Avot215

1:
Chapter Four of Tractate Avot moves us forward into the next generation of Tannaïm: those who were active mainly in the period which followed the Bar-Kokhba débacle. Though, clearly, there is never an obvious divide between one generation and another.

2:
Shim'on ben-Zoma was one of the students who clustered around the aging Rabbi Yehoshu'a ben-Ĥananya at the beginning of the second century. His acumen in both Halakhah and Aggadah leaves us with no doubt that he was admitted to the circle of sages. The reason why he is almost always referred to simply by his patronymic is generally seen as a mark of disapproval by his colleagues that he never married. (It is interesting that this is true also of his colleague Shim'on ben-Azzai.)

3:
Rabbi Shim'on ben-Zoma was, as we have just noted, most proficient in halakhah, but also in aggadah. But it seems that what drew him most to study with Rabbi Yehoshu'a was the fact that he was drawn to esoteric studies. We have seen that the troubled times that followed immediately after the great revolt against the Romans created an increased tendency towards esoteric studies. (See, in particular, what we wrote about Rabbi El'azar ben-Arakh in Avot 131.) It seems that this tendency did not abate but increased during the decades which followed – right up to and past the bar-Kokhba tragedy. It seems that after Rabbi Yehoshu'a died, at least for the purpose of esoteric studies, ben-Zoma attached himself to a group at the centre of which was Rabbi Akiva. And, apart from Rabbi Akiva, notes a famous baraita [Ĥagigah 14b], all of them suffered mentally (just as had Rabbi El'azar ben-Arakh in his generation).

4:
Even when he was still a student, ben-Zoma had been 'ticked off' by his teacher for involving himself too deeply in this kind of material. We are told [Ĥagigah 15a] that on one occasion he was so engrossed in his esoteric speculations that he completely ignored Rabbi Yehoshu'a when the two happened to meet. His teacher stopped him: "Ben-Zoma, whence and wither?" This pithy question suggests that the teacher was not only asking where his student had come from and where he was going, but also was showing concern about his esotericism. When ben-Zoma had answered him Rabbi Yeshoshu'a remarked to his other students: "Ben-Zoma is going too far!".

To be continued.

In Avot 211 we had occasion to quote a mishnah which taught that three 'sins' might cause the death of women in childbirth. Ze'ev Orzech writes:

The mishnah seems to say that for women any transgression of a women-obligated mitzvah can lead to death. Pretty harsh punishment, I would say. On the other hand, if you believe that bad things can’t happen to good people, how else do you explain women dying in childbirth?

I respond:

Well, people do die, so I suppose that the sages can attribute our deaths to all sorts of sins. If they single out three in the case of women perhaps it is an indication how important they considered the observance of these mitzvot.

Because of the incidence of Tish'a b'Av the next shiur in this series will be, God willing, on Monday 7th August.