the Lord brought back those that returned to Zion, we were like dreamers' (Psalms 126:1).

He then caught sight of his ass which had given birth to several generations of mules, and he returned home.

He remained sound asleep for seventy years, until the Temple was destroyed and it was rebuilt a second time.

He went in and illuminated the place and recited the following verse of Scripture, "When the Lord restored the fortune of Zion, we were like those who dream" (Ps.

According to one source, this difference could be specifically because of the two pieces this story is based on: Honi's death in Josephus and the Epimenides sleep theme.

According to Josephus in Antiquities of the Jews, Honi met his end in the context of conflict between the Hasmonean brothers Hyrcanus II, backed by the Pharisees and advised by Antipater the Idumaean, and Aristobulus II, backed by the Sadducees.

Around 63 BCE, Honi was captured by the followers of Hyrcanus besieging Jerusalem and was asked to pray for the demise of their opponents.

Samuel Eidels (d. 1631) explains the discrepancy between the Talmud and Josephus by stating that Honi was presumed killed by Hyrcanus II's men, but in reality was put into a deep sleep or coma for 70 years, and only then died.

Samuel Klein suggested that the term "circle maker" relates to Honi's profession as a roofer (in Hebrew Me'agel).

[9] Rollers for compressing plaster and mud on roofs during the Hellenistic period were found at Mount Gerizim.