(כ) אֱלִישָׁע בֶּן אֲבוּיָה אוֹמֵר, הַלּוֹמֵד יֶלֶד לְמַה הוּא דוֹמֶה, לִדְיוֹ כְתוּבָה עַל נְיָר חָדָשׁ. וְהַלּוֹמֵד זָקֵן לְמַה הוּא דוֹמֶה, לִדְיוֹ כְתוּבָה עַל נְיָר מָחוּק. רַבִּי יוֹסֵי בַר יְהוּדָה אִישׁ כְּפַר הַבַּבְלִי אוֹמֵר, הַלּוֹמֵד מִן הַקְּטַנִּים לְמַה הוּא דוֹמֶה, לְאֹכֵל עֲנָבִים קֵהוֹת וְשׁוֹתֶה יַיִן מִגִּתּוֹ. וְהַלּוֹמֵד מִן הַזְּקֵנִים לְמַה הוּא דוֹמֶה, לְאֹכֵל עֲנָבִים בְּשֵׁלוֹת וְשׁוֹתֶה יַיִן יָשָׁן. רַבִּי אוֹמֵר, אַל תִּסְתַּכֵּל בַּקַּנְקַן, אֶלָּא בְמַה שֶּׁיֶּשׁ בּוֹ. יֵשׁ קַנְקַן חָדָשׁ מָלֵא יָשָׁן, וְיָשָׁן שֶׁאֲפִלּוּ חָדָשׁ אֵין בּוֹ:
(20) 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. Rabbi Yose ben Judah a man of Kfar Ha-babli said: He who learns from the young, to what is he compared? To one who eats unripe grapes, and drinks wine from his vat; And he who learns from the old, to what is he compared? To one who eats ripe grapes, and drinks old wine. Rabbi said: don’t look at the container but at that which is in it: there is a new container full of old wine, and an old [container] in which there is not even new [wine].
(א) אלישע בן אבויה אומר אדם שיש בו מעשים טובים ולמד תורה הרבה למה הוא דומה לאדם שבונה אבנים מלמטה ואחר כך לבנים אפילו באים מים הרבה ועומדין בצידן אין מחין אותן ממקומן:
(ב) ואדם שאין בו מעשים טובים ולמד תורה למה הוא דומה לאדם שבונה לבנים תחילה ואחר כך אבנים אפילו באים מים קימעא מיד הופכין אותן:
(ג) הוא היה אומר אדם שיש בו מעשים טובים ולמד תורה הרבה למה הוא דומה לסיד שטוח על גבי לבנים אפילו יורדין עליו גשמים אין מזיזין אותו ממקומו. אדם שאין בו מעשים טובים ולמד תורה הרבה דומה לסיד שניטוח על גבי לבנים אפילו יורדין עליו מיעוט גשמים מיד נימוק ונופל:
(ד) הוא היה אומר אדם שיש בו מעשים טובים ולמד תורה הרבה דומה לכוס שיש לו פיספס שכיון שמניח אותו מידו אע"פ שנהפך על צידו אין נשפך כל מה שיש בו. ואדם שאין בו מעשים טובים ולמד תורה הרבה דומה לכוס שאין לו פיספס שכיון שהניח אותו מידו מיד נהפך על צידו ונשפך כל מה שיש בו. הוא היה אומר אדם שיש בו מעשים טובים ולמד תורה הרבה דומה לסוס שיש לו כלים נאים. ואדם שאין בו מע״ט ולמד תורה הרבה דומה לסוס שאין לו רסן לבלום כיון שאדם רוצה לרוכבו זורקו בבת אחת. הוא היה אומר הלומד תורה בילדותו דברי תורה נבלעין בדמיו ויוצאין מפיו מפורשין. והלומד תורה בזקנותו אין דברי תורה נבלעין בדמיו ואין יוצאין מפיו מפורשין וכן מתלא אומר אם בנערותיך לא חפצתם איך תשיגם בזקנותך:
(ה) הוא היה אומר קשין דברי תורה לקנותם ככלי זהבים. ונוחין לאבדם ככלי זכוכית שנא׳ (איוב כ״ח:י״ז) לא יערכנה זהב וזכוכית מקיש זהב לזכוכית מה כלי זהב לאחר שנשבר יש לו תקנה (וכל כלי זכוכית אין להם תקנה כשנשברו אלא א״כ חזרו לברייתן. ומה אני מקיים) ותמורתה כלי פז לומר לך כל העמל בהן ומקיימן פניו מצהיבות כפז. וכל העמל בהם ואין מקיימן פניו משחירות כזכוכית:
(ו) הוא היה אומר יכול אדם ללמוד תורה בעשרים שנה ולשכח בשתי שנים. כיצד ישב ששה חדשים ואין חוזר לאחריו נמצא אומר על טמא טהור ועל טהור טמא. שנים עשר חדשים ולא חזר לאחריו נמצא מחליף חכמים זה בזה. י״ח חדשים ולא חזר לאחריו נמצא משכח ראשי מסכתותיו. כ״ד חדשים ואין חוזר לאחריו נמצא משכח ראשי פרקים ומתוך שאמר על טמא טהור ועל טהור טמא ומחליף חכם בחכם ומשכח ראשי מסכתותיו וראשי פרקיו סוף שיושב ודומם ועליו אמר שלמה (משלי כד) על שדה איש עצל עברתי ועל כרם אדם חסר לב והנה עלה כלו קמשונים כסו פניו חרולים וגדר אבניו נהרסה. וכיון שנפל כותלו של כרם מיד חרב כל הכרם כולו:
(ז) הוא היה אומר כל העושה מצוה בחבירו מעלה עליו הכתוב כאילו לא עשאו אלא בגופו. משל למה הדבר דומה למלך בשר ודם שצד צפור ונתנו לאחד מעבדיו ואומר לו הוי זהיר בצפור זה שאם אתה נזהר בו טוב ואם לאו אני נוטל נשמתך תחתיו. כך אמר הקב״ה לישראל דברי תורה שנתתי לכם אם אתם משמרים אותן טוב ואם לאו אני נוטל נפשכם תחתיה שנא׳ (דברים ד) (רק השמר לך ושמור נפשך מאד פן תשכח את הדברים אשר ראו עיניך) (שם לב) כי לא דבר רק הוא מכם כי הוא חייכם:
(1) 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.
(2) 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.
(3) He would also say: A person who has done good deeds and learned a lot of Torah, what is he like? Like bricks coated with plaster. Even if heavy rains fall on them, they will not move from their place. A person who has not done good deeds but has learned a lot of Torah is like bricks coated with plaster. Even if light rains fall on them, they crumble right away.
(4) He would also say: A person who has done good deeds and has learned a lot of Torah is like a cup with a flat base. When one sets it down, even if it is knocked over, not all of its contents will spill. A person who has not done good deeds but has learned a lot of Torah is like a cup without a flat base. When one sets it down, it immediately falls over on its side, and all of its contents spill out.
He would also say: A person who has done good deeds and has learned a lot of Torah is like a horse that has fine equipment. A person who has not done good deeds but has learned a lot of Torah is like a horse without a bridle to restrain it. When a person wants to mount the horse, it throws him off in an instant.
He would also say: For one who studies Torah in his youth, the words of Torah are absorbed into his blood and come forth from his mouth with clear articulation. For one who studies Torah in his old age, the words of Torah are not absorbed into his blood and do not come forth from his mouth with clear articulation. And there is a well-known saying that: If you did not want them in your youth, you will not be able to get them in your old age.
(5) 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 fulfill them, his face is dark like glass.
(6) He would also say: A person can study Torah for twenty years and forget it all in two years. How so? If he sat for six months and did not review what he had learned, he would begin to say that what was impure was pure, and what was pure was impure. After twelve months of no review, he would mix up the names of the sages. After eighteen months of no review, he would forget the beginnings of the tractates. After twenty-four months of no review, he would forget the beginnings of the chapters. Finally, he would have to sit and be silent. [King] Solomon said about such a person (Proverbs 24:30–31), “I passed by the field of a lazy man, and by the vineyard of a heartless person. It was all overgrown with thorns, its surface was covered with weeds, and the stone wall around it had been destroyed.” And when the wall of a vineyard falls, soon enough the whole vineyard is destroyed.
(7) He would also say: Anyone who helps his friend perform a mitzvah, the Torah considers it as if he had done it himself. A parable: To what can this be compared? [It can be compared] to a human king who captured a bird and gave it to one of his servants. The king said to him: Be careful with this bird. For if you treat it with care, all will be well. But if you do not, I will take your life for it. So did the Holy Blessed One say to Israel: If you observe these words of Torah that I have given to you, all will be will. But if not, I will take your lives because of them, as it says (Deuteronomy 4:9), (“Just be very careful to protect your life, lest you forget these things that your eyes have seen.”) (And in Deuteronomy 32:47), “It is not an empty thing for you, for it is your very life.”
(ז) רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן מְנַסְיָא אוֹמֵר, אֵיזֶהוּ מְעֻוָּת שֶׁאֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לִתְקֹן, זֶה הַבָּא עַל הָעֶרְוָה וְהוֹלִיד מִמֶּנָּה מַמְזֵר. אִם תֹּאמַר בְּגוֹנֵב וְגוֹזֵל, יָכוֹל הוּא לְהַחֲזִירוֹ וִיתַקֵּן. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן יוֹחַאי אוֹמֵר, אֵין קוֹרִין מְעֻוָּת אֶלָּא לְמִי שֶׁהָיָה מְתֻקָּן בַּתְּחִלָּה וְנִתְעַוֵּת, וְאֵיזֶה, זֶה תַּלְמִיד חָכָם הַפּוֹרֵשׁ מִן הַתּוֹרָה:
(7) Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya says: Who is “a twisted thing that cannot be made straight?” He who has intercourse with a forbidden relation and bears by her a mamzer. Should you say that it applies to a thief or robber, he is able to restore [the stolen object] and make straight. Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai says: They only call something “twisted” if it was straight at first and then became twisted. And who is this? A disciple of the sages who forsakes the Torah.
Talmud Yerushalmi, Hagiga 77b Talmud Bavli, Hagiga 15a-b ,
חגיגה עז.ב תלמוד ירושלמי , חגיגה טו.א-ב תלמוד בבלי
Rabbi Meir was seated in the house of study in Tiberias on Shabbat, expounding, while his teacher Elisha was passing through the marketplace astride his horse. People came by and told Rabbi Meir: Look, your teacher Elisha is here riding through the marketplace. Rabbi Meir interrupted his expounding and went out to him. Elisha asked: What verse have you been expounding today? Rabbi Meir: “So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning” (Job 42:12).
Elisha: What did you say about it?
Rabbi Meir: “The Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before” (Job 42:10) -- God doubled his possessions.
Elisha: Alas for those who are gone and are no more -- your teacher Akiva would not have spoken thus.
He would have construed these words: “The Lord blessed the latter end of Job because of the beginning” -- because of the observance of precepts and good deeds that had been Job's at the beginning. Elisha: What other verse did you expound? Rabbi Meir: “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof” (Kohellet 7:8). Elisha: What did you say about it? Rabbi Meir...: You have a man who acquired merchandise in his youth and sustained a loss, but in his old age makes a profit from it. Or, you have a man who learned Torah in his youth and forgot it, but it comes back to him in his old age. Elisha: Alas for those who are gone and are no more -- your teacher Akiva would not have spoken thus. He would have construed it “Good is the end of a thing from the beginning” -- when it is good from its beginning.
So it happened with me. Abuyah, my father, was one of the notables of Jerusalem. When he was arranging for my circumcision, he invited all the notables of Jerusalem, among them Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshuah. After they had eaten and drunk, they began to clap their hands and dance. Some of the notables sang songs, and others composed alphabetical acrostics. Rabbi Eliezer said to Rabbi Yehoshuah: These are occupied with what interests them: shall we not occupy ourselves with what interests us? They began to speak words of Torah, and from the Torah to the Prophets, and from the Prophets to the Writings. And fire came down from heaven and surrounded them. At that point Abuyah said to them: My masters, have you come to set my house afire over me? They replied: God forbid! We were merely sitting and stringing words of Torah, then from the Torah we went on to the Prophets, and from the Prophets to the Writings. The words were as joyful as when they were given at Sinai. For when originally given at Sinai, they were given in the midst of fire, as is said: “The mountain burned with fire unto the heart of heaven'” (Devarim 4:11). Elated, my father Abuyah remarked, “My masters, since the power of Torah is so great, if this child stays alive for me, I will dedicate him to the Torah.” But because the intent of my father's resolve was not for the sake of Heaven, my study of Torah did not endure with me.
Elisha: What other verse did you expound? Rabbi Meir: “Gold and glass cannot equal it; neither shall the exchange thereof be vessels of fine gold” (Job 28:17). Elisha: What did you say about it? Rabbi Meir: These are the words of Torah – they are as difficult to acquire as vessels of gold and are as readily destroyed as vessels of glass. Elisha: By God, even as readily as earthenware vessels. But your teacher Akiva would not have spoken thus. He would have said: “As vessels of gold and even vessels of glass can be repaired if broken, so can a disciple of the wise recover his learning if it has disintegrated.” Rabbi Meir: So you, too, must come back. Elisha: I cannot. Because I have heard the divine voice reverberating: “Return, O backsliding children” (Jeremiah 3:14), except for Elisha ben Abyuah, who knew my strength and yet rebelled against Me.
When Rabbi Meir and Elisha had walked a long while, Elisha on his horse on Shabbat and Rabbi Meir after him, hanging on to his teacher's every word, Aher said to him: Meir, turn back, for I have just measured by the paces of my horse that the Shabbat limit extends only thus far.
He replied: You, too, go back! Aher answered: Have I not just told you that I have already heard from behind the heavenly curtain, “Return, O backsliding children – except Aher”? Nevertheless, Rabbi Meir prevailed upon him and took him into a schoolhouse, where Aher said to a child: Recite for me your verse. The child answered, “There is no peace, says the Lord, unto the wicked” (Isaiah 48:22). Rabbi Meir took him to another schoolhouse, where Aher said to a child: Recite for me your verse. The child answered, “For though you wash yourself with nitre, and use much soap, yet your iniquity is marked before Me, says the Lord God” (Jeremiah 2:22). Rabbi Meir took him to yet another schoolhouse, where again Aher said to a child: Recite for me your verse. The child answered, “And you, despoiled one, what can you do that you wear crimson, that you adorn yourself with golden ornaments, that you enlarge your eye with paint? In vain do you make yourself fair... They seek your life” (Jeremiah 4:30). And thus Rabbi Meir took Aher to thirteen schools, one after the other, where in like vein all the children quoted verses boding evil. When Aher said to the last child: Recite for me your verse, he answered, “But unto the wicked God says: For what reason do you recount My statutes?” (Tehillim 50:16). That child had a speech defect, so it sounded as though he answered, But to Elisha God said... At that, Elisha said: Had I a knife in my hand, I would have cut him to pieces.
It is said of him, of Aher, that Greek song did not cease from his mouth and whenever he rose to leave the house of study, many heretical books would fall out of his lap.
Aher gazed and cut the saplings. Who is Aher? Elisha ben Abbuyah, who murdered the young scholars of the Torah.
They say: "He used to kill every disciple he saw mastering the Torah. Moreover, he used to enter the schoolhouse, and when he saw the pupils in the presence of the teacher he would say, ``What are these doing here? This one should be a mason; this one should be a carpenter; this one should be a fisherman; this one should be a tailor." When the youngsters heard such talk, they left their scrolls and went away
Of him Scripture says: "Don't let your mouth bring you into disfavor, and don't plead before the messenger that it was an error, but fear God; else God may be angered by your talk and destroy your possessions (Eccl. 5:5)." For he ruined his own works. Also at the time of the persecution they made them carry burdens, and the Jews arranged it so that two people should share one load, because of the rule that two people doing one piece of work [are not liable in regard to a Sabbath violation]. Elisha said, "Make them carry the loads by themselves." They went and made them carry them by themselves, but they arranged to unload in a karmelit [an area that cannot be classified either as private ground or as public ground], so that they might not bring them out from private to public ground. Elisha said, "Make them carry bottles...
What did Aher see that made him go wrong? It is said that once, while sitting in the valley of Gennaser, he saw a man climb to the top of a palm tree on Shabbat, take the mother bird with the young, and decend in safety. At the end of Shabbat, he saw another man climb to the top of the same palm tree, take the young but let the mother bird go free. As he descended, a snake bit him and he died. Elisha exclaimed: It is written, “Let the mother go and take only the young, that you may fare well and have a long life” (Devarim 22:7). Where is the well-being of this man and where is the prolonging of his life?
Some say that Elisha became a heretic when he saw a pig dragging along in its mouth the tongue of the famous sage Rabbi Yehudah. He said then: This is the tongue from which pearls of purest ray used to come forth all his days. Is this Torah and is this its reward? There appears to be no reward and no resurrection of the dead. Immediately, he resolved to commit sin.
He went out and, seeing a prostitute, beckoned to her. She asked: Are you not Elisha ben Abuyah? It was Shabbat and he pulled a radish out of a furrow and gave it to her. So she said: He is clearly aher – another.
Some time later, Elisha ben Abuyah fell ill, and Rabbi Meir was told: Your master is ill. 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 then he 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” (Ruth 3:13). The fire was then extinguished
They said to R. Meir "if they will tell you in that world (to come), whom do you want to draw close to you (to benefit him), your father or your Rebbi [what will you say]"?
R. Meir: I will first draw close my Rebbi, and then my father
They asked him "will Heaven agree?" He said "we learn this from a Mishnah! We save [from a fire on Shabbos] the case of a Sefer with the Sefer, the case of Tefilin with the Tefilin. [Likewise,] we save Elisha, Acher in the merit of his Torah."
Rabbi Ya’akov, who says: There is no reward for performance of a mitzva in this world, as one is rewarded for mitzvot only World-to-Come. As it is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Ya’akov says: There is not a single mitzva written in the Torah whose reward is stated alongside it, which is not dependent on the resurrection of the dead, i.e., the reward is actually bestowed in the World-to-Come, after the resurrection of the dead. How so? With regard to honoring one’s father and mother it is written: “That your days may be long, and that it may go well with you” (Deuteronomy 5:16). With regard to the dispatch of the mother bird from the nest it is written: “That it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days” (Deuteronomy 22:7). Despite this, it occurred that there was one whose father said to him: Climb to the top of the building and fetch me chicks. And he climbed to the top of the building and dispatched the mother bird and took the young, thereby simultaneously fulfilling the mitzva to dispatch the mother bird from the nest and the mitzva to honor one’s parents, but upon his return he fell and died. Where is the goodness of the days of this one, and where is the length of days of this one? Rather, the verse “that it may be well with you” means in the world where all is well, and “that your days may be long” is referring to the world that is entirely long. ......
Rav Yosef said: Had Aḥer, literally Other, the appellation of the former Sage Elisha ben Avuya, interpreted this aforementioned verse: “That it may go well with you” (Deuteronomy 5:16), homiletically, as referring to the World-to-Come, as did Rabbi Ya’akov, son of his daughter, he would not have sinned. The Gemara asks: And what caused Aḥer to sin? There are those who say he saw a case like this, where a son went up to the roof on his father’s command, dispatched the mother bird, and then died. It was witnessing this episode that led Elisha ben Avuya astray.
And there are those who say that he saw the tongue of Ḥutzpit the disseminator after the latter was executed by the government, thrown in the street, and dragged along by something else, a euphemism for a pig. He said: Shall a mouth that produced pearls lap up dirt? For this reason he went out and sinned.
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. 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 Gemara relates: 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.
Rav Mesharshiyya said: What is the verse from which it is derived? With regard to the righteous, it is stated: “Therefore in their land they shall possess double” (Isaiah 61:7); whereas with regard to the wicked, it is stated: “And destroy them with double destruction” (Jeremiah 17:18); therefore, each receives a double portion.
Aḥer asked Rabbi Meir another question, again after he had gone astray. What is the meaning of that which is written: “Gold and glass cannot equal it; neither shall its exchange be vessels of fine gold” (Job 28:17)? If it is referring to the praise and honor of the Torah, it should have compared it only to gold, not to glass.
He said to him: This is referring to words of Torah, which are as difficult to acquire as gilded vessels and vessels of fine gold but are as easy to lose as glass vessels.
Aḥer said to him: Rabbi Akiva, your teacher, did not say so, but taught as follows: Just as golden vessels and glass vessels have a remedy even when they have broken, as they can be melted down and made into new vessels, so too a Torah scholar, although he has transgressed, has a remedy.
Rabbi Meir said to him: If so, you too, return from your ways. He said to him: I have already heard the following declaration behind the dividing curtain, which conceals God from the world: “Return, rebellious children,” (Jeremiah 3:22) apart from Aḥer.
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? Nevertheless, Rabbi Meir took hold of him and brought him to the study hall.
Aḥer said to a child, by way of divination: Recite your verse that you studied today to me. He recited the following verse to him: “There is no peace, said the Lord, concerning the wicked” (Isaiah 48:22). He brought him to another study hall. Aḥer said to a child: Recite your verse to me. He recited to him: “For though you wash with niter, and take for you much soap, yet your iniquity is marked before Me” (Jeremiah 2:22). He brought him to another study hall. Aḥer said to
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 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.
מעשה ברבן יוחנן בן זכאי שהיה מהלך על הדרך רוכב על החמור ור' אלעזר בן ערך מהלך אחריו אמר לו ר' השניני פרק אחד במעשה המרכבה אמר לו ולא כך שנו חכמים ולא במרכבה אלא א"כ היה חכם ומבין מדעתו אמר לו ר' תרשיני לומר דבר לפניך אני אמר לו אמור כיון שפתח ר' אלעזר בן ערך במעשה המרכבה ירד לו רבן יוחנן בן זכאי מן החמור אמר אינו בדין שאהא שומע כבוד קוני ואני רכוב על החמור הלכו וישבו להן תחת אילן אחד וירדה אש מן השמים והקיפה אותם והיו מלאכי השרת מקפצין לפניהן כבני חופה שמיחין לפני חתן נענה מלאך אחד מתוך האש ואמר כדבריך אלעזר בן ערך כן הוא מעשה המרכבה מיד פתחו כל האילנות פיהן ואמרו שירה (תהילים צ״ו:י״ב) אז ירננו כל עצי יער כיון שגמר ר' אלעזר בן ערך במעשה המרכבה עמד רבן יוחנן בן זכאי ונשקו על ראשו ואמר ברוך ה' אלהי אברהם יצחק ויעקב שנתן לאברהם אבינו בן חכם יודע בכבוד אבינו שבשמים יש לך נאה לדרוש ואינו נאה מקיים נאה מקיים ואינו נאה דורש אלעזר בן ערך נאה דורש ונאה מקיים אשריך אברהם אבינו שיצא מחלציך אלעזר בן ערך וכיון ששמעו ר' יוסף הכהן ור"ש בן נתנאל אף הם פתחו במעשה המרכבה אמרו יום א' בתקופת תמוז היה ורעשה הארץ ונראת הקשת בענן ויצאה בת קול ואמרה להן הרי המקום פנוי לכם והטריקלין מוצע לכם אתם ותלמידיכם מזומנין לכת שלישית ואתיא כמ"ד (תהילים ט״ז:י״א) שובע שמחות את פניך שבע כיתות של צדיקים לעתיד לבוא שוב מעשה בי ר' יהושע שהיה מהלך בדרך ובן זומא בא כנגדו שאל בשלומו ולא השיבו אמר לו מאיין ולאיין בן זומא אמר לו מסתכל הייתי במעשה בראשית ואין בין מים העליונים למים התחתונים אלא כמלא פותח טפח נאמר כאן ריחוף ונאמר להלן (דברים ל״ב:י״א) כנשר יעיר קינו על גוזליו ירחף מה ריחוף שנאמר להלן נוגע ואינו נוגע אף ריחוף שנאמר כאן נוגע ואינו נוגע א"ר יהושע לתלמידיו הרי בן זומא מבחוץ ולא היו ימים קלים עד שנפטר בן זומא ר' יודה בר פזי בשם ר' יוסי בי ר' יודה שלשה הרצו תורתן לפני רבן ר' יהושע לפני רבן יוחנן בן זכאי ר' עקיבה לפני ר' יהושע חנניה בן חכיניי לפני ר' עקיבה מיכן והילך אין דעתן נקייה ארבעה נכנסו לפרדס אחד הציץ ומת אחד הציץ ונפגע אחד הציץ וקיצץ בנטיעות אחד נכנס בשלום ויצא בשלום בן עזאי הציץ ונפגע עליו הכתוב אומר (משלי כ״ה:ט״ז) דבש מצאת אכול דייך בן זומא הציץ ומת עליו הכתוב אומר (תהילים קיז) יקר בעיני ה' המותה לחסידיו אחר הציץ וקיצץ בנטיעות מני אחר אלישע בן אבויה שהיה הורג רבי תורה אמרין כל תלמיד דהוה חמי ליה משבח באוריתא הוה קטיל ליה ולא עוד אלא דהוה עליל לבית וועדא והוה חמי טלייא קומי ספרא והוה אמר מה אילין יתבין עבדין הכא אומנותיה דהן בנאי אומנותיה דהן נגר אומנותיה דהן צייד אומנותיה דהן חייט וכיון דהוון שמעין כן הוון שבקין ליה ואזלין לון עליו הכתוב אומר (קוהלת ה) אל תתן את פיך לחטיא את בשרך וגו' שחיבל מעשה ידיו של אותו האיש אוף בשעת עקתא הוון מטענין לון מטילין והוון מתכוונין מיטעון תרי חד מטול משום שנים שעשו מלאכה אחת אמר אטעוננון יחידאין אזלין ואטעונינון יחידיין והוון מתכוונין מיפרוק בכרמלית שלא להוציא מרשות היחיד לרשות הרבים אמר אטעונינון צלוחיין אזלין ואטעונינון צלוחיין רבי עקיבה נכנס בשלום ויצא בשלום עליו הכתוב אומר (שיר השירים א׳:ד׳) משכני אחריך נרוצה וגו'
Four entered the Pardes. One gazed and died. One gazed and was afflicted. One gazed and cut the saplings. One entered in peace and departed in peace.
Ben Azzai gazed and was stricken. Of him Scripture says: "If you find honey, eat only what you need, lest, gorging yourself, you throw it up. (Prov. 25:16)."
Ben Zoma gazed and died. Of him Scripture says: "The death of His faithful ones is precious in the eyes of Adonai (Ps.116.15)."
R. Akiva entered in peace, and departed in peace. Of him Scripture says: "Draw me after you, let us run! The king has brought me to his chambers. (Song of Songs 1:4)."