The Tomb of Honi the Circlemaker

Remember in 2019 when I talked about Honi and chutzpah? This story has been made famous in the evangelical Christian world after Mark Batterson published his book, The Circlemaker.

Well, I got to go to Honi's memorial site!

Honi Ha Me'agel was a wise rabbi who lived during the inter-testamental period (the 400 years of silence). At one point during his life, Israel experienced a horrible drought. One day, Honi went out and drew a circle in the ground, saying to God, "I will not leave this circle until you send rain."

A little rain fell, but it wasn't enough. So he said to God, "No, I'm asking for rain to fill wells, and pools, and caves." The rain became a torrential downpour. So he prayed again, "No, softer" and the rain lessened to a life-giving pace.

Now, it's possible to visit Honi's tomb up in the Hula Valley in northern Israel. It has a beautiful view, as you can see above! 

People come from all over to pray at Honi's tomb, much as a Catholic pilgrim might travel to pray at a saint's tomb.

There are two entrances, one for men and one for women. Here's the entrance to the women's section:

And here is what it looks like inside. The book case has prayer books and there are scarves to the side for women to use as head coverings.

The graves of his grandsons are nearby, as well as a school for young boys and a yeshiva for married men. 

Pretty cool!

Honi and Chutzpah

In 2011, Mark Batterson published a book called, The Circle Maker. It took me a while to get around to reading it, mostly because it make instantly trendy (like The Prayer of Jabez years ago) and I sometimes find myself suspicious of things like this—how accurate are they? Are they just popular because of prosperity Gospel? What does the Bible really say?

However, after reading Lois Tverberg's chapter on chutzpah on in Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus, I couldn't help think of this book. Of which... I don't remember much other than that it's based on the premise of the story of a Jewish who lived a century before Jesus named Honi. Apparently, Honi was a humble man who loved God. Once, during a severe drought, the people asked him to pray for rain.

So, Honi went out and drew a circle in the sand. He got in it and prayed for rain, ending with "I'm not leaving this circle until it rains!" 

And it began to rain, just gentle drops. And Honi said, "That's not what I wanted, but rain to fill cisterns, pits, and caverns". 

And it began to rain violently. "So again, he prayed, 'This is not what I wanted, but rain of goodwill, blessing, and graciousness.' Then it began in just the right way, nourishing crops and restoring the land. (page 124 of Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus). 

I love that this story comes from the inter-Testamental period, the 400 years of silence between Malachi and the birth of Jesus in the Gospels, because it shows how there were those who truly loved God and remained faithful during that time. 

Honi is a great example of chutzpah. But while he definitely benefited from the rain as well, I love that this falls in line with Tverberg's principle of chutzpah often being for the sake of others. He wasn't praying rain for himself, but for the community that was suffering greatly and would continue to without it.

I asked this last week, but I'll ask it again. How can we pray with chutzpah for those around us?