Honi ha-M'agel

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Gravestone of Honi

Honi ha-Me'agel (חוני המעגל Khoni, Choni, or Ḥoni, HaMa'agel; lit. Honi the Circle-drawer) was a Jewish scholar of the 1st-century BC, prior to the age of the tannaim, the scholars from whose teachings the Mishnah was derived.


Circle drawing incident[edit]

His surname is derived from an incident in which, according to the Talmud, his prayer for rain was miraculously answered. On one occasion, when God did not send rain well into the winter (in the geographic regions of Israel, it rains mainly in the winter), Honi drew a circle in the dust, stood inside it, and informed God that he would not move until it rained. When it began to drizzle, Honi told God that he was not satisfied and expected more rain; it then began to pour. He explained that he wanted a calm rain, at which point the rain calmed to a normal rain.[1]

Tomb of Honi ha-M'agel in Hatzor HaGlilit, Galilee


Two variations of this story appear in the Talmud, in Taanit 19a[2] and 23a.[3]

Carob tree story[edit]

Honi was journeying on the road and he saw a man planting a carob tree. He asked him, How long does it take (for this tree) to bear fruit? The man replied, Seventy years. He then further: asked him: Are you certain that you will live another seventy years? The man replied: No. But I am planting this not for myself, but for the other generations to come after me and the generations to follow those. Honi then shrugged as he walked away from the man. Later that day, he sat down to take a rest. But he had not rested for a usual amount of time. He had rested for seventy years, and rocks had formed a tent-like structure around him. When he woke, he saw a man picking a tree with carobs all over it. He asked, Are you the man that planted this tree? The man replied, No. But my grandfather planted it for me. And my father told me that his father planted this tree for me. [4]

The lesson that is taken away from this story is that if you give something you will not be alive to see, you are still giving. No matter what. This is also the story that is mainly associated with the Jewish holiday of Tu'Bishvat.[citation needed]

The story provides a Jewish version on the theme of a person or persons (as the Seven Sleepers) sleeping for many decades and waking to find a changed world - a theme found in many divergent cultures and traditions, and in modern times associated especially with the Rip Van Winkle story.


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 BC, Honi was captured by the followers of Hyrcanus besieging Jerusalem and was asked to pray for the demise of their opponents. Honi, however, prayed: "Lord of the universe, as the besieged and the besiegers both belong to Your people, I beseech You not to answer the evil prayers of either." After this, the followers of Hyrcanus stoned him to death.[5]

The Talmud records a different story of his death, which the aforementioned carob tree story is part of:

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). [Honi asked] Is it possible for seventy years to be like a dream? How could anyone sleep for seventy years?"

The Maharsha 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.[4]

Honi's grave is found near the town of Hatzor HaGlilit in northern Israel.

See also[edit]


  1. ^ "Talmud, Taanit 19a". Chabad.org.
  2. ^ Taanit 19a
  3. ^ Taanit 23a
  4. ^ a b c Ta'anit 23a
  5. ^ Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 14.2.1 21.