A Fangirl's Guide to the Talmud: Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus

Rebbi Abbahu said: It happened that Rebbi Eliezer’s mother was pushing him to marry his sister’s daughter. He used to say to her, "My daughter, go and get married! My daughter, go and get married!" until she said to him, "Here I am your slave girl to wash the feet of my master’s servants." Even though he married her, he did not recognize her as his wife until she had grown two pubic hairs.

What were the origins of Rabbi Eliezer ben [Hyrcanus]? He was twenty-two [years old] and he had never studied Torah. One day [he said: I will leave my family and go study] Torah with Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai. His father, Hyrcanus, said to him: You will not eat until you have plowed a full plot of ground! He got up and plowed a full plot of ground. It is said that it was Friday, and so he went and ate with his father-in-law. But some say that he ate nothing from six hours before the Sabbath until six hours after the Sabbath.

When he was on the road he saw a stone that looked like food and he took it and put it in his mouth. (And some say that it was cow dung.) He went and spent the night in an inn. Then he continued on, until he came before Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai in Jerusalem.

Soon Rabbi Yochanan noticed Eliezer’s terrible breath. Rabbi Yohanan said: Eliezer, my son, have you eaten anything today? Eliezer said nothing. Rabbi Yochanan asked again and again; Eliezer said nothing. He sent a message to the inn, asking: Did Eliezer eat anything when he stayed with you? They replied: We thought perhaps he would be eating with the rabbi. He said: [I, likewise, thought perhaps he had eaten with you. With you assuming on one end and I on the other, we ended up wasting Eliezer away between us. So Rabbi Yochanan said to Eliezer: Just as you have had this terrible smell coming from your mouth, so will you one day have a great reputation from the Torah coming from you.

His father, Hyrcanus, heard that he had gone to study Torah with Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai. He said to himself: I will go and force Eliezer to swear off any claim to my property. It is said that on that day, Rabbi Yohanan was sitting and interpreting Torah in Jerusalem, and all the great minds of Israel were sitting before him. He heard that Hyrcanus had come, and he spoke to the guards and said: If he tries to sit here, do not let him. He did try to sit, and they did not let him. So he went up several rows until he found a place near Tzitzit ben HaKeset, Nakdimon ben Gurion, and Kalba Savua. He sat down next to them, nervously. It is said that on that day, Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai looked at Rabbi Eliezer and said: Open our session with an interpretation. He replied: I cannot open. Rabbi Yohanan and the other students pressured him until he stood up ([and opened]) with an interpretation that no ear had ever heard before. At every word that came out of his mouth, Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai would stand up and kiss him on the head (and say to him: Eliezer, my rabbi, you have taught me truth!). Before the gathering ended, Hyrcanus stood up and said: Gentlemen, I came here in order to have my son swear off any claim to my property. But now all of my property will be given to my son Eliezer, and all his brothers will [get nothing!].

(1) THE sons of Hyrḳanos said to their father: Get thee up to Jerusalem and vow that thy son Eliezer should not enjoy any of thy possessions. He went up to Jerusalem to disinherit him, and it happened that a festival was being celebrated there by R. Yochanan ben Ẓakkai. All the magnates of the district were dining with him; (such as) Ben Tzitzit Hakkeseth, Nicodemus ben Gorion, and Ben Kalba Savua.

(2) Why was his name called Ben Tzitzit Hakkeseth? Because he reclined at table in a higher position than the other magnates of Jerusalem. Concerning Nicodemus ben Gorion, people said that he had (stored) provisions containing 3 S'ah of fine flour for every inhabitant of Jerusalem. When the zealots arose and burnt all the storehouses, they measured and found that he had had provisions for three years for every inhabitant in Jerusalem. Concerning Ben Kalba Savua it was told that he had a house measuring 4 Kors with roofs covered with gold. The people said (to R. Yochanan): Behold, the father of R. Eliezer has arrived. He bade them saying: Prepare a place for him, and seat him next to us. (R. Yochanan) fixed his gaze on R. Eliezer, saying to him, Tell us some words of the Torah. (R. Eliezer) answered him saying: Rabbi! I will tell thee a parable. To what is the matter like? To this well which cannot yield more water than the amount which it has drawn (from the earth); likewise am I unable to speak words of the Torah in excess of what I have received from thee.

(3) (R. Jochanan) said to him, I will (also) tell thee a parable. To what is the matter like? To this fountain which is bubbling and sending forth its water, and it is able to effect a discharge more powerful than what it secretes; in like manner art thou able to speak words of the Torah in excess of what Moses received at Sinai. (R. Yochanan) continued: Lest thou shouldst feel ashamed on my account, behold I will arise and go away from thee. Rabban Yochanan ben Ẓakkai arose and went outside. (Thereupon) R. Eliezer sat down and expounded. His face shone like the light of the sun and his effulgence beamed forth like that of Moses, so that no one knew whether it was day or night. They went and said to Rabban Yochanan ben Ẓakkai: Come and see R. Eliezer sitting and expounding, his face shining like the light of the sun and his effulgence beaming like that of Moses, so that no one knows whether it be day or night. He came from (his place) behind him and kissed him on his head, saying to him: Happy are ye, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya'acov, because this one has come forth from your loins.

(4) Hyrḳanos his father said: To whom does (R. Yochanan) speak thus? The people answered: To Eliezer thy son. He said to them: (R. Yochanan) should not have spoken in that manner, but (in this wise), "Happy am I because he has come forth from my loins." Whilst R. Eliezer was sitting and expounding, his father was standing upon his feet. When (Eliezer) saw his father standing upon his feet, he became agitated and said to him: My father! be seated, for I cannot utter the words of the Torah when thou art standing on thy feet. (Hyrḳanos) replied to him: My son, it was not for this reason that I came, but my intention was to disinherit thee. Now that I have come and I have witnessed all this praise; behold thy brothers are disinherited and their portion is given to thee as a gift.

(5) (Eliezer) replied: Verily I am not equal to one of them. If I had asked the Holy One, blessed be He, for land, it would be possible for Him to give this to me, as it is said, "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof" (Ps. 24:1). Had I asked the Holy One, blessed be He, for silver and gold, He could have given them to me, as it is said, "The silver is mine, and the gold is mine" (Hag. 2:8). But I asked the Holy One, blessed be He, that I might be worthy (to learn the) Torah only, as it is said, "Therefore I esteem all precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way" (Ps. 119:128).

(8) ...Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai had five disciples and they were these: Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah, Rabbi Yose, the priest, Rabbi Shimon ben Nethaneel and Rabbi Eleazar ben Arach. He [Rabbi Johanan] used to list their outstanding virtues: Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus is a plastered cistern which loses not a drop; Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah happy is the woman that gave birth to him; Rabbi Yose, the priest, is a pious man; Rabbi Simeon ben Nethaneel is one that fears sin, And Rabbi Eleazar ben Arach is like a spring that [ever] gathers force.

He [Rabbi Yohanan] used to say: if all the sages of Israel were on one scale of the balance and Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus on the other scale, he would outweigh them all. Abba Shaul said in his name: if all the sages of Israel were on one scale of the balance, and Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus also with them, and Rabbi Eleazar ben Arach on the other scale, he would outweigh them all.

The Gemara relates: Imma Shalom, the wife of Rabbi Eliezer, was Rabban Gamliel’s sister. There was a Christian philosopher [pilosofa] in their neighborhood who disseminated about himself the reputation that he does not accept bribes. They wanted to mock him and reveal his true nature. She privately gave him a golden lamp, and she and her brother came before him, approaching him as if they were seeking judgment. She said to the philosopher: I want to share in the inheritance of my father’s estate. He said to them: Divide it. Rabban Gamliel said to him: It is written in our Torah: In a situation where there is a son, the daughter does not inherit. The philosopher said to him: Since the day you were exiled from your land, the Torah of Moses was taken away and the avon gilyon (rude homonym for Evangelion) was given in its place. It is written in the avon gilyon: A son and a daughter shall inherit alike. The next day Rabban Gamliel brought the philosopher a Libyan donkey. Afterward, Rabban Gamliel and his sister came before the philosopher for a judgment. He said to them: I proceeded to the end of the avon gilayon, and it is written: I, avon gilayon, did not come to subtract from the Torah of Moses, and I did not come to add to the Torah of Moses. And it is written there: In a situation where there is a son, the daughter does not inherit. She said to him: May your light shine like a lamp, e.g. the bribe you accepted from me. Rabban Gamliel said to him: The donkey came and kicked the lamp, eh? The entire affair was thus revealed.

...Imma Shalom, the wife of Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, was asked: For what reason are your children so good looking? She said to them: My husband does not converse ("mesaper," e.g. to tell stories or stretch things out) with me, not at the beginning of the night [when I am grumpy] nor at the end of the night [when I am sound asleep], but rather at midnight. And when he converses [to get me in the mood], he reveals a handbreadth of my body and covers a handbreadth, and he covers himself up as though he were being coerced by a demon. And I said to my husband: What is the reason? And he said to me: It is so that I will not set my eyes to any another woman, for such a one who fantasizes about another woman during intercourse with his wife, his children come to bastardy.

§ The Sages taught: The verse states: “Justice, justice, shall you follow.” This teaches that one should follow the best, most prestigious, court of the generation. For example, follow after Rabbi Eliezer to Lod, after Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai to Beror Ḥayil.

The Sages taught: When Rabbi Eliezer fell ill, his students entered to visit him. They said to him: Teach us paths of life, guidelines by which to live, and we will thereby merit the life of the World-to-Come. He said to them: Be vigilant in the honor of your counterparts, and prevent your children from logical overanalysis of controversial chukim, and place your children, while they are still young, between the knees of Torah scholars so that they grow up seeing scholars as role models and friends, and when you pray, know before Whom you stand. For doing that, you will merit the life of the World-to-Come.

GEMARA: Rabbi Eliezer teaches in the mishna that there are four women who transmit impurity only from the moment that they saw menstrual blood, not retroactively. Rabbi Yehoshua said: I heard this halakha from my teachers only with regard to a virgin. It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Eliezer said to Rabbi Yehoshua: You did not hear, but I did hear it. In other words, you may not have received a tradition from your teachers with regard to any other woman, but I did receive such a tradition. Furthermore, you heard a halakhic ruling with regard to only one woman, and I heard rulings with regard to many women. We do not say to one who had not seen the new moon to come and testify. Rather we give such an instruction only to he who saw it. Similarly, my opinion is weightier with regard to this issue, as I heard many rulings about the matter, whereas you did not. The Gemara reports: All the days of the life of Rabbi Eliezer, they would practice in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua, i.e., only a virgin would be exempt from retroactive impurity. After Rabbi Eliezer’s passing, Rabbi Yehoshua returned the matter to its former custom, which was to follow the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer. The Gemara asks: What is the reason that they did not act in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer during his lifetime? The Gemara answers: Because Rabbi Eliezer was a Shammuti, i.e., a follower of the rulings of Beit Shammai, and the halakha is generally in accordance with the opinion of Beit Hillel in their disputes with Beit Shammai. And the Sages held that if we act in accordance with his opinion in one matter, people will act in accordance with his opinion in other matters.

...In Beitar there were three individuals who were able to speak all seventy languages, and in Yavne there were four, and they were: Rabbi Eliezer, and Rabbi Yehoshua, and Rabbi Akiva, and Shimon HaTimni, who was not an ordained Sage, and he would therefore deliberate before the other judges while seated on the ground, not among the rows of Sages.

Rabbi Eliezer the Great says: From the day the Second Temple was destroyed, the generations have deteriorated: Scholars have begun to become like scribes that teach children, and scribes have become like beadles, and beadles have become like ignoramuses, and ignoramuses are increasingly diminished, and none ask and none seek. Upon whom is there to rely? Only upon our Father in Heaven. He also said: In the times of the approach of the Messiah, impudence will increase and high costs will pile up. Although the vine shall bring forth its fruit, wine will nevertheless be expensive. And the monarchy shall turn to heresy, and there will be no one to give reproof about this. The meeting place of the Sages will become a place of promiscuity, and the Galilee shall be destroyed, and the Gavlan will be desolate, and the men of the border shall go round from city to city to seek charity, but they will find no mercy. And the wisdom of scribes will putrefy, and people who fear sin will be held in disgust, and the truth will be absent. The youth will shame the face of elders, elders will stand before minors. Normal family relations will be ruined: A son will disgrace a father; a daughter will rise up against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies will be the members of his household. The face of the generation will be like the face of a dog; a son will no longer be ashamed before his father. And upon what is there for us to rely? Only upon our Father in heaven.

The Gemara relates a similar incident. The Sages taught: There was an incident involving Rabbi Eliezer, who stayed in the Upper Galilee, and the people there asked him thirty halakhot in the halakhot of sukka. In response to twelve, he said to them: I heard an answer from my teachers, and he related what he heard. In response to the other eighteen, he said to them: I did not hear an answer. Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Yehuda, says: It was the reverse of these matters. In response to eighteen he said to them: I heard an answer; in response to the other twelve he said to them: I did not hear an answer. They said to him: Are all the matters that you know only from what you heard? Don’t you say any matters on your own? He said to them: you forced me to say a matter that I did not hear from my teachers! In all my days, no person ever preceded me into the study hall, as I am always first to arrive; and I never slept in the study hall, neither substantial sleep nor a brief nap; and I never left anyone in the study hall and exited, as I was always last to leave; and I never engaged in idle chatter; rather, I discussed only necessary matters or matters of Torah; and I never taught anything that I did not hear from my teacher before me.

Why did Rabbi Yehoshua's guests fear to tell him the news from the Sanhedrin, making their master draw each verse out like a game of Clue? The Gemara answers: They were hesitant due to an incident that occurred. As it is taught in a baraita: There was an incident involving Rabbi Yosei ben Durmaskit, who went to greet Rabbi Eliezer in Lod. Rabbi Elazar said to him: What chidush was taught today in the study hall? Rabbi Yosei ben Durmaskit said to him: The Sages assembled, counted the votes, and concluded that although the lands of Ammon and Moav on the eastern side of the Jordan River are not part of Eretz Yisrael, and therefore the halakhot of the Sabbatical Year and tithes should not apply to them, as these lands are adjacent to Eretz Yisrael, one separates the poor man’s tithe there in the Sabbatical Year. Since the Sages debated which tithes should be separated, they had to take a vote to determine the halakha in this regard. Rabbi Eliezar said to him in anger: Yosei, extend your hands and catch your eyes, which are about to come out of their sockets. He extended his hands and caught his eyes. Rabbi Elazar wept and said the verse: “The counsel of the Lord is with them who fear Him; and His covenant, to make them know it” (Psalms 25:14), i.e., the Sages arrived at the correct conclusion, although they were unaware of the proper rationale behind it.

Rabbi Eliezer said to Rabbi Yosei to go and say to the Sages in the study hall: You are voting on matters where research might have led you to the truth. Do not be concerned with regard to your silly counting. This is the tradition that I received from Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai, who heard from his teacher, and his teacher from his teacher: It is a halakha transmitted to Moses from Sinai that in Ammon and Moav one separates the poor man’s tithe in the Sabbatical Year. What is the reason? Those who ascended from Egypt conquered many cities, and those who ascended from Babylonia did not conquer them after the destruction of the First Temple. This difference is important, because the first consecration of Eretz Yisrael, by those who ascended from Egypt, caused it to be sanctified only for its time and it was not sanctified forever, as that depended on the renewed conquest of the land by the Jewish people. And those who ascended from Babylonia left those cities aside and did not consider them part of Eretz Yisrael even after Jewish settlement was renewed there. They would plow and harvest in these places in the Sabbatical Year and tithe the poor man’s tithe, so that the poor of Eretz Yisrael, who did not have sufficient income from the previous years, could rely upon that produce in the Sabbatical Year, receiving help from this tithe.

It was taught that after Rabbi Eliezer’s mind was put at ease, he said: May it be God’s will that Rabbi Yosei’s eyes should return to their place. And indeed his eyes returned.

Rabbi Eliezer said: Let the honor of your friend be as dear to you as your own; And be not easily provoked to anger; And repent one day before your death. And [he also said:] warm yourself before the fire of the wise, but beware of being singed by their glowing coals, for their bite is the bite of a fox, and their sting is the sting of a scorpion, and their hiss is the hiss of a serpent, and all their words are like coals of fire.

The Sages taught: When Rabbi Eliezer was arrested and charged with heresy by the authorities, they brought him up to a tribunal to be judged. A certain judicial officer [hegemon] said to him: Christianity, indeed! How can a respected elder like you possibly engage in such nonsense? Rabbi Eliezer said to him: I faithfully believe what the Judge said is true. (That officer thought that Rabbi Eliezer was speaking about him and believed that Rabbi Eliezer was humbly accepting his scolding; but in fact he said this only in reference to his Father in Heaven. Rabbi Eliezer meant that he accepted God’s judgment, i.e., if he was charged he must have sinned to God in some manner.) The officer said to him: Since you put your trust in me and admit that you were foolishly bumbling about in the wrong place at the wrong time, you are acquitted [dimos]; you are exempt.

[Davar acher, the Brandes version requires Rabbi Eliezer to withdraw his accusation that the Roman judge encouraged his jailers to lynch an unconvicted detainee; the judge announces in court that the aforementioned bishop was duly convicted and legally executed. Rabbi Eliezer's vague words here are therefore seen by the judge as a retraction of his accusation, and the judge can therefore pander the populace by releasing their Jewish senator back to his Sanhedrin unharmed.]

When Rabbi Eliezer came home, his students entered to console him for being accused of Christian leanings. However, he took his experience as a rebuke from Heaven, a sign of great sin, and he did not accept their words of consolation.

Rabbi Akiva said to him: My teacher, allow me to say one matter from all of that which you taught me. Rabbi Eliezer said to him: Speak. Rabbi Akiva said to him: My teacher, perhaps some statement of heresy came before you and you derived pleasure from it, and because of this you were held responsible by Heaven. Rabbi Eliezer said to him: Akiva, you are right, as you have reminded me that once I was walking in the upper marketplace of Tzippori, and I found a man who was one of the students of Jesus the Nazarene, and his name was James (Ya’akov) of Kefar Sekhanya. He said to me: It is written in your Torah: “You shall not bring the payment to a prostitute, or the price of a dog, into the house of the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 23:19). What is the halakha: Is it permitted to make from the payment to a prostitute for services rendered a bathroom for a High Priest in the Temple? And I said nothing to him in response. He said to me: Jesus the Nazarene taught me the following: It is permitted, as derived from the verse: “For of the payment to a prostitute she has gathered them, and to the payment to a prostitute they shall return” (Micah 1:7). Since the coins came from a place of filth, let them go to a place of filth and be used to build a bathroom. And I derived pleasure from the statement, and due to this, I was arrested for heresy by the authorities, because I transgressed that which is written in the Torah: “Remove your way far from her, and do not come near the entrance of her house” (Proverbs 5:8). “Remove your way far from her,” this is a reference to heresy; “and do not come near the entrance of her house,” this is a reference to the ruling authority. The Gemara notes: And there are those who say a different interpretation: “Remove your way far from her,” this is a reference to heresy and the ruling authority; “and do not come near the entrance of her house,” this is a reference to a prostitute. (And how much distance must one maintain from a prostitute? Rav Ḥisda said: Four cubits...) [The Talmud goes on to rederive the Christian's sensible advice from purely Torah-based sources.]

Students once asked Rabbi Eliezer: If the goat became ill, what is the halakha with regard to whether the escort may carry it on his shoulder? He said to them: That goat can carry me and you, meaning that every Jew since Can and Abel has known to bring the best of their flock for a sacrifice, so what is the likelihood of one's best goat suddenly becoming ill on the road to Jerusalem? They asked him: If the one sending the goat away became ill, what is the halakha with regard to whether they send it with someone else? He said to them dismissively: I and you shall be in peace before a fine strapping messenger with no other symptoms suddenly contracts an illness at the most religiously inconvenient time of the year.

Other famous non-answers of Rabbi Eliezer include:

* They asked Rabbi Eliezer: What is the fate of so-and-so, a certain man who was known to be wicked, with regard to the World-to-Come? He evaded the question and said to them: You have only asked me about so-and-so, and not a different individual whom you believe to be righteous?

* They asked him: What is the halakha with regard to whether a shepherd may save a ewe from a lion on Shabbat (Me’iri)? He said to them: You have only asked me about the sheep? Shamefaced, they asked him: What is the halakha with regard to saving the shepherd from the lion on Shabbat? He said to them: You have only asked me about the shepherd? Nu, what about the rest of the passersby?

* They asked him: What is the halakha with regard to whether a mamzer inherits from his parents? Rabbi Eliezer responded with a question: Did you not ask me what is the halakha with regard to whether he may perform levirate marriage? [Those studying Yevamot for the Daf Yomi will note that this is not a rhetorical question and understand why no further questions were asked about the matter!]

* They asked him: What is the halakha with regard to whether it is permitted to plaster one’s house after the destruction of the Temple? Rabbi Eliezer responded: Nu, shmendricks, what is the halakha with regard to plastering one’s own grave?

(It was not because he was distancing them with words, and made irrelevant statements because he did not know the answers to these questions. Rather, Rabbi Eliezer responded in this way because he never said anything that he did not hear from the mouth of his teacher. )

A wise woman asked Rabbi Eliezer: Since all bore equal responsibility for the incident of the Golden Calf, due to what factor were their deaths not equal? Some of the people were killed by the sword of Moses and the Levites, some were killed in a plague, and others were struck with an intestinal illness. He said to her: There is no wisdom in a woman except weaving with a spindle, and so it states: “And any woman who was wise-hearted spun with her hands” (Exodus 35:25).

Ben Azzai states: A person is obligated to teach his daughter Torah, so that if she drinks and does not die immediately, she will know that some merit of hers has delayed her punishment. Rabbi Eliezer says: Anyone who teaches his daughter Torah is teaching her tiflut (lightheaded behavior, needless vanity, dalliance). The Gemara asks: Could it enter your mind to say that teaching one’s daughter Torah is actually teaching her dalliance? Rather, say: It is considered as if he taught her dalliance. Rabbi Abbahu says: What is the reason for Rabbi Eliezer’s statement? It is as it is written: “I, wisdom, dwell with cunning” (Proverbs 8:12), which indicates that once wisdom enters into a person, cunning enters with it. Rabbi Eliezer fears that the woman will use the cunning she achieves by learning the wisdom of the Torah to engage with the boys in less scholarly ways.

(4) When a guilty woman drinks she will not even manage to finish drinking before her face turns green and her eyes bulge, and her skin becomes full of protruding veins, and the people standing in the Temple say: Remove her, so that she does not render the Temple courtyard impure by dying there. If she has merit, it delays punishment for her and she does not die immediately. There is a merit that delays punishment for one year, there is a larger merit that delays punishment for two years, and there is a merit that delays punishment for three years.

From here Ben Azzai states: A person is obligated to teach his daughter Torah, so that if she drinks and does not die immediately, she will know that some merit she has delayed punishment for her. Rabbi Eliezer says: If the only purpose in Torah learning is to delay her punishment for inappropriate sexuality, then anyone who teaches his daughter Torah is teaching her dalliance[tiflut].

Rabbi Yehoshua says: A woman desires a boyfriend who offers her a kav of sustenance and a fulfilling sexual relationship [tiflut] rather than a richer fella who offers nine kav and won't even look her way out of sheer abstinence. Nonetheless, Rabbi Yehoshua was strongly opposed to anyone living like a nun--he would say: An idiot chasid, and a conniving rasha, and an abstinent woman [perusha], and those who injure themselves out of false abstinence; all these are people who erode the world.

§ The Sages taught in a baraita: There was an incident involving Rabbi Eliezer, who was sitting and lecturing about the halakhot of the Festival throughout the entire day before. When the first group left at one o'clock in the middle of his lecture, to pick up groceries and start the , he said: These must be owners of extremely large jugs [pittasin], who apparently have huge containers of wine awaiting them, such that they have to make kiddush six hours early. After a while a second group departed at two, to pick out treats for their children and put their toddlers down for naps. He said: These are owners of barrels, eh? Later a third group took its leave at three, to start the meat marinating and fire up the grill and he said: These are owners of jugs instead of kiddush cups, that they have to leave so early? A fourth group left an hour later, to make their eruvim and see to the other hilchot yom tov and he said: These must be the owners of jars [laginin], which are smaller than jugs. Upon the departure of a fifth group, who wished to set the table and see to the lights, he said: These are owners of regular cups, who still need over an hour to make kiddush?! When a sixth group began to leave at six p.m., he became upset that the house of study was being left almost completely empty and said: These are owners of a curse! They obviously do not have anything to indulge in at home, so why are they leaving before I have finished the lecture?

He cast his eyes upon the students remaining in the house of study. Immediately, their faces began to change color out of shame, as they feared he was referring to them and that perhaps they should have departed along with the others instead of staying. He said to them: My sons, I did not say that about you but only about those who left, because they abandon the eternal life of Torah and engage in the temporary life of eating and partying.

At the time of departure at quarter to seven, when there was scarcely half an hour until candlelighting, he said to them the verse: “Go your way, eat the fat and drink the sweet, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).

An incident is related that when Rabbi Eliezer’s maidservant died, his students entered to console him. When he saw them approaching he went up to the second floor, and they went up after him. He entered the gatehouse [anpilon], and they entered after him. He entered the banquet hall [teraklin], and they entered after him. Having seen them follow him everywhere, he said to them: It seems to me that you would be burned by lukewarm water, meaning that you could take a hint and when I went up to the second floor, you would understand that I did not wish to receive you. Now I see that you are not even burned by boiling hot water. Stop showing off! You are not even greeting me with the proper blessings over the loss of a slave!

Rabbi Eliezer raised his two arms and placed them on his heart, and he said: Woe to you, my two arms, as they are like two Torah scrolls that are now being rolled up, and will never be opened again. I have learned much Torah, and I have taught much Torah. I have learned much Torah, and I have not taken away from my teachers, even like a dog lapping from the sea. I have taught much Torah, and my students have taken away from me, i.e., they have received from my wisdom, only like the tiny amount that a paintbrush removes from a tube of paint. Moreover, I can teach three hundred halakhot with regard to a snow-white leprous mark [bebaheret], but no person has ever asked me anything about them. Moreover, I can teach three hundred halakhot (and some say that Rabbi Eliezer said three thousand halakhot), with regard to the planting of cucumbers by magic, but no person has ever asked me anything about them, besides Akiva ben Yosef.

Rabbi Eliezer described the incident: Once he and I were walking along the way, and he said to me: My teacher, teach me about the planting of cucumbers. I said one thing, and the entire field became filled with cucumbers. He said to me: My teacher, you have taught me about planting them; teach me about uprooting them. I said one thing and they all were gathered to one place.

The Gemara asks: How could Rabbi Eliezer have performed that act of sorcery? But didn’t we learn in the mishna that one who performs an act of sorcery is liable? The Gemara answers: Performing sorcery not in order to use it, but in order to teach oneself the halakhot is different, and it is permitted; as the Master says that it is derived from the verse: “You shall not learn to do like the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you…one who uses divination, a soothsayer, an enchanter, or a sorcerer” (Deuteronomy 18:9–10), so that you shall not learn, i.e., it is prohibited for you to learn, in order to do, but you may learn, i.e., it is permitted for you to learn, in order to understand the matter yourself and teach it to others.

The Sages taught: There was an incident involving Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua, who were traveling on a ship, and Rabbi Eliezer was sleeping and Rabbi Yehoshua was awake. Rabbi Yehoshua trembled, and Rabbi Eliezer awoke. Rabbi Eliezer said to him: What is this, Yehoshua; for what reason did you tremble? Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: I saw a great light in the sea. Rabbi Eliezer said to him: Perhaps you saw the eyes of the Leviathan, as it is written: “And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning” (Job 41:10).

...That day, he was eighteen years old, a miracle transpired for him and eighteen rows of hair turned white. The Gemara comments: That explains that which Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya said: I am as one who is seventy years old and he did not say: I am seventy years old, because he looked older than he actually was.

We learned in a mishna there (Kelim 5:10): If one cut an earthenware oven widthwise into segments, and placed sand between each and every segment, Rabbi Eliezer deems it ritually pure. Because of the sand, its legal status is not that of a complete vessel, and therefore it is not susceptible to ritual impurity. And the Rabbis deem it ritually impure, as it is functionally a complete oven. And this is known as the oven of akhnai. The Gemara asks: What is the relevance of akhnai, a snake, in this context? Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said: It is characterized in that manner due to the fact that the Rabbis surrounded it with their statements like this snake, which often forms a coil when at rest, and deemed it impure.

* The Sages taught: On that day, when they discussed this matter, Rabbi Eliezer answered all possible answers in the world to support his opinion, but the Rabbis did not accept his explanations from him. After failing to convince the Rabbis logically, Rabbi Eliezer said to them: If the halakha is in accordance with my opinion, this carob tree will prove it. The carob tree was uprooted from its place one hundred cubits, and some say four hundred cubits. The Rabbis said to him: One does not cite halakhic proof from the carob tree.

* Rabbi Eliezer then said to them: If the halakha is in accordance with my opinion, the stream will prove it. The water in the stream turned backward and began flowing in the opposite direction. They said to him: One does not cite halakhic proof from a stream.

* Rabbi Eliezer then said to them: If the halakha is in accordance with my opinion, the walls of the study hall will prove it. The walls of the study hall leaned inward and began to fall. Rabbi Yehoshua scolded the walls and said to them: If Torah scholars are contending with each other in matters of halakha, what is the nature of your involvement in this dispute? The Gemara relates: The walls did not fall because of the deference due Rabbi Yehoshua, but they did not straighten because of the deference due Rabbi Eliezer, and they still remain leaning to this very day.

* Rabbi Eliezer then said to them: If the halakha is in accordance with my opinion, Heaven will prove it. A Divine Voice emerged from Heaven and said: Why are you differing with Rabbi Eliezer, as the halakha is in accordance with his opinion in every place that he expresses an opinion? Rabbi Yehoshua stood on his feet and said: It is written: “It is not in heaven” (Deuteronomy 30:12).

* What is the relevance of the phrase “It is not in heaven” in this context? Rabbi Yirmeya says: Since the Torah was already given at Mount Sinai, we do not regard a Divine Voice, as You already wrote at Mount Sinai, in the Torah: “After a majority to incline” (Exodus 23:2). Since the majority of Rabbis disagreed with Rabbi Eliezer’s opinion, the halakha is not ruled in accordance with his opinion.

* Years after, Rabbi Natan encountered Elijah the prophet and said to him: What did the Holy One, Blessed be He, do at that time, when Rabbi Yehoshua issued his declaration? Elijah said to him: The Holy One, Blessed be He, smiled and said: My children have triumphed over Me; My children have triumphed over Me.

The Sages said: On that day, the Sages brought all the ritually pure items deemed pure by the ruling of Rabbi Eliezer with regard to the oven and burned them in fire, and the Sages reached a consensus in his regard and ostracized him. And the Sages said: Who will go and inform him of his ostracism? Rabbi Akiva, his beloved disciple, said to them: I will go, lest an unseemly person go and inform him in a callous and offensive manner, and he would thereby destroy the entire world. What did Rabbi Akiva do? He wore black and wrapped himself in black, as an expression of mourning and pain, and sat before Rabbi Eliezer at a distance of four cubits, which is the distance that one must maintain from an ostracized individual. Rabbi Eliezer said to him: Akiva, what is different about today from other days, that you comport yourself in this manner? Rabbi Akiva said to him: My teacher, it appears to me that your colleagues are distancing themselves from you. This was a polite euphemism, as actually they distanced Rabbi Eliezer from them. Rabbi Eliezer too, rent his garments and removed his shoes, as is the custom of an ostracized person, and he dropped from his seat and sat upon the ground.

The Gemara relates: His eyes shed tears, and as a result the entire world was afflicted: One-third of its olives were afflicted, and one-third of its wheat, and one-third of its barley. And some say that even dough kneaded in a woman’s hands spoiled. The Sages taught: There was great anger on that day, as any place that Rabbi Eliezer fixed his gaze was burned. And even Rabban Gamliel, the Nasi of the Sanhedrin at Yavne, the head of the Sages who were responsible for the decision to ostracize Rabbi Eliezer, was coming on a boat at the time, and a large wave swelled over him and threatened to drown him. Rabban Gamliel said: It seems to me that this is only for the sake of Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, as God punishes those who mistreat others.

Rabban Gamliel stood on his feet and said: Master of the Universe, it is revealed and known before You that neither was it for my honor that I acted when ostracizing him, nor was it for the honor of the house of my father that I acted; rather, it was for Your honor, so that disputes will not proliferate in Israel. In response, the sea calmed from its raging.

Imma Shalom, the wife of Rabbi Eliezer, was the sister of Rabban Gamliel. From that incident forward, she would not allow Rabbi Eliezer to fall on his face in grief and rage to recite the taḥanun prayer, which wails in pain and begs God to relieve us from our oppression. She feared that were her husband to bemoan his fate and pray at that moment, her brother would be punished. A certain day was around the day of the New Moon, and she inadvertently substituted a full thirty-day month for a deficient twenty-nine-day month, i.e., she thought that it was the New Moon, when one does not recite tachanun, but it was not. Some say that a beggar came and stood at the door, and she took bread out to him. The result was that she left her husband momentarily unsupervised. When she returned, she found him and saw that he had fallen on his face in prayer. She said to him: Arise, you already killed my brother! Meanwhile, the sound of a shofar emerged from the house of Rabban Gamliel to announce that the Nasi had died. Rabbi Eliezer said to her: From where did you know that your brother would die? She said to him: This is the tradition that I received from the house of the father of my father: All the gates of Heaven are apt to be locked, except for the gates of prayer for victims of verbal mistreatment.

The Gemara asks: And did Rabbi Akiva learn these halakhot from Rabbi Yehoshua? But isn’t it taught in a baraita: When Rabbi Eliezer took ill, Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues came to visit him. He was sitting on his canopied bed [bekinof ], and they were sitting in his parlor [biteraklin]; they did not know if he would be able to receive them, due to his illness, nor if it was proper for them to visit him, as he was still in contempt of court.

And that day was Shabbat eve, and Rabbi Eliezer’s son Hyrcanus entered to remove his tefillin. His father scolded him, and he left reprimanded. Hyrcanus said to his father’s colleagues: It appears to me that father's mind is torn, e.g. overcome by dementia. Rabbi Eliezer heard this and called to them from the bedroom: He, Hyrcanus, and his mother's minds are torn. How can they neglect Shabbat preparations with regard to prohibitions punishable by stoning, such as lighting the candles and preparing hot food, and engage in preparations concerning prohibitions by rabbinic decree, such as wearing tefillin on Shabbat? Since the Sages perceived from this retort that his mind was stable, they entered and sat before him at a distance of four cubits, as he was ostracized (see Bava Metzia 59b).

Rabbi Eliezer said to them: Why have you come? They said to him: We have come to study Torah, as they did not want to say that they came to visit him before his imminent death. Rabbi Eliezer said to them: And why have you not come until now? They said to him: We did not have spare time. Rabbi Eliezer said to them: I would be surprised if these Sages die their own death, i.e., by natural causes. Rabbi Akiva said to him: How will my death come about? Rabbi Eliezer said to him: Your death will be worse than theirs, as you were my primary student and you did not even visit me during my years of trouble.

Rabbi Eliezer raised his two arms and placed them on his heart, and he said: Woe to you, my two arms, as they are like two Torah scrolls that are now being rolled up, and will never be opened again. I have learned much Torah, and I have taught much Torah. I have learned much Torah, and I have not taken away from my teachers, i.e., I have not received from their wisdom, even like a dog lapping from the sea. I have taught much Torah, and my students have taken away from me, i.e., they have received from my wisdom, only like the tiny amount that a paintbrush removes from a tube of paint...

After these comments, the Sages asked him questions of halakha: What is the halakha, with regard to ritual impurity, of a ball made of leather and stuffed with rags, and likewise a last, the frame on which a shoe is fashioned, which is made of leather and stuffed with rags, and likewise an amulet wrapped in leather, and a pouch for pearls, wrapped in leather, and a small weight, which is wrapped in leather? Rabbi Eliezer said to them: They are susceptible to impurity, and their purification is effected by immersing them in a ritual bath as they are, as there is no need to open them up. They asked him further: What is the halakha with regard to a shoe that is on a last? Is it considered a complete vessel, which needs no further preparation, and is therefore susceptible to impurity? Rabbi Eliezer said to them: It is pure, and with this word, his soul left him in purity.

Rabbi Yehoshua stood on his feet and said: The vow is permitted; the vow is permitted; i.e., the ostracism that was placed on Rabbi Eliezer is removed. Rabbi Akiva was not present at the time of his death. At the conclusion of Shabbat, Rabbi Akiva encountered the funeral procession on his way from Caesarea to Lod. Rabbi Akiva was striking his flesh in the manner of the pagans until his blood flowed to the earth. He began to eulogize Rabbi Eliezer in the row of those comforting the mourners, and said: “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen” (II Kings 2:12). I have many coins, but I do not have a money changer to whom to give them, i.e., I have many questions, but after your death I have no one who can answer them.

Rabbi Abba said that Shmuel said: For three years Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel disagreed. These said: The halakha is in accordance with our opinion, and these said: The halakha is in accordance with our opinion. Ultimately, a Divine Voice emerged and proclaimed: Both these and those are the words of the living God. However, the halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Beit Hillel. The Gemara asks: Since both these and those are the words of the living God, why were Beit Hillel privileged to have the halakha established in accordance with their opinion? The reason is that they were agreeable and forbearing, showing restraint when affronted, and when they taught the halakha they would teach both their own statements and the statements of Beit Shammai. Moreover, when they formulated their teachings and cited a dispute, they prioritized the statements of Beit Shammai to their own statements, in deference to Beit Shammai.