Avot169

נושא: Avot

BET MIDRASH VIRTUALI

Rabbi Shim'on says: anyone who is walking down a road repeating [his learning in his head] and says, "What a beautiful tree!" [or] "What a beautiful furrow!" is considered by scripture as having put his life in jeopardy. Rabbi Dostai, the son of Rabbi Yannai, quotes Rabbi Me'ir as saying: Anyone who forgets [even just] one part of his learning is considered by scripture as having put his life in jeopardy; for it says, "But take utmost care and watch yourselves scrupulously, so that you do not forget the things that you saw with your own eyes…" [Since] this could be [interpreted as referring to someone] who had a momentary blackout, the Torah adds "so that they do not fade from your mind as long as you live" – thus a person has not put his life in jeopardy until he sits down and [deliberately] removes them from his mind.

4:
When we bear in mind what the Romans did to his beloved teacher and all the other rabbinic leaders of his generation we can understand why Rabbi Shim'on bar-Yoĥai developed an uncompromising hatred for Romans and everything Roman. Because he refused to compromise in any way neither in his opinions nor in his teachings it is also not surprising that that the Romans condemned him to death.

5:
The well-known story is told in the Gemara [Shabbat 33b]:

Rabbi Yehudah [ben-Ilai], Rabbi Yosé [ben-Ĥalafta] and Rabbi Shim'on [ben-Yoĥai] were sitting [at their learning] and Yehudah ben-Gerim was with them. Rabbi Yehudah spoke up and said, "How beautiful are the works of this people [which has crushed the Jewish people into complete defeat]: they have built markets, they have build bridges, they have built baths…" Rabbi Yosé remained silent. Rabbi Shim'on ben-Yoĥai spoke up: "Everything that they have built is only for their own needs. They built the markets for their prostitutes [to tote their wares]; they built baths in which they can luxuriate; [and they built] bridges at which they can charge taxes."

The animus that Rabbi Shim'on has against the Romans and their culture is clear. It is also reasonably clear that Rabbi Yehudah belonged to the 'peace party' of his time. Rabbi Yosé probably agreed with Rabbi Shim'on, but was more circumspect and knew that it was much safer not to be so outspoken.

6:
The Gemara goes on to recount how the Romans got to hear of this private conversation and took their revenge: Yehudah ben-Gerim was promoted – to what is not clear; Rabbi Yosé was 'exiled' to Tzippori (Sepphoris) in Galilee; and on Rabbi Shim'on they pronounced the death sentence. So he and his son hid in the Bet Midrash where his wife would bring them food every day. But even so Rabbi Shim'on was concerned that the Romans might learn of their whereabouts if they tortured his wife, so he and his son went off to live in a cave in the middle of nowhere.

Miraculously a carob-tree grew up there and a well of water. They stripped off their clothes and sank themselves up to the neck in sand all day and studied. When the time for prayer came they would put on their clothes, pray, and them remove them again so that they would not wear out. They spent twelve years in that cave.

Twelve years seems to serve regularly in rabbinic stories for 'a long time'.

7:
At last, it seems, that even in heaven it was thought that they were exaggerating.

Elijah [the prophet] came and stood at the entrance of the cave and declared, "Who will inform Bar-Yoĥai that the emperor is dead and the persecution is ended?"

Apparently, someone came to let them know that Hadrian had died. Since the Hadrianic persecution had begin immediately after the Bar-Kokhba debacle in 136 CE and Hadrian died on July 19th 138, their stay in the cave could not have lasted twelve years! In all probability we should either read 'twelve months' or 'two years'. Be that as it may, father and son left their cave. But when they saw people going about their daily business they could not reconcile this with what they had been doing exclusively all that time they had been in the cave.

"They are forsaking eternal life and occupying themselves with temporal needs!" [So great was their anger] that wherever they looked that spot was immediately singed. A voice [from heaven] was heard: "Was it to destroy My world that you came out? Back to your cave!"

Thus even heaven itself disapproved of their exaggerated demands on human religiosity.

8:
The Gemara now recounts the end of the story:

They returned to the cave and remained there for a further twelve months… A voice was [again] heard from heaven saying "Leave your cave!" They left the cave… Rabbi Shim'on said to his son, "You and I, my son, are enough for this world."

He meant that the world will have to be sustained by the constancy of their study of Torah since ordinary mortals are clearly not capable of single minded devotion such as the father and the son had elected to show.

To be continued.

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