Aḥer (Elisha ben Abuya) - The Unforgivable and Torah

Unforgiveable Sins. The Rambam says that there are categories of sin which prevent a person from having a place in the World-to-Come.

And, the following are they that have no share in the World to Come but suffer excision and loss of identity, and are damned for ever and ever for their exceeding wickedness and sinfulness: atheists, infidels, traducers of the Torah, dissenters of resurrection and the coming of a Redeemer, apostates, enticers of many to sin, seceders from the congregation, a public perpetrator of sins emulating Jehoiakim,⁸See II. Kings, 23.36–24.6 G. informers, leaders who cast fear upon the congregation not for the sake of God, shedders of blood by defaming people in public, evil-tongued people, he who abolishes circumcision.⁹Rosh ha-Shanah, 17a. G.

• Which of these sins do you think is unforgivable and why?
• What are other unforgivable sins today?

§ The incident that lead to the apostasy of Aḥer

(2) Four entered the orchard: Ben Azzai, Ben Zoma, another, and Rabbi Akiva.

• One looked and died.
• One looked and was harmed [became insane].
• One looked and cut down the trees.
• And one went up in peace and went down in peace.

Ben Azzai looked and died. Scripture says about him (Psalms 116, 15): "Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His saints". Ben Zoma looked and was harmed. Scripture says about him (Proverbs 25, 16): "Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee" and the continuation. [Cont. of the verse: "Lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it." Elisha looked and cut down the trees. Scripture says about him (Ecclesiastes 5, 5): "Suffer not thy mouth to bring thy flesh into guilt" etc. Rabbi Akiva went up in peace and went down in peace. Scripture says about him (Song of Songs 1, 4): "Draw me, we will run after thee" etc.

§ Explanation of the reason Aḥer became an apostate.

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.

• Why was heresy such a great sin during the time of the Rabbis?
• What are or are there boundriesof conduct today?

The extent of the apostasy of Aḥer

Upon hearing this, Elisha ben Avuya said: Since that man, meaning himself, has been banished from that world, let him go out and enjoy this world. Aḥer went astray. He went and found a prostitute and solicited her for intercourse. She said to him: And are you not Elisha ben Avuya? Shall a person of your stature perform such an act? He uprooted a radish from a patch of radishes on Shabbat and gave it to her, to demonstrate that he no longer observed the Torah. The prostitute said: He is other than he was. He is not the same Elisha ben Avuya, he is Aḥer, other.

The Paradox: Rabbi Meir could learn from Aḥer, but Aḥer could not be forgiven

The Gemara cites a related story: The Sages taught: There was once an incident involving Aḥer, who was riding on a horse on Shabbat, and Rabbi Meir was walking behind him to learn Torah from him. After a while, Aḥer said to him: Meir, turn back, for I have already estimated and measured according to the steps of my horse that the Shabbat boundary ends here, and you may therefore venture no further. Rabbi Meir said to him: You, too, return to the correct path. He said to him: But have I not already told you that I have already heard behind the dividing curtain: “Return, rebellious children,” apart from Aḥer?

The Other Point of View: You Cannot Learn Torah from Aḥer .

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.

Sexual Transgression and Abuse of Power

The Sages taught: One who counts money for a woman from his hand to her hand in order to look upon her, even if he has accumulated Torah and good deeds like Moses our teacher, he will not be absolved from the punishment of Gehenna, as it is stated: “Hand to hand, the evil man shall not go unpunished” (Proverbs 11:21); one who hands money from his hand to her hand, even if he received the Torah from God’s hand to his own, like Moses, he will not be absolved from the punishment of Gehenna, which is called evil.

• Have any of us ever experienced an uncomfortable moment in an encounter with a man/woman at a time where it was distinctly inappropriate (work, school, synagogue etc) under the guise of business as usual?

• How do we protect ourselves from such situations and how can we create boundaries to prevent ourselves from falling into such situations?

Text and Questions from Nachama Goldman Barash, Pardes Faculty

Morality and Dignity

§ Apropos the discussion of the obligation to allow oneself to be killed rather than engage in forbidden sexual intercourse, the Gemara notes that Rav Yehuda says that Rav says:

There was an incident involving a certain man who set his eyes upon a certain woman and passion rose in his heart, to the point that he became deathly ill.

And they came and asked doctors what was to be done with him.

And the doctors said: He will have no cure until she engages in sexual intercourse with him.

The Sages said: Let him die, and she may not engage in sexual intercourse with him.

The doctors said: She should at least stand naked before him.

The Sages said: Let him die, and she may not stand naked before him.

The doctors suggested: The woman should at least converse with him behind a fence in a secluded area, so that he should derive a small amount of pleasure from the encounter.

The Sages insisted: Let him die, and she may not converse with him behind a fence.

The Effects of Aḥer's Deeds on his Children. "Remember His Torah Not His Deeds."

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 Death of Aḥer. Aḥer had merit for studying Torah and had no share in the World-to-Come becasue of apostasy.

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.

Aḥer receives a place in the World-to-Come

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.

Laws of Repentance. The texts from the Talmud confront a situation Aḥer committed an ultimate sin by denying God. Below is a text I have added about repentance.

Among the ways of repentance are, for the penitent

• to continue to cry out in tearful supplication before the Name,
• to bestow alms according to his means, and
• to distance himself exceedingly from the thing wherein he sinned,
• to have his identity changed, as if saying: "I am now another person, and not that person who perpetrated those misdeeds",
• to completely change his conduct for the good and straight path, and
• to exile himself from his place of residence, for exile atones iniquity, because it leads him to submissiveness and to be meek and humble-spirited.⁴Rosh-ha-Shanah, 16b. C.

Repentance is Always Possible. (I added this text. It was not in the original shiur)

Each and every one of the enumerated twenty-four different categories of persons, Israelites though they be, have no share in the World to Come. And, there are yet lesser transgressions than those referred to concerning which the sages, nevertheless, said, that he who makes a practice to violate them has no share in the World to Come, and that they are of sufficient importance to be kept at a distance, and to watch out against them. They are: he who gives an alias name to his friend; he who calls his friend by his aliases; he who shames his friend publicly; he who glorifies himself by disgracing his friend; he who insults scholars; he who insults his masters; he who despises holy times; he who profanes holy objects.

That is saying, that none of these will have a share in the World to Come, if he dies without repentance; but if he repent from his wickedness and died in a state of repentance, he is, indeed, of the sons of the World to Come, as there is not a thing to stand in the way of repentance.

Even if one who denied the existence of God all of his life but in the end repented, has a share in the World to Come, for it is said: "Peace, peace, to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him" (Is. 57.19).

All of the wicked, and apostates and their like who turned in repentance, whether publicly or secretly, should be accepted back into the folds of Israel, even as it is said: "Return ye backsliding children" (Jer. 3.22)—though he still be backsliding, for, 10, he repented secretly and not publicly, yet is his repentence accepted.²²Pirke Abot, 3.11; Sanhedrin, 99b; Baba Mezi’a, 58b; Megillah, 28a; Tosfot, Rosh ha-Shanah, 16b; Kiddushin, 38b; Abodah Zarah, 7a. C. G.

• How do we decide if repentance is possible?

Extra Text

Four entered the orchard: Ben Azzai, Ben Zoma, another, and Rabbi Akiva. One looked and died. One looked and was harmed. One looked and cut down the trees. And one went up in peace and went down in peace. Ben Azzai looked and died. Scripture says about him (Psalms 116, 15): "Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His saints". Ben Zoma looked and was harmed. Scripture says about him (Proverbs 25, 16): "Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee" and the continuation. [Cont. of the verse: "Lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it." Elisha looked and cut down the trees. Scripture says about him (Ecclesiastes 5, 5): "Suffer not thy mouth to bring thy flesh into guilt" etc. Rabbi Akiva went up in peace and went down in peace. Scripture says about him (Song of Songs 1, 4): "Draw me, we will run after thee" etc. They gave a parable: What is this similar to? To the orchard of a king and there is an attic above it. It is upon [the man] to look so long as he does not move [his eyes] from it. Another parable was given. What is this similar tp? To [a street] that passes between two paths, one of fire, and one of snow. If it leans one way, it gets burned [by the fire]. If it leans the other way it gets burned by the snow. A man must walk in the middle and not lean to or fro. A story of Rabbi Yehoshua [Who was walkin in the street and Ben Zoma came opposite him] he reached him and did not greet him. He said to him [from where and to where] Ben Zoma? He said to him: I was watching the creation, and there is not between the upper waters and the lower waters even a handbreadth. As it is written (Genesis 1, 2) "and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters". And it says (Deuteronomy 32, 11): "As a vulture that stirreth up her nest" etc. Just as the vulture flies over the nest, touching and not touching, so too there is not even a handbreadth between the upper waters and lower waters. Rabbi Yehoshua said to his students: Ben Zoma is already outside. In a few days, Ben Zoma passed away.