The Failed Mission

In every essay I have written so far, I have presented a question and answered it, but in this one, I would like to have a different approach. Here I would like to present a bunch of questions on a topic that has been bothering me for a few years now. On the outside, it looks simple, but once you start delving in, you notice a whole different picture. So, with your permission, let's begin.

Just to mention, the following is my opinion, or just some thoughts and questions out loud.

In Masechet Chagigah 14b of the Talmud Bavli, there's a story about four people who went to Pardes: Ben Azzai and Ben Zoma, Acher, and Rabbi Akiva. Four great scholars embarked on a mystical journey. Ben Azzai died, Ben Zoma lost his mind, and Acher lost his faith or went off the derech. Only one, Rabbi Akiva, returned unscathed. 

As a sidenote, Rabbi Elisha ben Avuya or Acher was a wealthy Jerusalemite, one of the great sages of the Mishnah, as they were called Tannayim. Tannayim were the caliber that could raise the dead. He is quoted by name in a Mishnah in Tractate Avot, and his ruling regarding mourning rites is cited in Tractate Megillah. He was a colleague of Rabbi Akiva and the teacher of Rabbi Meir, one of the greatest and most prolific contributors to the Mishnah. Above is his biography, so we know who we are dealing with. 

My personal rule is: No Tannah EVER Goes OFF The Derech. So, in that case, what happened? Why is it documented in the Gemara that he did go off the derech?

I think the correct question that should be asked about what happened in the Pardes? 

So he chopped the trees and saw Angel Methatron sitting. And this is what made him go off the derech? But why?

I do believe there's much more to this. 

The Nation at that time was divided into two camps: those who had visited the Pardes and those who hadn't. 

And I believe that the current problems we have in the nation are because those who were not in Pardes won, since they crushed those who had been there. And I am not talking about one or two people, but the Rabbanut and the community as a whole went against Rabbi Elisha ben Avuya and Ben Zoma. (Looks like the community loves to crush people and go as a group against the few, but more on this later.)

The ascent to Pardes was a failed mission; they had a reason to go there, and thus far, what we know about it is only hinted at and not discussed openly in the Gemara. But there's a reason why they went there.

And the reason is...

First, what is Pardes? You can read about it here. The fruits they ate from the tree made them know Torah. So, all three knew Torah, not only Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Akiva was a seasoned rabbi, and he was the only one teaching Torah. What happened to the other two? 

Well, Ben Zoma was called crazy. Why? I believe he was a young fellow with no credentials as a Rabbi, and since he knew Torah because he came from Pardes, the rabbis of the old told him, "You think you're going to teach us Torah? We are double and triple your age, and we been at it longer than you, and you want us to listen to you? You must be crazy! Oh yes, you are!" And that's what they labeled him.

In his conversation on Chagigah 15A says: "There was once an incident with regard to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya, who was standing on a step on the Temple Mount, and ben Zoma saw him and did not stand before him to honor him, as he was deep in thought. Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: From where do you come and where are you going, ben Zoma, i.e., what is on your mind? He said to him: In my thoughts I was looking upon the act of Creation, at the gap between the upper waters and the lower waters, as there is only the breadth of a mere three fingers between them, as it is stated: "And the spirit of G-d hovered over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2), like a dove hovering over its young without touching them. Rabbi Yehoshua said to his students who had overheard this exchange: Ben Zoma is still outside; he has not yet achieved full understanding of these matters."

But if you dwell on his answer a bit more, you will see a depth in his answer. What are the lower and upper waters? The breadth of a mere three fingers between the waters; what does he mean by that? He has given a very deep answer. I believe Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya did not understand him, since they did not learn Torah from a young, crazy, and no-credentials fellow.

Again, just so you know who Ben Zoma is: a Tannah, who is cited in multiple places in the Talmud and the Midrash for Midrashic interpretation, for laws relating to blessings, for discussions about lineage and marriage laws, and in the Passover Haggadah. Although not formally ordained (hence called "Ben" rather than "Rabbi"), he was regarded as extraordinarily brilliant. The Talmud preserves statements showing that leading sages considered him exceptionally sharp in argumentation.

Rabbi Akiva came intact - came back alive and seemed as if nothing happened.

I heard in one of the lectures that there's an opinion that 24,000 students' deaths happened because of his support for Bar Kochba, since they joined his army. And second, he publicly supported Bar Kochba and proclaimed him Mashiach, which turned out to be false, and there were plenty of consequences that followed. 

How come no one holds him liable for that? Oh wait, someone does - Hashem. Rabbi Akiva is counted as one of the martyrs and dies a horrible death. Can it be because of the above??

- Why did Rabbi Akiva support Bar Kochba?
- Why was Rabbi Akiva smiling when he saw a fox on the Temple Mount, emerging from the place of the Holy of Holies? (Read the whole story)
- How come Acher and Ben Zoma were not part of the 10 martyrs, since they all lived in that generation, but only Rabbi Akiva was one of the ten?

Let's talk a little about Rabbi Elisha ben Avuya or Acher, as he is currently called. 

- My first question would be, what made Rabbanut turn away from him? 
- Why did he turn away from them?
- Why did he leave the community?
- Why did he stop going to synagogue or Bet Midrash?
- Why were the kids reciting to him the passages that sounded bad - or insisted that he was a rasha?
- Why did he hire a zona? That's a big one.
- But another BIG question is, what made him a rasha? 
- What was it about him that, after his arrival from Pardes, made him different?
- Why did everyone think that the Torah of Acher was maimed and bad? He ate the fruit in Pardes; his Torah was awesome and ahead of its time.

He was a rejected sage, and I really would like to add him to the following list of The Rejected Trio. 

So many questions, and more could be added to this list, but so much of this story can be explained only if it is learned through the passage from Tanach and Torah together, since the keys are hidden there. Once they are applied, then a whole new picture is painted.

Are there consequences for the community for mistreating Rabbi Elisha Ben Avuyah? I believe there, and we are paying for it to this day. Rabbi Elisha Ben Avuyah is a Mighty of Israel, and for mistreating the Tannah HaKadosh, Hashem has taken the insults personally and has punished the nation to this day, to this year of 2026. From just reading the Gemara, it seems all cut and dry, with no questions, but once we start delving in a new way, all the questions above will be answered, and many places in the Torah become clear and understandable.

- Who atoned for Rabbi Elisha Ben Avuyah? There's someone who has made atonement for him.
- Did he succeed?
- How far did he go in the atonement process?
- What is his name, and when did he live?
- What steps has he taken to accomplish that?

Since Ben Zoma didn't make a sin, how did Hashem atone the nation for mislabeling and mistreating Ben Zoma? Ben Zoma died young, and believe me, he was another rejected one from society. 

Society should get its act together. Nothing in this world goes away unpunished. Eventually, we answer for everything. 

And finally, is there a connection between Rabbi Elisha Ben Avuyah - Adam HaRishon and Chavah, Moshe Rabbenu, and our times? I think there's a connection.

And the reason why they went to Pardes is...

I would like to invite the Honored Rabbis to my humble Shulchan Aruch - a set table of insights, where I would like to serve the answers to the above posed questions and some more... 

Thank you for your consideration,

Shmuel Katanov