Avot161

נושא: Avot

BET MIDRASH VIRTUALI

Rabbi Ĥalafta ben-Dosa from Kefar Ĥananyah says: When ten people sit down and occupy themselves with Torah the Divine Presence rests among them, for it is said [Psalm 82:1] "God stands in the divine assembly". And from where [do we know that this is the case with] even [just] five? – It says [Amos 9:6] "And His thumb founded it on the earth". And from where [do we know that this is the case with] even [just] three? – It says [Psalm 82:1] "Among the justices He pronounces judgment". And from where [do we know that this is the case with] even [just] two? – It says [Malachi 3:16] "Those who revere God have been talking to one another; God has heard and noted it". And from where [do we know that this is the case with] even [just] one? – It says [Exodus 20:21] "In every place where I cause My name to be mentioned I will come to you and bless you".

1:
Rabbi Ĥalafta ben-Dosa is not known to us from any other source, which is strange. This has led some scholars to suggest that the name has been changed in error and that our mishnah should be attributed to Rabbi Ĥanina ben-Dosa. Seeing that several other teachings are given in this chapter in the name of Rabbi Ĥanina ben-Dosa the scholars may be right. I offer here a brief outline concerning Rabbi Ĥanina ben-Dosa. If he was indeed the author of our mishnah that is well; if he was not we have lost nothing thereby, since about Rabbi Ĥalafta ben-Dosa we know nothing.

2:
It is rare to find a sage who was loved and respected both by his contemporaries and by later generations even though he was not famed for his halakhic legacy nor for his legacy in Aggadah. But such is the case of Rabbi Ĥanina ben-Dosa, whose claim to fame was chiefly as a saintly man. Later in this chapter we shall encounter other teachings of his which truly exemplify his gentle saintliness.

3:
Rabbi Ĥanina ben-Dosa was a student of Rabban Yoĥanan ben-Zakkai and lived to be one of the prominent sages in Yavneh during the presidency of Rabban Gamli'el. In his own lifetime he gained a reputation for being a miracle worker. While modern sceptism may dismiss such stories as examples of "happy coinicdence" it cannot cloud the enormous respect in which this man was held. Even his own teacher admired him to an extraordinary degree. The story is recounted in the Gemara [Berakhot 34b]:

The son of Rabbi Yoĥanan ben-Zakkai fell ill. He [Yoĥanan] said, "Ĥanina my son, pray that he [the son] might recover." He [Ĥanina] rested his head between his knees and prayed. He [the son] recovered. Rabbi Yoĥanan ben-Zakkai said, "If ben-Zakkai had thrust his head between his knees all day they would pay him no attention [in heaven]." His wife asked him, "Is Ĥanina greater than you?" He replied, "No. But he is like a servant before the king whereas I am like a minister before the king."

The fact that the 'miracle worker' at this time was still a student is indicated by the fact that the teacher addresses him as "Ĥanina, my son" and is given no formal title. From several sources in the ancient world we know that concentrating with the head between the knees was a well-known posture for deep meditation.

4:
In that same source [Berakhot 34b] a similar story is told, but this must have occurred couple of decades later than the previous story:

The son of Rabban Gamli'el fell ill. He dispatched two students to Rabbi Ĥanina ben-Dosa to ask him to pray for him [his son]. As soon as he saw them he [Ĥanina] retired upstairs and prayed. When he came down he told them, "You can go now: the temperature has left him." They remonstrated: "Are you a prophet?!" He replied, "'I am neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet' [Amos 7:14]. But I know that if my prayer flows eloquently that it has been accepted; if not, I know that he [the patient] is doomed." They sat down and recorded the exact time; when they returned to Rabban Gamli'el he said, "I swear that it was neither before nor after, but at that selfsame hour his temperature left him and he asked us for some water."

To be continued.

I have received from Michael Epstein a message that is unlike any that I have received before in all the ten years of this Study Group. After careful through I have decided to present it to you "as is", because it clearly comes straight from the heart. Our sages assure us that words that come straight from the heart go straight into the heart.

I read the shiurim regularly even when they are beyond me or it doesn't touch me, I read them anyway so thank you. I should write every time I read one and say thank you but I'm not that elevated. Here's hoping I remember to do it more often. One of the problems I have about learning is that it is not practical. Is there no way you could tap into the vast readership and ask us to do something? – to say an extra blessing, to hug a tree, to add $1 to the tzedakah box. Maybe a line at the end of the shiur asking your readers to tell us how something they read inspired them to do something. Again thanks.

I respond:

There is certainly no need for you or anyone else to trouble themselves to thank me: "More than the calf wants to suck the cow wants to suckle". (But it is nice when, from time to time, someone tells me how much they enjoyed this or that shiur.) There is a line at the end of each shiur drawing the attention of people to the possibility of giving a modest donation to the Masorti Movement if they enjoyed a shiur.

As far as practicality is concerned: every day, just before we recite Shema we ask God to "put it into our hearts to understand, comprehend, obey, learn, teach, observe, perform and do all the words of the study of Your Torah in love". We should all make every effort to "turn away from wrongdoing" and rejoice when we also manage to "do good" [Psalm 34:15].

A happy and joyous Ĥanukah to everybody!

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