I am once again struck by the visceral realities of life in the period. The threat of drought and famine were real, and the rabbi truly had little recourse but prayer. Even the movement of goods through the Mediterranean, hinted at at the bottom of 19a and top of 19b, could not stave off all the famine. As R. Yochanan says on the top of 19b: just having the food does not solve all problems, because one must also have the money to make such purchases.
It's an especially apt comment for a world like ours which could, I am certain, feed everyone, were the distribution problem to be solved. That is, I am sure we produce enough food to fee every hungry person in the world, just having the food is not enough: as R. Yochanan puts it, "there were many swollen bellies in Tiberias because there were no coins." The interplay of wealth and food, which we can more easily gloss over in our world, is nonetheless very much in evidence.
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Well put. I was impressed with the economic understanding put forth in the gemarra on the top of 19b with regard to currency values. They recognize that the value of different currencies fluctuate and thereby causes economic hardship despite the amount of rain that falls in a given place.
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