(Two of the “Four Who Entered the Pardes”)
THE TALMUD relates that four of the most outstanding scholars entered the “Pardes”—the garden of knowledge—and with the power of their reason they sought to discover the causes underlying man’s life and the mysteries of God.*The literal meaning of “Pardes” is a grove. The entrance of the four into the “Pardes” is explained by some commentators to show that by the power of sacred names they ascended heaven and were punished for looking at the “Shechina”. Later commentators explained the word “Pardes” according to its letters as symbolizing a four branched system of expounding the Torah— Peshat, (פּשט) simple explanation; Remez (רמז) hidden hints; Derash, (דרש) exposition; Sod, (סוד) mystical interpretation. Describing what they saw in the “Pardes”, the Talmud states that Rabbi Akiba warned his colleagues that when they come to the place of the “pure marble” they should not shout, “Water”. Rashi comments on this that the marble resembled water and Rabbi Akiba intended that they should not become discouraged and say: “Here is a body of water; how can we cross it?”)
The affliction of the Jews were then indescribable. The Roman government endeavored with all its might to erase all trace of the Jewish faith. Since the Temple was destroyed, Judaism could only survive through the observance of such laws as had no direct relation to the temple. The government therefore prescribed the death sentence for the observance of Sabbath, for studying the Torah or for the circumcision of male children. If a person openly renounced Judaism, he joined the Romans or some other nationality and was granted Roman citizenship which insured his security.
Four of the outstanding scholars therefore attempted to discover the reason why God inflicted this suffering upon the Jews. These four were: Simeon ben Azai, Simeon ben Zoma, Elisha ben Avuyah and Rabbi Akiba. Ben Azai soon died from too much pondering; Ben Zoma lost his reason; Elisha ben Avuya “cut down the plants,” believing that God abandoned the Jews he said, “Of what avail is the Torah and why should we suffer to observe it?” He then abandoned the faith and became “Acher”, a stranger, an open enemy of the Torah and of those who clung to it. Only Rabbi Akiba suffered no harm and emerged unchanged from this venture. Rabbi Akiba’s strong spirit which mocked at death and which, at the very moment that Romans were tearing his flesh with iron combs, gave him the strength to declare that he was happy to be able to show his love of God even at the price of his life, this spirit penetrated the mysteries of Pardes without suffering any injury.
Simeon ben Azai, who died after pondering the mysteries, and Simeon ben Zoma who lost his reason, were members of Rabbi Akiba’s academy and were recognized as prominent disciples whose opinions were frequently sought.1)קדושין מ״ט ב׳, סנהדרין י״ז ב׳. They were considered capable of heading separate academies although they were not confirmed2)הוריות ב׳ ב׳. and special honor was accorded to Ben Azai. Although unordained, he was at times called Rabbi3)יבמות פרק ד׳ משנה י״ג, ידים פרק ג׳ משנה ה׳. and when he differed with Rabbi Akiba his opinion is mentioned first at least on one occasion.4)קהלת רבה פּרשה י׳ פּיסקא א׳. At other times Rabbi Akiba retracted his opinions in favor of those of Ben Azai5)תוספתא שביעית פרק ב׳. and once Ben Azai vanquished Rabbi Akiba in a debate to the complete satisfaction of the other scholars.6)תוספתא בבא מציעא פרק ג׳.
At first Ben Azai studied with Rabbi Tarphon7)תוספתא ברכות פרק ד׳. then with Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah and later he became a disciple and friend of Rabbi Akiba.8)בבא בתרא קנ״ח ב׳. He then had many opportunities to inform Rabbi Akiba of the legal opinions of Rabbi Joshua.9)יומא כ״ה א׳, יבמות מ״ט א׳. but his adoration of Rabbi Akiba was so great that he once said that in his eyes “all the scholars taken together are of no more worth than the shell of garlic, except Rabbi Akiba,” to whom he referred as “the man with the bald head”.10)בכורות נ״ח א׳. This contempt for the scholars of his time was expressed by Ben Azai, who on another occasion warned against underestimating any person and believing anything to be impossible.11)אבות פרק ד׳ משנה ג׳.
Ben Azai engaged in his scholastic work in Tiberias. He was famous for his unusual diligence and after his death it was said that all diligence has departed.12)סוטה מ״ט א׳. His great devotion to learning led him to become estranged from his wife13)סוטה ד׳ ב׳. who was the daughter of Rabbi Akiba. Like her mother, she also sent her husband to an academy.14)כתובות ס״ג א׳. When Ben Azai once declared that “he who does not strive to bring children into the world may be compared to a murderer”, the people said to him “You preach well but you do not practice your own principles.” Ben Azai then answered, “I cannot help it. My heart yearns for the Torah and the world will have to recreate itself without me.”15)יבמות ס״ג ב׳.
At the time of his death, Ben Azai was still a young man. From the descriptions of his life that we possess it is evident that his diligence, his renunciation of the joys of life and his piety contributed to his early death. His piety was known far and wide and people believed that “he who sees Ben Azai in his dream may expect to become pious.”16)ברכות נ״ז ב׳.
There exists another opinion that Ben Azai met with a violent death and that he was one of the first victims of Hadrian, but there is no historical substantiation for this point of view.
Ben Azai’s legal opinions are frequently quoted in the Mishna as in the case of the “red heifer” (פּרה אדומה) and also his belief that the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes are sacred.17)ידים פרק ג׳ משנה ה׳. In this particular instance the discussion ends with the following words: “They agreed and decided according to the words of Ben Azai.” In the question of the advisability of teaching one’s daughters, Ben Azai was of the opinion that every father should teach the Torah to his daughter.18)סוטה ב׳ א׳. He also expressed an opinion regarding the time of the offering of tithes from cattle.19)בכורות פרק ט׳ משנה ה׳.
Ben Azai’s philosophy of life is expressed in some of his teachings which can rank with the most highly civilized ethical precepts. “Everyman whose understanding is clouded by his knowledge,” he said, “should be approved of; but it is a bad sign for a man if his knowledge is clouded by his understanding.”20)תוספתא ברכות פרק ג׳.
His favorite maxim stated, “Be swift to fulfill a minor commandment even as you would an important one and flee from every transgression. For the reward of a commandment is a commandment and the reward of transgression is trangression.21)אבות פרק ד׳ משנה ב׳. A more ample version of this maxim is given in Aboth d’Rabbi Nathan: “If you have fulfilled a commandment without regret you will be led to fulfilling other commandments; but if you have committed a trangression without regretting it, you will be led to commit other transgressions.”
“The observance of God’s commandments,” he said, “requires a strong will. Thus we are commanded not to eat blood and the Bible says ‘Be strong not to eat the blood’. Even though this is an easy commandment to fulfill we must be strong; how much stronger must we be to fulfill other commandments.”
He also said, “When does God show the just men the reward that He has prepared for them? When they are near death.”22)בראשית רבה פּרשה ס״ב, תנחומא פּרשת פּקודי.
Another time he advised as follows: “When you seek a place to sit on, chose one which is a few steps lower than what you think you deserve. For it is better that you be told to go up rather than to descend.”23)אבות דר׳ נתן פרק כ״ה. The most important element of the Jewish faith is the Torah. Of this Ben Azai said: “Whoever allows himself to be humiliated for the honor of the Torah, will be honored in the end, and he who degrades himself for the sake of the words of the Torah will be elevated in the end.”24)בראשית רבה פּרשה א׳, אבות דר׳ נתן פרק י״א.
Ben Azai expressed numerous interesting opinions regarding various omens accompanying death according to which it was possible to judge the life of the patient. It is a good omen for a man to die with a clear conscience and without regretting his life. Other good signs are if wise men are pleased with one; when the patient dies with his face turned upward and looking at the people surrounding him and when his face becomes suffused with color.25)אבות דר׳ נתן פרק כ״ה.
One time the people asked Ben Azai to expound the Lamentations. He then said: “The Lamentations begin with the word ‘Eicha’ and it should be explained according to its letters. The Aleph indicates that the Jews were exiled when they denied their only God; the Yud shows that they abandoned the ten commandments; the Chaf proves that they did not fulfill the commandment of circumsion which was given twenty generations after the creation of the world; the Heh shows that they denied the five books of the Torah.”26)איכה רבתי פּרשה א׳. (Use is here made of the substitution of Hebrew letters for numbers: Aleph, 1; Chaf, 20; Yud, 10; Heh, 5.)
Legend relates that when Ben Azai was expounding he was surrounded by tongues of flame. The people thought that he was explaining the mysteries of the “Divine Chariot,” but it was only an ordinary exposition of the Torah. He then explained that the tongues of fire were caused by the joy of the Torah which remains new as on the day that it was given from Mount Sinai. Since the Torah was handed down in fire it is always accompanied by fire.27)שיר השירים רבה פּרשה א׳ פּיסקא י׳.
Aside from his underestimation of his colleagues, Ben Azai scorned those scholars who were not interested in gaining learning but merely wished to test their teachers. Of such people he said, “It is easier to conquer the whole world than to sit in front of people who wrap themselves in their shawls and whose faces one cannot see.”28)אבות דר׳ נתן פרק כ״ה.
In his method of exposition Ben Azai followed in the footsteps of Rabbi Akiba. At times he amplified words of Rabbi Akiba with his own interpretation. Thus Rabbi Akiba said that it was because of the merit of the Jews that God spoke to Moses. Ben Azai expanded this statement to indicate that not only to Moses but to all other prophets God spoke because of the merit of the Jews. Another time he modified Rabbi Akiba’s explanation of the duty to serve God with one’s whole soul in a manner that would prove that man must be ready to give his soul for the privilege of observing God’s commandments.29)תוספתא ברכות פרק ו׳.
Ben Azai believed in moralizing people with a view to improving them. When he was asked: “How far must one go in his moralizing, whether until the person preached to is ready to fight or to curse, he answered that it was enough if such a person began to scold.30)ערכין ט״ז ב׳.
* * *
Simeon ben Zoma was another one of the four who entered the “Garden of Knowledge” in an attempt to determine the ways of heaven and earth and to fathom that which was before the world was created and that which will be after the world will cease to be.
Together with Ben Azai he was a pupil of Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah and later they both joined the academy of Rabbi Akiba who treated them as comrades and disciples. At the same time that Ben Azai met with an untimely death as a result of his attempt to fathom problems which no human reason can conceive, Ben Zoma went out of his mind and also died soon after that. Despite the fact that he was not ordained, Ben Zoma is twice referred to as Rabbi in the Talmud31)ברכות ו׳ ב׳, חולין פּ״ג א׳. and he was listed among those disciples who attended the Sanhedrin and whose opinions were sought in discussing the laws.32)סנהדרין י״ז ב׳. He was also prominent as a preacher and at his death it was said that good preaching has ceased.33)סוטה מ״ט א׳. The high esteem in which his education was held by the people may be gauged from the popular belief that a person who sees Ben Zoma in his dream may surely expect an increase in wisdom.34)ברכות נ״ז ב׳.
Very few of his Scriptural interpretations have come down to us, but those that are in existence indicate a brilliant mind that was somewhat eccentric from too much pondering. The Midrash cites35)בראשית רבה פּרשה ד׳ פּיסקא ז׳. that when the verse “And God made the sky” was being discussed Ben Zoma severely questioned its implication that God had to make the sky instead of creating it by pronouncing the word. The scholars frequently turned to him for advice and his opinion was taken as that of an authority.36)ברכות מ״א ב׳, חגיגה י״ד ב׳. When the question of the offerings that were to be brought by a Nazarite was being debated, Ben Zoma differed with his teacher Rabbi Joshua and his opinion was established as the law.37)נזיר נ״ט ב׳.
When Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah was elected Nasi, he declared that he could never convince his colleagues of the necessity of reciting the chapter on “Tzitzith”, which includes the mention of the deliverance from Egypt, during the evening Shema until Ben Zoma proved it from the Biblical verse “And you shall remember the day of your deliverance from Egypt all the days of your life” by concluding that the word “all” implies the obligation to mention the deliverance at night as well as during the day. But Ben Zoma could not understand the saying of the scholars that the deliverance from Egypt would have to be mentioned even after the coming of the Messiah until they derived their conclusion from the same word.38)ברכות י״ב ב׳, תוספתא ברכות פרק א׳, מכילתא פּ׳ בא ט״ז.
The favorite maxim of Ben Zoma stated, “Who is wise? He who learns from every man! Who is strong? He who conquers his passions! Who is rich? He who is satisfied with his portion! Who is honored? He who honors others!”39)אבות פרק ה׳ משנה א׳. Aboth d’Rabbi Nathan adds the following to this maxim: “Who is a most modest man? He who is as modest as Moses! One who controls his passions may be compared to a man who conquers a city full of warriors.”
It is related that Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah once walked on the military highway and he met Ben Zoma who was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he did not even notice his teacher and did not greet him. Rabbi Joshua stopped Ben Zoma and asked him: “Whence do you come and whither are you going, Ben Zoma?” And he replied: “I was contemplating the upper and the lower waters and I have discovered that the space between them is no more than the breadth of three fingers.”*The Biblical verse “Let there be a sky within the water and let it separate between water and water” was interpreted by the scholars to indicate that there exists water in heaven just as on earth. But on this occasion Ben Zoma’s words are unintelligible as is also the subsequent remark of Rabbi Joshua.
It is characteristic of the four who entered the Pardes that they all spoke of the upper waters. Before entering the Pardes, Rabbi Akiba warned them not to exclaim “Water, water” when they will see the clear marble stones.40)חגיגה ט״ו א׳.
When Rabbi Joshua heard his words he remarked to his pupils, “You see, Ben Zoma still stands without.” A short time after that Ben Zoma died.41)תוספתא חגיגה פרק ב׳.
Another time Ben Zoma saw a great concourse of people and he said, “Praised be God who probes all mysteries and who created so many people, no two of which have like faces nor like opinions and He nevertheless knows what transpires in the heart of each of them; and all these He created to serve me.”
Ben Zoma also marvelled at human progress and said: “Let us consider how much effort Adam had to exert before he could eat a piece of bread. He had to plow the field and sow the seed and harvest the grain then bind and thresh and winnow and select the grains, after that he ground the wheat and sifted the flour and kneaded the dough and baked it and only then could he eat bread; but I rise in the morning and find it all prepared and ready for my use.”
Speaking in the same vein he also said: “Let us consider the efforts of Adam before he had a garment to wear. He had to shear the wool or reap the flax then he had to comb the wool or beat the flax and after that he had to spin and weave it and only then could he wear a garment; but I rise in the morning and find it ready for my use. All the artisans of the world diligently toil to prepare all these for my satisfaction.”
Another time he said: “When a respectable person goes visiting, what does he say? May the name of my host be praised for the effort which he exerted on my behalf. How many wines and cakes and other good things he prepared for my sake. But when an ungrateful man goes visiting, what does he say? Whatever the host did, he did for his own wife and children. For how much did I consume? Only one slice of bread and one piece of cake and one glass of wine.42)ברכות נ״ח א׳, תוספתא ברכות פרק ז׳.
Some commentators explain this saying of Ben Zoma as illustrating the attitudes of various types of people to God who prepared everything for the benefit of humanity. Some are willing to thank Him while others say that no thanks need be given because God wanted to have people on the earth and He therefore had to provide them with all their needs even as He provides for all the other creatures.