Rav Asi and his mother

Hi,

This story is complex, and admits of multiple explanations:

"Rav Asi's elder mother said, 'I want jewelry,' and he made it for her. She said, 'I want a man," and he said he would seek one. She said, 'I want one as good as you,' and he left her and went to Israel. He heard that she was coming after him, and he asked R' Yochanan, 'May one leave Israel?' R' Yochanan replied, 'No." He asked, 'What about to greet my mother?' He said, 'I don't know.' He delayed a bit, then came back to R' Yochanan, who said, 'Asi, if you want to go back, may Gd return you there in peace.'

"Rav Asi went to R' Elazar and asked, 'Gd-forbid, is he [R' Yochanan] angry?' He replied, 'What did he say to you?' He said, 'May Gd return you there in peace.' R' Elazar said, 'If he was angry at you, he would not have blessed you.'

"By then he heard that his mother's casket had arrived. He said, 'Had I known, I would not have left.'"

(Talmud, Kiddushin 31b)

המצפה לישועה,
Mordechai