When Rabbis Go Bad...stories from the Acher side

It is taught in a baraita: 4 entered the orchard. And they are: Ben Azzai, and Ben Zoma, Acher, and Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Akiva said: When you reach the pure marble, do not say "water, water" because as it is said: "He who speaks lies shall not stand before My eyes." (Psalms 101:7) Ben Azzai peeked and died, about him, the verse says: "The death of God's faithful is grievous in God's eye." (Psalms 116: 15) Ben Zoma peeked and was injured (becomes mentally ill). About him the verse says: "If you find honey, eat only what you need, lest you eat too much and throw it up." (Mishlei 25:16). "Other" (Rabbi Elisha ben Abuya) cut down the shoots (saplings). Rabbi Akiva went out in peace.

The Gemara stated earlier that Aḥer chopped down the saplings, becoming a heretic. With regard to him, the verse states: “Do not let your mouth bring your flesh into guilt” (Ecclesiastes 5:5). The Gemara poses a question: What was it that led him to heresy? He saw the angel Mitatron, who was granted permission to sit and write the merits of Israel. He said: There is a tradition that in the world above there is no sitting; no competition; no turning one’s back before Him, i.e., all face the Divine Presence; and no lethargy. Seeing that someone other than God was seated above, he said: Perhaps, the Gemara here interjects, Heaven forbid, there are two authorities, and there is another source of power in control of the world in addition to God. Such thoughts led Aḥer to heresy.

a child: Recite your verse to me. He recited to him: “And you, spoiled one, what are you doing, that you clothe yourself with scarlet, that you deck yourself with ornaments of gold, that you enlarge your eyes with paint? In vain you make yourself fair” (Jeremiah 4:30). He brought him to another synagogue, until he had brought him into thirteen synagogues, where all the children recited to him similar verses that speak of the hopeless situation of the wicked. At the last one, he said to him: Recite your verse to me. He recited to him: “And to the wicked [velerasha] God says, what is it for you to declare My statutes” (Psalms 50:16). The Gemara relates: That child had a stutter, so it sounded as though he were saying to him: Vele’elisha, i.e., and to Elisha, God says. This made Elisha think the child was deliberately insulting him. Some say Aḥer had a knife, and he tore the child apart and sent him to the thirteen synagogues. And others say that Aḥer merely said: Had I a knife, I would have torn him apart. The Gemara relates: When Aḥer passed away, the Heavenly Court declared that he should not be judged, nor brought into the World-to-Come. He should not be judged in a manner befitting his deeds, because he occupied himself with Torah, whose merit protects him. And he should not be brought into the World-to-Come because he sinned. Rabbi Meir said: It is better that he be judged properly and be brought into the World-to-Come. When I die I will request this of Heaven, and I will cause smoke to rise up from his grave, as a sign that he is being sentenced in Gehenna. The Gemara relates: When Rabbi Meir passed away, smoke rose up from the grave of Aḥer, implying that Rabbi Meir’s wish was granted. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Was this a mighty deed on Rabbi Meir’s part, to burn his teacher? Was this the only remedy available? Can it be that there was one Sage among us who left the path and we cannot save him? If we hold him by the hand, who will remove him from our protection; who? Rabbi Yoḥanan continued and said: When I die I will have the smoke extinguished from his grave, as a sign that he has been released from the sentence of Gehenna and brought to the World-to-Come. Indeed, when Rabbi Yoḥanan passed away, the smoke ceased to rise up from the grave of Aḥer. A certain eulogizer began his eulogy of Rabbi Yoḥanan with the following: Even the guard at the entrance could not stand before you, our rabbi. The guard at the entrance to Gehenna could not prevent Rabbi Yoḥanan from arranging the release of Aḥer. The Gemara relates: The daughter of Aḥer came before Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi and said to him: Rabbi, provide me with sustenance, as she was in need of food. He said to her: Whose daughter are you? She said to him: I am the daughter of Aḥer. He said to her, angrily: Is there still of his seed remaining in the world? But isn’t it stated: “He shall have neither son nor grandson among his people or any remaining in his dwellings” (Job 18:19)? She said to him: Remember his Torah, and do not remember his deeds. Immediately, fire descended and licked Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi’s bench. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi wept and said: If God protects the honor of those who treat the Torah with contempt in such a manner, as Aḥer despised the Torah and relinquished its teachings, how much more so would He do for those who treat it with honor. The Gemara poses a question: And Rabbi Meir, how could he learn Torah from the mouth of Aḥer? But didn’t Rabba bar bar Ḥana say that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek Torah from his mouth; for he is an angel of the Lord of hosts” (Malachi 2:7)? The verse teaches: If the rabbi is similar to an angel of the Lord of hosts, perfect in his ways, they should seek Torah from his mouth; but if not, they should not seek Torah from his mouth. Reish Lakish said: Rabbi Meir found a verse and interpreted it homiletically: “Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to My knowledge” (Proverbs 22:17). It does not state “to their knowledge,” but “to My knowledge.” In other words, one must listen to the words of the Sages, despite their flaws, provided that their opinion concurs with that of God. Rav Ḥanina said that one can find support for this idea from here: “Listen, daughter and consider, and incline your ear; forget also your own people and your father’s house” (Psalms 45:11), which likewise indicates that one must listen to the words of a Sage while forgetting, i.e., ignoring, the faulty aspects of his teachings. The Gemara asks: If so, the verses contradict each other, for one source states that one may learn only from a scholar who is perfect in his ways, while the other indicates that it is permitted even to learn from one whose character is flawed. The Gemara answers: This is not difficult. This case, in which it is permitted to a flawed scholar, is referring to an adult; whereas that case, which prohibits doing so, is referring to a minor, who should learn only from a righteous person, so that his ways are not corrupted by a teacher with flawed character. When Rav Dimi came from Eretz Yisrael to Babylonia, he said: In the West, Eretz Yisrael, they say: Rabbi Meir ate a half-ripe date and threw the peel away. In other words, he was able to extract the important content from the inedible shell. Rava taught: What is the meaning of that which is written: “I went down into the garden of nuts, to look at the green plants of the valley” (Song of Songs 6:11)? Why are Torah scholars compared to nuts? To tell you: Just as this nut, despite being soiled with mud and excrement, its content is not made repulsive, as only its shell is soiled; so too a Torah scholar, although he has sinned, his Torah is not made repulsive. The Gemara relates: Rabba bar Sheila found Elijah the prophet, who had appeared to him. He said to Elijah: What is the Holy One, Blessed be He, doing? Elijah said to him: He is stating halakhot transmitted by all of the Sages, but in the name of Rabbi Meir He will not speak. He said to him: Why? He replied: Because he learned halakhot from the mouth of Aḥer. He said to him: Why should he be judged unfavorably for that? Rabbi Meir found a pomegranate and ate its contents while throwing away its peel. He said to him: Indeed, your defense has been heard above. Now God is saying: My son, Meir, says: When a person suffers, e.g., by receiving lashes or the death penalty at the hands of the court, how does the Divine Presence express itself? Woe is Me from My head, woe is Me from My arm, as God empathizes with the sufferer. If the Holy One, Blessed be He, suffers to such an extent over the blood of the wicked, how much more so does He suffer over the blood of the righteous that is spilled. The Gemara relates: Shmuel found Rav Yehuda leaning on the bar of the door, crying. He said to him: Long-toothed one [shinnana], what are you crying for? He said to him: Is it a small matter, that which is written with regard to Sages who have sinned: “Where is he who counted, where is he who weighed? Where is he who counted the towers?” (Isaiah 33:18). He proceeded to explain: “Where is he who counted”; for they would count all the letters of the Torah. “Where is he who weighed”; for they would weigh and compare the minor and major transgressions of the Torah. “Where is he who counted the towers”; for they would teach three hundred halakhot concerning the details of tent impurity involving a wooden closet floating in the air. If they studied a subject so removed from reality in such depths, how much more so did they analyze other issues. And Rabbi Ami said: Doeg asked Ahithophel three hundred questions with regard to a closet floating in the air, as they were both great Torah scholars. And we learned in a mishna (Sanhedrin 90a): Three kings and four commoners have no portion in the World-to-Come, a list that includes Doeg and Ahithophel. If such great Sages could sin and forfeit their share in the World-to-Come, we, who are less knowledgeable than they, what will be of us? He said to him: Long-toothed one, there was mud [tina] in their hearts, i.e., they had certain flaws that prevented their Torah learning from protecting them. The Gemara explains: Aḥer, what was his failing? Greek tunes never ceased from his mouth. He would constantly hum Greek songs, even when he was among the Sages. This shows that from the outset he was drawn to gentile culture and beliefs. Similarly, they said about Aḥer: When he would stand after learning in the study hall, many heretical books, which he had been reading, would fall from his lap. Therefore, he was somewhat unsound even when among the Sages. The gentile philosopher, Nimos HaGardi, asked Rabbi Meir: Does all wool that enters the cauldron to be dyed emerge colored? In other words, do all those who learn Torah emerge as decent and worthy? He said to him: Whoever was clean when he was with his mother, from the outset, will emerge decent and worthy, but all those who were not clean when they were with their mother will not emerge worthy. One who approaches Torah study having been flawed from the outset will not be properly influenced by it. § The Gemara returns to the four who entered the orchard. It is stated above that Rabbi Akiva ascended in safety and descended safely. With regard to him, the verse states: “Draw me, we will run after you; the king has brought me into his chambers” (Song of Songs 1:4). The Gemara relates: And even Rabbi Akiva, the ministering angels sought to push him out of the orchard. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to them: Leave this Elder, for he is fit to serve My glory.

The Gemara relates: When Aḥer passed away, the Heavenly Court declared that he should not be judged, nor brought into the World-to-Come. He should not be judged in a manner befitting his deeds, because he occupiedhimself with Torah, whose merit protects him. And he should not be brought into the World-to-Come because he sinned. Rabbi Meir said: It is better that he be judged properly and be brought into the World-to-Come. When I die I will request this of Heaven, and I will cause smoke to rise up from his grave, as a sign that he is being sentenced in Gehenna. The Gemara relates: When Rabbi Meir passed away, smoke rose up from the grave ofAḥer, implying that Rabbi Meir’s wish was granted....

The Gemara relates: The daughter of Aḥer came before Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi and said to him: Rabbi, provide me with sustenance, as she was in need of food. He said to her: Whose daughter are you? She said to him: I am the daughter of Aḥer. He said to her, angrily: Is there still of his seedremaining in the world? But isn’t it stated: “He shall have neither son nor grandson among his people or any remaining in his dwellings” (Job 18:19)? She said to him: Remember his Torah, and do not remember his deeds. Immediately, fire descended and licked Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi’s bench. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi wept and said: If God protects the honor of those who treat the Torah with contempt in such a manner, as Aḥer despised the Torah and relinquished its teachings, how much more so would He do for those who treat it with honor.

... When Rav Dimi came [from Israel], he said, "They say in the west (ie. Israel): 'Rabbi Meir ate a date and threw away the kernel.'" Rava expounded: "What is [the meaning of] the verse, 'To the garden of almonds I went down, to see the streams of water... (Song of Songs 6:11)-' why are scholars compared to almonds? To say to you, Just like an almond, even though it is dirty with mud and manure, what is inside it is not spoiled, so too a scholar, even though he has rotted, his Torah is not spoiled."

Rabba the son of Shila came upon Elijah. He said to him, "What does the Holy One, Blessed be He, do?" He said to him, "He says, 'I have heard [this teaching] from the mouth of all the rabbis (ie. this from this rabbi, that from that rabbi, etc.)', and 'from the mouth of Rabbi Meir', He does not say." He said to him, "Why?" Because he learned teachings from the mouth of Acher. He said to him, "Why [is this a disqualification]? Rabbi Meir found a pomegranate; he ate the inside and threw away the peel!" He said to him, "Now He says, 'Meir, my son [instead of 'Rabbi Meir']

says, 'When a person is punished, what does the [Divine] presence articulate? 'I am burdened by my head [which breathed life into the person], I am burdened by my arm [which created the person].' If so, the Holy One, Blessed be He, is pained over the blood of the wicked; logically, a fortiori, [He is pained] over the spilled blood of the righteous.'"

Acher, what [led him astray]? A Greek song never ceased from his mouth. They said about Acher, that when he would stand up in the house of study, many heretical books would fall from his lap. Nimos the weaver asked Rabbi Meir, "[Does] all the wool that goes into the dyeing pot come out [colored]?" He said to him, "All that were clean by their mother come out [colored]; all that were not clear by their mother do not come out [colored]." Rabbi Akiva ascended in peace and descended in peace, and upon him the verse says, "Draw me after you; let us run (Song of Songs 1:4)." And even Rabbi Akiva, the servicing angels wanted to push him [away]. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to them, "Leave this elder alone, for he is worthy to use my honor."

Draw me after you, we will run (Songs 1:4) - Rabbi Meir was siting and expounding in the Beit Midrash of Tiberias. His teacher Elisha passed riding on a horse on Shabbat. They came and told him: Behold! Your teacher is outside! He stopped his expounding and went after him. He said: What were you expounding today? He answered: (Job 42:12) "So Ad-nai blessed the latter end of Job [more than his beginning]" He asked: And what did did you open your expounding with? He said: "[And Ad-nai returned the turn of events of Job, when he prayed for his friends] and Ad-nai gave Job twice as much as he had before" (Job 42:10) - that God duplicated his possessions. He said: Oy for those who are gone and can't be found anymore! Your teacher Akiva would not have expounded like this, rather, he would have said that "Ad-nai blessed the end of Job because of the beginning" - on the merit of the mitzvot and good deeds that he had from the outset. He asked: And what else have you been expounding? He said: "Better the end of something than its beginning" (Kohelet 7:8). He asked: And what did you open your expounding with? He answered: A man who had children in his young age, and they died, and in his old age he had more children that remained - this is "better the end than the beginning." He said: Oy for those who are gone and are missed! Your teacher Akiva would not have expounded this! Rather, "better the end of something than its beginning" it is to be applied to something that is good from the beginning - so this happened to me: My father Abuyah was one of the notables of Jerusalem. On the day he came to circumcise me, he called all the notables in Jerusalem and sat them on one house; and Rabi Eliezer and Rabi Yehoshua in another house. After they ate and drunk, they sang, and clapped their hands and danced. Rabi Eliezer said to Rabi Yehoshua: Since they are occupied with what is theirs, let's occupy ourselves with what is ours. And they sat and occupied themselves with words of Torah. From Torah to Prophets. And from Prophets to Writings. And a fire came from heaven, and enveloped them. Abuyah said to them: My teachers,why have you come to burn my house down on me? They said to him: Chas veshalom! [Mercy and peace!] Rather, we were sitting and going over words of Torah, and from Torah to Prophets and from Prophets to Writings and the words were as joyful as when they were given on Sinai, and the fire was consuming them as they were consumed in Sinai, and the main thing of their being given in Sinai was solely [being given] on fire "And the mountain was on fire up to the heart of heaven" (Deut. 4:11) My father Abuya said to them: My teachers, if the power of Torah is such - if this child remains alive for me, I will dedicate him to Torah. Since his intention was not for Heaven, Torah did not remain alive in that man. He said to him: What other expounding did you give? He said to him: "Gold and glass cannot equal it [neither shall the exchange thereof be vessels of fine gold] (Job 28:17)" He asked him: And what did you open it with? He said: Words of Torah are difficult to acquire like vessels of gold, and are easy to loose like vessels of glass. And just like vessels of gold and glass can be broken and remade as vessels, so too a disciple of the sages that forgot his learning can return and relearn as in the beginning. He said to him: Stop here, Meir, up to here is the Shabbat limit. He said: And how do you know? He said: I have been counting the paces of my horse, and here is a thousand amot [aprox. 1,880 feet]. He said to him: All this wisdom you have in you, and you won't return? He said to him: I can not. He asked him: why? He answered him: Because once I was passing in front of the House of the Holy of Holies, riding my horse, and I heard a bat-kol (daughter-voice) that came out of the House of the Holy of Holies and she said "return children! With the exception of Elisha Ben Abuya, who knew my power and rebelled against me." And from where came all this? Once he was sitting and repeating [teachings] near the brooks of Ginoser, and he saw a man go up to the top of a palm tree, and he took the mother bird with her young and came down in peace. On the next morning he saw a different man, who also went up the palm tree, but he shooed away the mother bird before taking the young. He came down and was bitten by a snake and died. He said: It is written "you shall surely sent away the mother bird so that it will be good for you and your days will be lengthened" (Devarim 22:7) - where are the long days of this one?! He didn't know that Rabi Yaakov had expounded before him [long ago] "it will be good for you" in the Next World, which is All Good; "and days lenghtened" in the Future that is All Long. And there are those who say that this came about because he saw the tongue of Rabbi Yehudah the Baker, spilling blood out, given to a dog. He said: Is this his Torah, and this is his reward? This is the tongue that gave out Torah, this is the tongue that touched Torah all its days, is this Torah and is this the reward?! It seems that there is no reward and no resurrection. And there are those who say that when his mother was pregnant with him she passed in front of a house of idolaters and smelled their Type, and that that smell infiltrated in his body like the poison of an enormous serpent. After a few days Elisha got sick. They came and told Rabi Meir: Your teacher is sick! He went to visit him and found him very sick. He went to visit him and said: Repent! Elisha asked: Having gone so far, will I be accepted? Rabbi Meir replied: Is it not written,“You allow a person to return,up to their being crushed” (Tehillim 90:3), up to the time that life is being crushed out of them? In that instant, Elisha ben Abuyah began to weep, and departed, and died. Rabbi Meir rejoiced, saying: My master, it would appear, departed in a state of repentance. However, after he was buried, fire came forth from heaven to burn his grave. They went and told Rabbi Meir: The grave of your master is on fire! Rabbi Meir went out, spread his cloak over the grave, and said to him: “Stay this night” (Ruth 3:13) – in this world which is wholly night -- “and it shall be in the morning” (Ruth 3:13)—the world-to-come, all of which is morning -- “if the 'One who is good' will redeem you”(Ruth 3:13)—that is, the Holy One, who is good, of whom it is said, “The Lord is good to all and God's mercies are on all God's works” (Tehillim 145:9). But if God is not willing to redeem you, then I, Meir, will redeem you. “As the Lord lives, lie down until morning”(Ruth3:13).The fire was then extinguished.