הווי מתאבק... על לומדים ומלמדים, ומה שביניהם

So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing, with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth; and Elijah passed over unto him, and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said: ‘Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee.’ And he said unto him: ‘Go back; for what have I done to thee?’ And he returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.

And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah by a whirlwind into heaven, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha: ‘Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me as far as Beth-el.’ And Elisha said: ‘As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.’ So they went down to Beth-el.— And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him: ‘Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to-day?’ And he said: ‘Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.’— And Elijah said unto him: ‘Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho.’ And he said: ‘As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.’ So they came to Jericho.— And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came near to Elisha, and said unto him: ‘Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to-day?’ And he answered: ‘Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.’— And Elijah said unto him: ‘Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to the Jordan.’ And he said: ‘As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.’ And they two went on. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood over against them afar off; and they two stood by the Jordan. And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha: ‘Ask what I shall do for thee, before I am taken from thee.’ And Elisha said: ‘I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.’ And he said: ‘Thou hast asked a hard thing; nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.’ And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, which parted them both assunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried: ‘My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof! ’ And he saw him no more; and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of the Jordan. And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said: ‘Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?’ and when he also had smitten the waters, they were divided hither and thither; and Elisha went over. And when the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho some way off saw him, they said: ‘The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha.’ And they came to meet him, and bowed down to the ground before him.

Yose ben Yoezer (a man) of Zeredah and Yose ben Yohanan [a man] of Jerusalem received [the oral tradition] from them [i.e. Shimon the Righteous and Antigonus]. Yose ben Yoezer used to say: let thy house be a house of meeting for the Sages and sit in the very dust of their feet, and drink in their words with thirst.

If a man found his own lost property and his father’s, his own takes priority. If his own and that of his teacher, his own takes priority. If he found his father’s and his teacher’s, his teacher’s takes priority for his father brought him into this world, but his teacher who taught him wisdom brings him into the world to come. If his father was a Sage, his father’s takes priority. If his father and teacher each were carrying a load, he must first relieve his teacher and afterward relieve his father. If his father and teacher were each taken captive, he must first ransom his teacher and afterward his father. But if his father was a Sage, he must first ransom his father and afterward his teacher.

§ The mishna teaches: If his father and his teacher were each carrying a burden, he first places his teacher’s burden down and thereafter places his father’s burden down. The Sages taught in a baraita (Tosefta 2:30): His teacher, with regard to whom the tanna’im stated in the mishna that his burden takes precedence, is his teacher who taught him wisdom, i.e., the profound analysis of the Torah that constitutes the Talmud, and not his teacher who taught him Bible or Mishna; this is the statement of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yehuda says: The reference is to any teacher from whom one learned most of his knowledge, be it Bible, Mishna, or Talmud. Rabbi Yosei says: Even if he enlightened him in the understanding of only one mishna, that is his teacher.