Pt1 The Story of Aher in the Talmud Yerushalmi (Chagigah 2:1)

This is the first part of a two-part series. The outline of the series is below.¹

The sugya starts with the famous account of the four who entered the Pardes: Ben Azzai, Ben Zoma, Aḥer, and R’ Akiva. One “peeked and was harmed,” one “peeked and died,” one “peeked and cut the plantings,” and one “entered in peace and left in peace.” The sugya then identifies each figure and attaches a prooftext to each outcome: Ben Azzai is connected with Proverbs 25:16, Ben Zoma with Psalms 116:15, Aḥer with Ecclesiastes 5:5, and R’ Akiva with Song of Songs 1:4.

Aḥer is introduced as the one who “cut the plantings.” The Yerushalmi interprets this as active damage to Torah transmission. He is said to have harmed Torah students, discouraged children from study by assigning them trades, and later, during (Roman) religious persecution, instructed (Roman) persecutors how to force Jews into more complete Shabbat violations.

The next large unit shifts to Aḥer’s continuing relationship with R’ Meir. R’ Meir is preaching in the study house of Tiberias when Elisha, his former teacher, rides by on a horse on Shabbat. R’ Meir interrupts his sermon and goes out to speak with him. Their exchange is structured around verses that R’ Meir had expounded that day: Job 42:10–12, Ecclesiastes 7:8, and Job 28:17. In each case, Aḥer responds by citing R’ Akiva’s alternative interpretation. This creates an unusual portrait: Aḥer is outside the observant community, but still preserves traditions in the name of R’ Akiva and corrects R’ Meir’s exegesis.

Part 2

The dialogue also gives Aḥer’s own explanation for his downfall. He applies R’ Akiva’s interpretation of “the end of a matter is better than its beginning” to himself. His father Avuya, a prominent Jerusalemite, dedicated Aḥer to Torah after seeing the power of Torah study at Aḥer’s circumcision, when R’ Eliezer and R’ Yehoshua studied Bible and fire descended around them like at Mount Sinai. But because Abuya’s intention was not for the sake of Heaven, Aḥer says that his own Torah did not endure. The sugya thereby links Aḥer’s failure to improper beginnings: his father’s motive, his own later experiences, and, in another tradition, even prenatal exposure to idolatrous incense.

The sugya then turns to the theological causes of Aḥer’s apostasy. One explanation says he saw a person violate the commandment of sending away the mother bird and survive, while another fulfilled the commandment and died from a snakebite. Aḥer reads this as a contradiction to the Torah’s promise of “good” and “long life” for those who keep this commandment, in Deuteronomy 22:7. The sugya answers through R’ Ya‘akov: the promised good and long life refer not to this world, but to the World to Come. Another explanation says Aḥer saw the tongue of R’ Yehuda the Baker (רבי יהודה הנחתום) in a dog’s mouth and concluded that there is no reward and no resurrection of the dead. These traditions frame his apostasy as a crisis over divine justice, reward, and resurrection.

The final sections focus on whether Aḥer can still be redeemed. On Aḥer’s deathbed, R’ Meir urges him to repent and interprets Psalms 90:3 to mean that repentance is accepted until the final dissolution of the soul. Aḥer cries and dies, and R’ Meir concludes that he died repentant. After burial, Aḥer’s grave burns, and R’ Meir spreads his cloak over it, reading Ruth 3:13 as a plea for divine redemption in the World to Come. R’ Meir later says that in the afterlife he would visit his teacher before his father, and argues that Aḥer can be saved by the merit of his Torah, just as one saves the case of a Torah scroll together with the scroll itself.

The sugya closes with Aḥer’s daughters coming to R’ Yehuda HaNasi for charity. At first he refuses, applying Psalms 109:12 against Aḥer’s descendants. They answer: “Do not look at his deeds; look at his Torah.” R’ Yehuda HaNasi accepts the argument, cries, and provides for them. His then proclaims a kal va-ḥomer: if one who toiled in Torah not for its own sake could produce such descendants, then one who toils in Torah for its own sake is all the more powerful. The sugya therefore ends with the residual merit of Torah, even when attached to a deeply compromised figure.

Outline

Intro

The Passage

Four entered the Pardes: one was harmed, one died, one cut the plantings, and one entered and left in peace

1. 1 - Ben Azzai - peeked and was harmed - Proverbs 25:16

2. 2 - Ben Zoma - peeked and died - Psalms 116:15

3. 3 - Aḥer - peeked and “cut the plantings”; Aḥer is identified as Elisha b Abuya, who damaged Torah students and discouraged children from study

   1. During (Roman) religious persecution, Aḥer instructed (Roman) persecutors how to force Jews into full Shabbat violations rather than technically mitigated acts

4. 4 - R’ Akiva - entered in peace and left in peace - Song of Songs 1:4

Aḥer and R’ Meir (#10)

1. R’ Meir interprets Job’s end being blessed as meaning that God doubled Job’s wealth - Job 42:10-12

   1. Elisha b. Abuya / Aḥer citing R’ Akiva - R’ Akiva did not interpret Job’s blessed end as material doubling, but as reward for the mitzvot and good deeds Job possessed from the beginning

2. R’ Meir - “The end of a matter is better than its beginning” means that a later successful outcome can compensate for earlier failure: children who survive in old age, commerce that succeeds later, or Torah forgotten in youth and retained later - Ecclesiastes 7:8

   1. Elisha b. Abuya / Aḥer citing R’ Akiva - R’ Akiva interpreted “the end of a matter is better than its beginning” only when the matter was good from the beginning

Part 2

1. Anecdote of Aher’s circumcision - Elisha b. Abuya / Aḥer - Aḥer applies R’ Akiva’s interpretation to himself: his dedication to Torah began from his father’s improper motive, so it did not endure

   1. At Aḥer’s circumcision, R’ Eliezer and R’ Yehoshua occupied themselves with studying Bible

   2. Aḥer’s father Abuya resolved to dedicate his son to Torah if Torah had such power, but his motive was not for Heaven’s sake

2. R’ Meir - “ it cannot be valued by gold or glass” means that Torah is difficult to acquire like gold vessels and easy to lose like glass vessels; but, like broken gold or glass vessels, a scholar who forgot his learning can return and learn it again - Job 28:17

3. Anecdote of Aher, R’ Meir, and Shabbat - Aḥer tells R’ Meir to stop walking because they have reached the Shabbat limit; he knows this by counting 2,000 cubits from his horse’s hoofbeats

   1. R’ Meir asks why Aher doesn’t repent

   2. Aḥer says he cannot repent because he heard a bat kol saying that all wayward children may return except Elisha b Abuya, who knew God’s power and rebelled - Jeremiah 3:14

4. Anecdote of Aher and the man taking the birds eggs - Aḥer lost faith after seeing one person violate the law of sending away the mother bird and survive, while another fulfilled it and died; he questioned the Torah’s promise of goodness and long life - Deuteronomy 22:7

   1. R’ Ya’akov - The promised “good” and “long life” for sending away the mother bird refer not to this world, but to the World to Come and the future that is entirely long - Deuteronomy 22:7

5. Anecdote of Aher and R’ Yehuda the Baker - Aḥer lost faith after seeing R’ Yehuda the Baker’s tongue in a dog’s mouth, and concluded that there is no reward and no resurrection of the dead

6. Anecdote of Aher’s mother, when she was pregnant with him - Aḥer’s corruption began prenatally: while pregnant, his mother smelled idolatrous incense, and it entered her body like snake venom

7. Anecdote re Aher’s death

   1. R’ Meir tells the dying Elisha that repentance is accepted until the final crushing/extinction of the soul - Psalms 90:3

   2. After Elisha cried and died, R’ Meir inferred that his teacher died in a state of repentance

8. Anecdote re Aher’s burial and grave

   1. Aḥer’s grave was burning

   2. R’ Meir spread his cloak over Aḥer’s grave and interpreted Ruth’s words as a plea: God should redeem Aḥer in the World to Come - Ruth 3:13; Psalms 145:9

9. Anecdote re R’ Meir regarding his teacher Aher vs own his father

   1. R’ Meir says that in the afterlife he would visit his teacher (=Aher) before his father

10. R’ Meir argues that Aḥer can be saved by the merit of his Torah, just as one saves the case of a Torah scroll or tefillin together with the sacred object

11. Anecdote re R’ Yehuda HaNasi and Aher’s daughters

    1. At first R’ Yehuda HaNasi refused charity to Aḥer’s daughters, applying a verse against his descendants; Aḥer’s daughters ask R’ Yehuda HaNasi not to look at Aḥer’s deeds, but at his Torah study - Psalms 109:12

    2. R’ Yehuda HaNasi reverses his decision and supports Aḥer’s daughters, reasoning that if Torah studied not for Heaven’s sake produced such descendants, Torah studied for its own sake is all the more powerful

The Passage

https://chavrutai.com/yerushalmi/Chagigah/2.1#9 thru #10

Four entered the Pardes: one was harmed, one died, one cut the plantings, and one entered and left in peace

ארבעה נכנסו לפרדס:

1. אחד הציץ ומת.

2. אחד הציץ ונפגע.

3. אחד הציץ וקיצץ בנטיעות.

4. אחד נכנס בשלום ויצא בשלום.

4 entered the orchard:²

1. One peeked and was hurt;

2. one peeked and died;

3. one peeked and cut saplings,

4. one entered in peace and left in peace.

1 - Ben Azzai - peeked and was harmed - Proverbs 25:16

בן עזאי --

הציץ ונפגע.

עליו הכתוב אומר:

דבש מצאת אכול דייך.

Ben Azzai --

peeked and was hurt;

about him the verse says:

if you found honey, eat your fill (Proverbs 25:16)

2 - Ben Zoma - peeked and died - Psalms 116:15

בן זומא --

הציץ ומת.

עליו הכתוב אומר:

יקר בעיני יי המותה לחסידיו.

Ben Zoma --

peeked and died,

about him the verse says:

dear in YHWH’s eyes is the death of his pious (Psalms 116:15)

3 - Aḥer - peeked and “cut the plantings”; Aḥer is identified as Elisha b Abuya, who damaged Torah students and discouraged children from study

אחר --

הציץ וקיצץ בנטיעות.

מני אחר?

אלישע בן אבויה.

שהיה הורג רבי תורה.

Aḥer --

peeked and cut saplings.

Who is Aḥer?

Elisha ben Abuya,

who killed the children of Torah.

אמרין:

כל תלמיד דהוה חמי ליה משבח באוריתא --

הוה קטיל ליה.

They said:

if he saw a student excelling (משבח) in Torah (אוריתא) --

he killed him.

ולא עוד אלא דהוה עליל לבית וועדא

והוה חמי טלייא קומי ספרא.

והוה אמר: מה אילין יתבין עבדין הכא?

1. אומנותיה דהן בנאי.

2. אומנותיה דהן נגר.

3. אומנותיה דהן צייד.

4. אומנותיה דהן חייט.

וכיון דהוון שמעין כן --

הוון שבקין ליה ואזלין לון.

Not only this, but he went to the school house (בית וועדא)

and saw children (טלייא) in front of their Bible teacher.³

He said: what are these sitting doing here?

1. The profession of this one is builder,

2. the profession of this one is carpenter,

3. the profession of this one is hunter,

4. the profession of this one is tailor.

When they heard this --

they left him and went away.

Ecclesiastes 5:5

עליו הכתוב אומר:

אל תתן את פיך לחטיא את בשרך וגו׳.

שחיבל מעשה ידיו שלאותו האיש.

About him the verse says (Ecclesiastes 5:5):

do not let your mouth make your flesh sin, etc.⁴

for he destroyed his own deeds.

During (Roman) religious persecution, Aḥer instructed (Roman) persecutors how to force Jews into full Shabbat violations rather than technically mitigated acts

אוף בשעת שומדא, הוון מטענין לון מטולין.

והוון מתכוונין מיטעון תרי חד מטול.

משם שנים שעשו מלאכה אחת.

אמר: אטעוננון יחידאין.

אזלון ואטעונינון יחידיין.

והוון מתכוונין מיפרוק בכרמלית.

שלא להוציא מרשות היחיד לרשות הרבים.

אמר: אטעונינון צלוחיין.

אזלון ואטעונינון צלוחיין.

Also in the time of religious persecution (שומדא), they made them carry loads.

They intended that two together should carry one load,

because of two persons who performed one work.

He said: make them carry singly.

They went and made them carry singly.

They intended to unload in karmelit⁵

in order not to carry from a private to a public domain.

He said to them: let them carry flasks;

they made them carry flasks.

4 - R’ Akiva - entered in peace and left in peace - Song of Songs 1:4

רבי עקיבה --

נכנס בשלום ויצא בשלום.

עליו הכתוב אומר:

משכיני אחריך נרוצה וגו׳.

R’ Akiva --

entered in peace and left in peace;

about him the verse says:

draw me, I shall run after you, etc. (Song of Songs 1:4)⁶

Aḥer and R’ Meir (#10)

#10

רבי מאיר הוה יתיב דרש בבית מדרשא דטיבריה,

עבר אלישע רביה רכיב על סוסייא ביום שובתא.

אתון ואמרון ליה: הא רבך לבר.

R’ Meir was sitting and preaching in the House of Study of Tiberias

[when] his teacher Elisha passed by riding on a horse on the Sabbath.⁷

They came and told him: your teacher is outside.

פסק ליה מן דרשה ונפק לגביה.

אמר ליה: מה הויתה דרש יומא דין?

[R’ Meir] stopped his sermon and went out to him.

[Elisha] asked [R’ Meir]: what did you preach today?

R’ Meir interprets Job’s end being blessed as meaning that God doubled Job’s wealth - Job 42:10-12

אמר ליה: ויי ברך את אחרית וגו׳.

אמר ליה: ומה פתחת ביה?

אמר ליה:

ויוסף יי את כל אשר לאיוב למשנה.

שכפל לו את כל ממונו.

[R’ Meir] told him: and YHWH blessed the end etc. (Job 42:10-12)

[Elisha] asked [R’ Meir]: what did you explain about this?

[R’ Meir] answered him:

and YHWH added double all that Job had owned;

that he doubled his money.

Elisha b. Abuya / Aḥer citing R’ Akiva - R’ Akiva did not interpret Job’s blessed end as material doubling, but as reward for the mitzvot and good deeds Job possessed from the beginning

אמר:

ווי דמובדין ולא משכחין.

עקיבה רבך לא הוה דרש כן.

אלא: ויי ברך את אחרית איוב מראשיתו.

בזכות מצות ומעשים טובים שהיה בידו מראשיתו.

[Elisha] said:

woe for those who are lost and not found,

your teacher Akiva did not preach this

but, YHWH blessed the end of Job from his beginning,

by the merit of commandments and good works which were in his hand from his beginning.

R’ Meir - “The end of a matter is better than its beginning” means that a later successful outcome can compensate for earlier failure: children who survive in old age, commerce that succeeds later, or Torah forgotten in youth and retained later - Ecclesiastes 7:8

אמר ליה: ומה הויתה דריש תובן?

אמר ליה: טוב אחרית דבר מראשיתו.

אמר ליה: ומה פתחת ביה?

[Elisha] asked him: and what did you preach further?

[R’ Meir] told him: the end of a matter is better than the beginning (Ecclesiastes 7:8)

[Elisha] asked him: what did you explain about this?

אמר ליה:

1. 1. לאדם שהוליד בנים בנערותו ומתו.

   2. ובזקנותו ונתקיימו.

      1. הוי טוב אחרית דבר מראשיתו.

2. 1. לאדם שעשה סחורה בילדותו והפסיד.

   2. ובזקנותו ונשתכר.

      1. הוי טוב אחרית דבר מראשיתו.

3. 1. לאדם שלמד תורה בנערותו ושכחה.

   2. ובזקנותו וקיימה.

      1. הוי טוב אחרית דבר מראשיתו.

[R’ Meir] said:

1. 1. [For example:] a man who had children in his youth, and they died,

   2. and [then he had children] in his old age, and they lived;

      1. that is the end of a matter is better than the beginning.

2. 1. [Another example:] a man who traded in his youth and lost,

   2. and [then traded] in his old age and gained;

      1. that is the end of a matter is better than the beginning.

3. 1. [Another example:] a man who studied Torah in his youth and forgot,

   2. and [then studied Torah] his old age he remembered;

      1. that is the end of a matter is better than the beginning.

Elisha b. Abuya / Aḥer citing R’ Akiva - R’ Akiva interpreted “the end of a matter is better than its beginning” only when the matter was good from the beginning

אמר:

ווי דמובדין ולא משכחין.

עקיבה רבך לא הוה דרש כן.

אלא: טוב אחרית דבר מראשיתו.

בזמן שהוא טוב מראשיתו.

He said:

woe for those who are lost and not found,

your teacher Akiva did not preach this

but, the end of a matter is good from the beginning,

in case it is good from the start

1. Compare my pieces on this sugya in the Bavli:

• “Aḥer’s Apostasy and Its Aftermath (Chagigah 15a-b)”, final part: Pt2

• “The Legitimacy of Learning from Flawed Teachers: The Dilemma of R’ Meir Learning from Aḥer (Chagigah 15b)”

2. Compare the parallel in the Bavli, in my “Tales of Ben Zoma (Chagigah 14b-15a)“, section “The Story of the Four Tannaitic Sages Who Entered the “Pardes”“.

3. ספרא - literally: “scribe”.

4. Compare the Bavli’s lengthier discussion, in my “Pt1 Aḥer’s Apostasy and Its Aftermath (Chagigah 15a-b)“, section “Aḥer’s Vision of Metatron and Subsequent Heresy (Ecclesiastes 5:5)“.

5. כרמלית.

On this technical term, see Wikipedia, “Hotzaah“, section “Domains“:

According to halacha, all areas are divided into four categories:

1. A private domain (Reshut HaYachid).

2. A public domain, or thoroughfare (Reshut HaRabbim).

3. A neutral domain - a place that is not a public domain nor private domain (Karmelit).

4. An exempt domain (Mekom Petur).

And see also Jastrow (modernized), entry “כַּרְמְלִית”:

(see כֶּרֶם) a marked off plot in a public thoroughfare,

in general: an area which cannot be classified either as private ground (רשות היחיד) or as public ground (רשות הרבים).

• Jerusalem Talmud Shabbat 11:2:4 - כל המעכב … נקרא כרמלית - “whatever obstructs the public road is called karmelit”

• Tosefta Shabbat 1:1; Shabbat 6a:9, see רָשׁוּת.

• Shabbat 6a:7-12 - אבל … ואיסטוונית והכרמלית - “but the sea, the valley, the colonnade and the karmelit; explaining Shabbat 7a:3 - קרן זוית הסמוכה לרה”ר - “a corner plot adjoining the public road”

• and frequently.

Plural: כַּרְמְלִיּוֹת.

Yerushalmi ibid. 11, end, 13b

6. Compare the Bavli’s lengthier discussion, in my “Appendix 1 - The Survival of R’ Akiva in the Pardes (Chagigah 15b-16a)“.

7. Compare the parallel in the Bavli, in my “Pt1 Aḥer’s Apostasy” (cited above), section “Aḥer and R’ Meir’s Shabbat Encounter“, where I summarize:

Aḥer, riding a horse on Shabbat, is followed by R’ Meir, who continues to learn Torah from him despite his heretical status. Aḥer warns R’ Meir to turn back, as they have reached the “Shabbat boundary”.