Whose opinion do we value?

Hi,

"[When Rabbi Eliezer was dying,] his students said to him: Our master, bless us!

"He said to them: May it be Gd's will that you are as intimidated by heaven as you are by flesh and blood.

"His students said to him: Is that it? [Meaning: Would that be the greatest level we could achieve?]

"He said to them: I wish [you would achieve that much]! You know this, for when a person sins he says, 'I hope people don't see me.'"

(Talmud, Berachot 28b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

An original Torah thought

Hi,

"They asked R' Eliezer: Will so-and-so enter the next world? He replied: You asked me about this other person?

"They asked: Is a shepherd obligated to save a lamb from a lion? He replied: You only asked about the lamb?

"They asked: Is one obligated to save the shepherd from a lion? He replied: You only asked about the shepherd?

"They asked: May a mamzer inherit? He replied: May a mamzer perform yibbum?

"They asked: May one line his home with lime today [after the destruction of the Temple]? He replied: May one line a grave with lime today?

"He did not want to lead them afield verbally, but he never said that which he had not heard from his rebbe."

(Talmud, Yoma 66b)

To which the Sfat Emet commented:
"It appears that this was specifically while their rebbe lived; they avoided this as a stringency, for their rebbe's honour, even when it was legally permitted. After their deaths, though, the students taught and judged."

(R' Yehudah Leib Alter, Sfat Emet to Yoma 66b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Originality in Torah study

Hi,

"Once R' Eliezer stayed in the Upper Galil and the residents asked him about 30 laws of succah. For twelve he said, "I've learned this," and for eighteen he said, "I have not learned this."… They said to him, "All of your words are only received tradition!"

"He replied, "Will you compel me to say something I haven't heard from my rebbeim [mentors]? No one has ever preceded me to the study hall, I have never slept for extended or brief periods in the study hall, I have never left anyone behind me in the study hall, I have never spoken of mundane matters, and I have never said anything I did not hear from my rebbe.""

(Talmud, Succah 28a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Re-creating Sinai

Hi,

"Rabbi Eliezer's study hall was arranged like eyelashes (in an arc, presumably), with a single stone designated as his seat. Once Rabbi Yehoshua entered and kissed the stone, saying, 'This stone is like Mount Sinai, and the one who sits there is like the Ark of the Covenant.'"

(Midrash, Shir haShirim Rabbah 1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The pain of Rabbi Eliezer, the teacher of Torah

Hi,

"[When Rabbi Eliezer was on his deathbed] he took his two arms and placed them on his chest and said: Woe to you, my two arms, which are like two rolled Torah scrolls!

"I have learned much Torah, and I have taught much Torah. I have learned much Torah, but I took from my mentors only as a dog takes from water. I taught much Torah, but my students only took from me as an applicator takes from eye make-up.

"Further, I studied 300 laws regarding a strong white baheret mark [of tzaraat], and no one ever asked me about them! And I studied 300 laws – some say 3000 laws – in planting cucumbers, and no one ever asked me about them, except Akiva ben Yosef!"

(Talmud, Sanhedrin 68a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai