אזיל אשכחיה לריש לקיש דיתיב וקא מסיים מתיבתא דיומא לרבנן אמר להו ריש לקיש היכא אמרו ליה אמאי אמר להו האי קושיא והאי קושיא והאי פירוקא והאי פירוקא אמרו ליה לריש לקיש אזל ריש לקיש א"ל לרבי יוחנן ארי עלה מבבל לעיין מר במתיבתא דלמחר
Rav Kahana went to Eretz Yisrael and found Reish Lakish, who was sitting and reviewing Rabbi Yoḥanan’s daily lecture in the academy for the Rabbis, i.e., the students in the academy. When he finished, Rav Kahana said to the students: Where is Reish Lakish? They said to him: Why do you wish to see him? Rav Kahana said to them: I have this difficulty and that difficulty with his review of Rabbi Yoḥanan’s lecture, and this resolution and that resolution to the questions he raised. They told this to Reish Lakish. Reish Lakish then went and said to Rabbi Yoḥanan: A lion has ascended from Babylonia, and the Master ought to examine the discourse he will deliver in the academy tomorrow, as Rav Kahana may raise difficult questions about the material.
למחר אותבוה בדרא קמא קמיה דר' יוחנן אמר שמעתתא ולא אקשי שמעתתא ולא אקשי אנחתיה אחורי שבע דרי עד דאותביה בדרא בתרא א"ל רבי יוחנן לר"ש בן לקיש ארי שאמרת נעשה שועל
The next day, they seated Rav Kahana in the first row, in front of Rabbi Yoḥanan. Rabbi Yoḥanan stated a halakha and Rav Kahana did not raise a difficulty, in accordance with Rav’s instruction. Rabbi Yoḥanan stated another halakha and again, Rav Kahana did not raise a difficulty. As a result, they placed Rav Kahana further back by one row. This occurred until he had been moved back seven rows, until he was seated in the last row. Rabbi Yoḥanan said to Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish: The lion you mentioned has become a fox, i.e., he is not knowledgeable.
אמר יהא רעוא דהני שבע דרי להוו חילוף שבע שנין דאמר לי רב קם אכרעיה א"ל נהדר מר ברישא אמר שמעתתא ואקשי אוקמיה בדרא קמא אמר שמעתתא ואקשי
Rav Kahana said to himself: May it be God’s will that these seven rows I have been moved should replace the seven years that Rav told me to wait before raising difficulties to the statements of Rabbi Yoḥanan. He stood up on his feet and said to Rabbi Yoḥanan: Let the Master go back to the beginning of the discourse and repeat what he said. Rabbi Yoḥanan stated a halakha and Rav Kahana raised a difficulty. Therefore, they placed him in the first row, and again, Rav Yoḥanan stated a halakha, and he raised a difficulty.
ר' יוחנן הוה יתיב אשבע בסתרקי שלפי ליה חדא בסתרקא מתותיה אמר שמעתתא ואקשי ליה עד דשלפי ליה כולהו בסתרקי מתותיה עד דיתיב על ארעא רבי יוחנן גברא סבא הוה ומסרחי גביניה אמר להו דלו לי עיני ואחזייה דלו ליה במכחלתא דכספא
Rabbi Yoḥanan was sitting upon seven cushions [bistarkei] so that he could be seen by all the students, and since he could not answer Rav Kahana’s questions, he removed one cushion from under himself to demonstrate that he was lowering himself out of respect for Rav Kahana. He then stated another halakha and Rav Kahana raised another difficulty. This happened repeatedly until Rabbi Yoḥanan removed all the cushions from underneath himself until he was sitting on the ground. Rabbi Yoḥanan was an old man and his eyebrows drooped over his eyes. He said to his students: Uncover my eyes for me and I will see Rav Kahana, so they uncovered his eyes for him with a silver eye brush.
חזא דפרטיה שפוותיה סבר אחוך קמחייך ביה חלש דעתיה ונח נפשיה למחר אמר להו רבי יוחנן לרבנן חזיתו לבבלאה היכי עביד אמרו ליה דרכיה הכי על לגבי מערתא חזא דהוה
Once his eyes were uncovered, Rabbi Yoḥanan saw that Rav Kahana’s lips were split and thought that Rav Kahana was smirking at him. As a result, Rabbi Yoḥanan was offended, and Rav Kahana died as punishment for the fact that he offended Rabbi Yoḥanan. The next day, Rabbi Yoḥanan said to the Rabbis, his students: Did you see how that Babylonian, Rav Kahana, behaved in such a disrespectful manner? They said to him: His usual manner of appearance is such, and he was not mocking you. Hearing this, Rabbi Yoḥanan went up to Rav Kahana’s burial cave and saw that it was
הדרא ליה עכנא א"ל עכנא עכנא פתח פומיך ויכנס הרב אצל תלמיד ולא פתח יכנס חבר אצל חבר ולא פתח יכנס תלמיד אצל הרב פתח ליה בעא רחמי ואוקמיה
encircled by a serpent [akhna], which had placed its tail in its mouth, completely encircling the cave and blocking the entrance. Rabbi Yoḥanan said to it: Serpent, serpent, open your mouth and allow the teacher to enter and be near the disciple, but the serpent did not open its mouth to allow him entry. He then said: Allow a colleague to enter and be near his colleague, but still the serpent did not open its mouth. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Allow the disciple to enter and be near the teacher, referring to Rav Kahana as his own teacher. The snake then opened its mouth for him to allow him entry. Rabbi Yoḥanan requested divine mercy from God and raised Rav Kahana from the dead.
א"ל אי הוה ידענא דדרכיה דמר הכי לא חלשא דעתי השתא ליתי מר בהדן א"ל אי מצית למיבעי רחמי דתו לא שכיבנא אזילנא ואי לא לא אזילנא הואיל וחליף שעתא חליף
Rabbi Yoḥanan said to Rav Kahana: Had I known that this was the Master’s manner of appearance, I would not have been offended. Now let the Master come with me to the study hall. Rav Kahana said to him: If you are able to request divine mercy so that I will not die again, I will go with you, and if not, I will not go with you. The Gemara comments: Since the time decreed for his death had passed, it had passed.
תייריה אוקמיה שייליה כל ספיקא דהוה ליה ופשטינהו ניהליה היינו דאמר ר' יוחנן דילכון אמרי דילהון היא:
Rabbi Yoḥanan then completely awakened him and stood him up. Thereafter, he asked him about every uncertainty that he had, and Rav Kahana resolved each of them for him. And this is the background to that which Rabbi Yoḥanan says to his students on several occasions: What I said was yours is in fact theirs, i.e., I thought that the Torah scholars in Eretz Yisrael were the most advanced, but in fact the scholars of Babylonia are the most advanced, as evidenced by Rav Kahana’s knowledge.
Comments and Questions from the Talmud Class
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Charles: Don’t underestimate the quiet people. Sometimes, they understand more than they’re letting on.
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Mark: We each have our own perception, and we need to honor one another’s perception, allowing us to see the world differently. The more we listen, the more we learn.
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Caryn: The turn in the story takes place with Yohanan judging Kahana’s appearance without knowing, which leads to death and then rebirth, demonstrating the dangers in rushing to judgment. This also illustrates the ascendance of the Babylonian Jewish community.
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Josh: This is a story not only of that ascendance, but of how hard it can be to connect, interpersonally and cross-culturally.
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Charles & Loren: What were the expectations in this type of rabbinic lore? Should Kahana remain quiet? There are expectations of respect for the teacher, especially since Kahana's teacher Rav, specifically forbids him from talking in class for the first seven years. However, Rav Kahana demonstrates that he doesn’t necessarily know how to navigate any gulf between silence and embarrassing the teacher.
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Caryn: The reverberations from Rav Kahana’s origins are fascinating. We all have a lot to learn. Not only does it speak about how little we know of human knowledge, but how hard it is to get things right dealing with other human beings. We all try, and it’s hard to get behavior correct -- to be respectful and not hurtful and still remain true to ourselves and our values.
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Edith: Agrees with Caryn. Too often, we are singled minded in our views and we should try not to be.
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Loren: What is the significance of seven years and seven rows? Probably poetic symbolism, but also a signifier that it's a lot, but not too much. Keeping quiet for seven years would have been a lot, but eventually, Kahana would have his say. Being moved back seven rows is insulting, but at least he could still see the class (as opposed to forty, which would have been too much to bear). Thus, we learn that Kahana wants to be respectful, but isn't the most patient, as he equates each row that he is moved back with one year of suggested silence. He, too, has a lot to learn.
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Josh: Speaking at once with conviction and humility is difficult, and yet that is precisely what Jewish tradition demands of us. We must stay true to our values even as we remain open-minded and empathic enough to determine how they may apply in different contexts and always cognizant of just how little we know. The human experience is vast, and our perspective so limited.