The ''other'' rabbi: Elisha Ben Abuyah

Elisha ben Abuyah said: He who learns when a child, to what is he compared? To ink written upon a new writing sheet. And he who learns when an old man, to what is he compared? To ink written on a rubbed writing sheet.

Elisha ben Abuyah would say: A person who has done good deeds and has learned a lot of Torah, what is he like? Like a person who builds by placing stones down first and then setting bricks on top. Even if a flood comes, the building will stand firm and not be washed away from its place. And a person who has not done good deeds but has learned Torah, what is he like? Like a person who builds by placing the bricks down first, and then placing stones on top. Even if a little water comes, it will topple the building right away. [...] He would also say: Words of Torah are as difficult to acquire as golden vessels. And they are as easy to lose as glass vessels, as it says (Job 28:17), “It cannot be estimated by gold and glass.” Gold is compared to glass to say that gold, when it is broken, can be fixed (but glass vessels cannot be fixed when they are broken unless they are completely remade. And how can I understand [the second half of the verse]), “Nor exchanged for fine golden vessels”? This is to tell you that when one studies words of Torah and fulfills them, his face shines like fine gold. But when one studies words of Torah but does not fulfil them, his face is dark like glass.

The Sages taught: Four entered the orchard [pardes], i.e., dealt with the loftiest secrets of Torah, and they are as follows: Ben Azzai; and ben Zoma; Aḥer, the other, a name for Elisha ben Avuya; and Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Akiva, the senior among them, said to them: When, upon your arrival in the upper worlds, you reach pure marble stones, do not say: Water, water, although they appear to be water, because it is stated: “He who speaks falsehood shall not be established before My eyes” (Psalms 101:7). The Gemara proceeds to relate what happened to each of them: Ben Azzai glimpsed at the Divine Presence and died. And with regard to him the verse states: “Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His pious ones” (Psalms 116:15). Ben Zoma glimpsed at the Divine Presence and was harmed, i.e., he lost his mind. And with regard to him the verse states: “Have you found honey? Eat as much as is sufficient for you, lest you become full from it and vomit it” (Proverbs 25:16). Aḥer chopped down the shoots of saplings. In other words, he became a heretic. Rabbi Akiva came out safely.

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. The Gemara relates: They removed Mitatron from his place in heaven and smote him with sixty rods [pulsei] of fire, so that others would not make mistake that Aḥer made. They said to the angel: What is the reason that when you saw Elisha ben Avuya you did not stand before him? Despite this conduct, since Mitatron was personally involved, he was granted permission to erase the merits of Aḥer and cause him to stumble in any manner. A Divine Voice went forth saying: “Return, rebellious children” (Jeremiah 3:22), apart from Aḥer.

Rabbi Meir was sitting and expounding the law in Tiberias and Elisha, his rabbi, passed by on the street riding a horse on Shabbat. And they said to Rabbi Meir: "Look! Elisha is passing by in the street!" Rabbi Meir greeted him and Elisha said: "what are you up to expounding?" Rabbi Meir said "and Hashem blessed the end of Job's life more than the beginning (Job 42:12)". And Elisha responded: "What are you saying about it?" And he replied: ""blessed" that is he doubled his wealth for him". And Elisha said to him "Akiva your teacher did not used to say that, but rather "And Hashem blessed the end of Job's life more than the beginning": because of his mindful repentance and good deeds which were in his hand at the beginning. What else?" And Rabbi Meir responded: "the end of a matter is better than its beginning (Ecclesiastes 7:8)". And Elisha said "What did you say about that"? And Rabbi Meir replied "you have the example of a man who buys merchandise in his youth and he has a loss, and he profits from it in old age. Another interpretation: "the end of a matter is better than its beginning" you have the example of a man who does evil deeds in his youth but good deeds in his old age. Another interpretation: "the end of a matter is better than its beginning": a man can learn Torah in his youth and forget it, but in his old age he can renew it, and so "the end of a matter is better than its beginning". And Elisha said to him: "Akiva your teacher did not say this, but rather "the end of a matter is good" that is when it is good "from its beginning". And for me there is this example: Avuyah, my father, was a great man of his generation and when the time came for my circumcision he invited all the great men of Jerusalem, and he invited Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Joshua among them. And when they ate and drank some sang songs and others alphabetic acrostics. Rabbi Eliezer said to Rabbi Joshua, these men are busying themselves on pointless things, and we are neglecting to pursue our affairs. So they began with the Torah and from the Torah the Prophets and from the Prophets to the writings and they rejoiced in these words as when they were given from Sinai surrounded by flaming fire. And were they not given from Sinai in fire, as it is said "And the mountain burned with a fire reaching up to the heart of the sky (Deuteronomy 4:11)"? And Avuya said "So great is the power of the Torah, this son of mine, if he survives, I will offer to give him to the Torah." And so because the intention of his thought was not for the sake of Heaven, my Torah did not continue in me. And what further did you discuss, Meir?" Rabbi Meir responded to him: "Gold or glass cannot match its value, Nor vessels of fine gold be exchanged for it (Job 28:17)". And he said: "What did you say about that?" And Rabbi Meir said: "These are words of the Torah which are difficult to buy as vessels of gold and easy to destroy like glass". Elisha responded: "Akiva your teacher did not speak this way, but rather as vessels of gold and glass if they are broken, it is possible to repair them, so a wise disciple that has lost his Mishnah is able to renew it". And then Elisha said: "return". And Rabbi Meir said: "Why?". And he responded: "because this is the edge of the Shabbat boundary". He responded: "How do you know?" Elisha said: "From the footsteps of my horse which has gone across 2,ooo amot. And Meir said: "And with all this wisdom of yours you will not return?" And Elisha responded: "That is not in my power". And he asked: "Why?" And Elisha explained to him "I was riding on a horse and while passing behind a synagogue on Yom Kippur that fell on Shabbat I heard a voice from Heaven break forth saying: "Turn back, O rebellious children (Jeremiah 3:22). Turn back to Me, and I will turn back to you (Malachi 3:7), except for Elisha the son of Avuya because he knows my strength and has rebelled against me.''

How did this thing happen to him?

They said that one time he was sitting and reciting in the Valley of Geinosar and he saw that one man went to the top of a palm tree and took the mother bird with her young and descended without trouble, and on the day after Shabbat he saw another man go to the top of the palm tree and he took the young and sent away the mother and when he came down a snake bit him and he died. He said: "As it is written: "Let the mother go, and take only the young, in order that you may fare well and have a long life (Deuteronomy 22:7), but how is it good for this man and how is there a long life for this man?" And he did not know that it had been interpreted by Rabbi Akiva in public: "that you may fare well (tov)" in the world that is entirely good (tov) and "have a long life (ha'arakhta)" that is in the length ('arokh) of eternity."

And some were saying because he saw the tongue of Rabbi Judah the baker given to the mouth of a dog. And Elisha said: "If the tongue which occupied itself every day in Torah [is treated] thus, how much more the tongue of the one who knows nothing and is not occupied in Torah!" and thus he said "If so then there is no reward for the righteous and no resurrection of the dead!"

And some were saying it is because his mother while pregnant was passing by the idolatrous temples and she smelled [the sacrifices] and they gave to her from the sacrificial meat and she ate it and it was poison spreading in her belly like the venom of a large snake.

Aḥer asked Rabbi Meir a question, after he had gone astray. He said to him: What is the meaning of that which is written: “God has made even the one as well as the other” (Ecclesiastes 7:14)? Rabbi Meir said to him: Everything that the Holy One, Blessed be He, created, He created a similar creation corresponding to it. He created mountains, He created hills; He created seas, He created rivers. Aḥer said to him: Rabbi Akiva, your teacher, did not say so, but explained the verse as follows: Everything has its opposite: He created the righteous, He created the wicked; He created the Garden of Eden, He created Gehenna. Each and every person has two portions, one in the Garden of Eden and one in Gehenna. If he merits it, by becoming righteous, he takes his portion and the portion of his wicked colleague in the Garden of Eden; if he is found culpable by becoming wicked, he takes his portion and the portion of his colleague in Gehenna.

After many days Elisha the son of Avuya became sick and they said to Rabbi Meir: "Elisha your teacher is sick." He went to greet him and said "Repent again". And Elisha responded: "After this they would accept me?" And Rabbi Meir said: "You return man to dust (Psalm 90:3)”; until the crushing of the soul". As soon as he heard this Elisha son of Avuya wept and died. And Rabbi Meir was rejoicing and said: "my teacher was taken as he repented!". And when they buried Elisha, a light descended to burn his grave and they said to Rabbi Meir: "the grave of your teacher is burning". And he went and spread his tallit over it [...] And he said: "Is it not the tradition that the case of the Torah with the Torah and the case of tefillin with tefillin may be saved? They save Elisha because of the merits of his Torah."

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.

After many days his daughters came seeking charity from Rabbi and he said: "May no one show him mercy; may none pity his orphans (Psalm 109:12)". They said to him "Do not consider his actions but his Torah!" And as soon as he heard that Rabbi began weeping and decreed that they should be given help, saying: "if he whose Torah was not for the name of Heaven stands thus, how much more so for he whose Torah was for the name of Heaven!"