The Beauty and the Bandit: The Talmudic Tragedy of R' Yoḥanan and Reish Lakish (Bava Metzia 84a)
This sugya opens with R' Yoḥanan (fl. mid-3rd century CE in Eretz Yisrael) as a figure of stunning physical beauty—so much so that the Talmud offers a poetic metaphor to capture his radiance.1
R' Yoḥanan leverages his beauty: He stations himself at the entrance to the mikveh so women might see him and conceive attractive, Torah-learned children (based on the common pre-modern belief of “maternal impression”).
The heart of the sugya is the tragic arc between R' Yoḥanan and Reish Lakish. Their relationship begins in dramatic reversal: Reish Lakish, a bandit, is captivated by R' Yoḥanan's appearance, and is offered not only R' Yoḥanan's beautiful sister as a wife but a new life in Torah. He accepts, is transformed, and becomes one of the era’s premier halakhists.
But the intimacy between them eventually curdles. A halakhic dispute devolves into personal insult; R' Yoḥanan reminds Reish Lakish of his criminal past. Reish Lakish fires back with bitterness—claiming that Torah gave him no real elevation. The exchange shatters their bond.
The fallout is swift and fatal. Reish Lakish becomes ill and dies. R' Yoḥanan, unable to recover from the loss, rejects consolation, spirals into grief, and ultimately loses his mind. His intellectual partner replaced by someone--R' Elazar ben Pedat--who merely agrees with him, R' Yoḥanan sees no purpose in continuing. He loses his mind, the rabbis pray for him to die, and he dies broken.
Outline
Intro
The Passage - The Beauty and the Bandit: The Talmudic Tragedy of R' Yoḥanan and Reish Lakish (Bava Metzia 84a)
R' Yoḥanan’s Beauty
R' Yoḥanan’s Bathhouse Strategy
Reish Lakish’s Turn to Torah
Dispute between Reish Lakish and R' Yoḥanan Over Ritual Impurity of Metal Weapons
R' Yoḥanan mocks Reish Lakish’s criminal past
Reish Lakish falls ill
Reish Lakish Dies
R' Elazar ben Pedat Fails to Fill the Void
R' Yoḥanan’s Mental Collapse and Death
The Passage
R' Yoḥanan’s Beauty
R' Yoḥanan claims to be the last (אשתיירי) of Jerusalem’s beautiful people (שפירי).
His beauty is compared to the luster (זהרורי) of a new2 silver goblet filled with pomegranate seeds (פרצידיא) and ringed (כלילא) with roses, placed between sun and shade.
אמר רבי יוחנן:
אנא אשתיירי משפירי ירושלים
האי מאן דבעי מחזי שופריה דרבי יוחנן,
נייתי כסא דכספא מבי סלקי,
ונמלייה פרצידיא דרומנא סומקא,
ונהדר ליה כלילא דוורדא סומקא לפומיה,
ונותביה בין שמשא לטולא,
(ההוא) [הנהו] זהרורי מעין שופריה דרבי יוחנן.
[...]
With regard to R' Yoḥanan’s physical features, the Talmud adds that R' Yoḥanan said:
I alone remain of the beautiful people of Jerusalem.
The Talmud continues: One who wishes to see something resembling the beauty of R' Yoḥanan
should bring a new, shiny silver goblet from the smithy
and fill it with red pomegranate seeds [partzidaya]
and place a diadem of red roses upon the lip of the goblet,
and position it between the sunlight and shade.
That luster is a semblance of R' Yoḥanan’s beauty..
[...]
R' Yoḥanan’s Bathhouse Strategy
R' Yoḥanan sat near the mikveh so women would see his beauty and conceive attractive, Torah-learned sons.3
רבי יוחנן הוה אזיל ויתיב אשערי טבילה,
אמר:
כי סלקן בנות ישראל מטבילת מצוה
לפגעו בי,
כי היכי ד
להוו להו בני שפירי כוותי,
גמירי אורייתא כוותי.
[...]
The Talmud continues to discuss R' Yoḥanan’s beauty.
R' Yoḥanan would go and sit by the entrance to the ritual bath.
He said to himself:
When Jewish women come up from their immersion for the sake of a mitzva, after their menstruation,
they should encounter me first,
so that
they have beautiful children like me,
and sons learned in Torah like me.
This is based on the idea that the image upon which a woman meditates during intercourse affects the child she conceives.
[...]
Reish Lakish’s Turn to Torah
Reish Lakish, once a bandit, saw R' Yoḥanan bathing in the Jordan River and pursued him.
יומא חד
הוה קא סחי רבי יוחנן בירדנא.
חזייה ריש לקיש
ושוור לירדנא אבתריה.
The Talmud relates: One day,
R' Yoḥanan was bathing in the Jordan River.
Reish Lakish saw him
and jumped into the Jordan, pursuing him.
At that time, Reish Lakish was the leader of a band of marauders.
R' Yoḥanan promised him his sister if he returned to “teaching” (אורייתא - i.e. Torah).
Reish Lakish accepted, lost his physical strength, and was trained by R' Yoḥanan4 into a leading sage.5
אמר ליה: חילך לאורייתא.
אמר ליה: שופרך לנשי.
אמר ליה:
אי הדרת בך
יהיבנא לך אחותי,
דשפירא מינאי.
קביל עליה.
בעי למיהדר לאתויי מאניה
ולא מצי הדר.
אקרייה
ואתנייה
ושוייה גברא רבא.
R' Yoḥanan said to Reish Lakish: Your strength is fit for Torah study.
Reish Lakish said to him: Your beauty is fit for women.
R' Yoḥanan said to him:
If you return to the pursuit of Torah,
I will give you my sister in marriage,
who is more beautiful than I am.
Reish Lakish accepted upon himself to study Torah.
Subsequently, Reish Lakish wanted to jump back out of the river to bring back his clothes,
but he was unable to return, as he had lost his physical strength as soon as he accepted the responsibility to study Torah upon himself.
R' Yoḥanan taught Reish Lakish Bible,
and taught him Mishnah,
and turned him into a great man.
Eventually, Reish Lakish became one of the outstanding Torah scholars of his generation.
Dispute between Reish Lakish and R' Yoḥanan Over Ritual Impurity of Metal Weapons
A halakhic disagreement arises between Reish Lakish and R' Yoḥanan about when metal weapons become susceptible to impurity.6
יומא חד
הוו מפלגי בי מדרשא:
הסייף
והסכין
והפגיון
והרומח
ומגל יד
ומגל קציר
מאימתי מקבלין טומאה?
משעת גמר מלאכתן.
ומאימתי גמר מלאכתן?
רבי יוחנן אומר: משיצרפם בכבשן.
ריש לקיש אמר: משיצחצחן במים.
One day
the rabbis of the study hall were engaging in a dispute concerning the following baraita:
With regard to
the sword (סייף - saif),
the knife (סכין),
the spear (רומח),
a hand sickle (מגל יד),
and a harvest sickle (מגל קציר),
from when are they susceptible to ritual impurity?
The baraita answers: It is from the time of the completion of their manufacture, which is the halakha with regard to metal vessels in general.
These rabbis inquired: And when is the completion of their manufacture?
R' Yoḥanan says: It is from when one fires (יצרפם) these items in the furnace (כבשן).
Reish Lakish said: It is from when one scours (יצחצחן) them in water, after they have been fired in the furnace.
R' Yoḥanan mocks Reish Lakish’s criminal past
R' Yoḥanan mocks Reish Lakish’s criminal past.
Reish Lakish resents the insult, asserting he gained no status change by joining the sages: “There (among the bandits) they called me ‘Master’,7 and here (among the sages) they call me ‘Master’ “.
R' Yoḥanan responds: “I brought you under the wings of the Shekhina.”8
אמר ליה: לסטאה בלסטיותיה ידע.
אמר ליה:
ומאי אהנית לי?!
התם ״רבי״ קרו לי,
הכא ״רבי״ קרו לי!
אמר ליה:
אהנאי לך
דאקרבינך תחת כנפי השכינה.
R' Yoḥanan said to Reish Lakish: A bandit knows about his banditry, i.e., you are an expert in weaponry because you were a bandit in your youth.
Reish Lakish said to R' Yoḥanan:
What benefit did you provide me by bringing me close to Torah?!
There, among the bandits, they called me: Master (רבי - rabbi) of the bandits,
and here, too, they call me: Master
R' Yoḥanan said to him:
I provided benefit to you,
as I brought you close to God, under the wings of the Shekhina.
Reish Lakish falls ill (Jeremiah 49:11)
חלש דעתיה דרבי יוחנן,
חלש ריש לקיש.
אתאי אחתיה
קא בכיא.
אמרה ליה: עשה בשביל בני!
אמר לה:
״עזבה יתמיך
אני אחיה״.
עשה בשביל אלמנותי!
אמר לה: ״ואלמנותיך עלי תבטחו״.
As a result of the quarrel, R' Yoḥanan was offended,
which in turn affected Reish Lakish, who fell ill.
R' Yoḥanan’s sister, who was Reish Lakish’s wife, came
crying to R' Yoḥanan, begging that he pray for Reish Lakish’s recovery.
She said to him: Do this for the sake of my children, so that they should have a father.
R' Yoḥanan said to her the verse:
“Leave your fatherless children,
I will rear them” (Jeremiah 49:11), i.e., I will take care of them.
She said to him: Do so for the sake of my widowhood.
He said to her the rest of the verse: “And let your widows trust in Me.”
Reish Lakish Dies
After Reish Lakish (R' Shimon ben Lakish) dies, R' Yoḥanan is devastated.
The Rabbis, hoping to ease his pain, send R' Elazar ben Pedat to learn with him, reasoning that his sharp reasoning could replace Reish Lakish as an intellectual partner.
נח נפשיה דרבי שמעון בן לקיש,
והוה קא מצטער רבי יוחנן בתריה טובא.
אמרו רבנן:
מאן ליזיל ליתביה לדעתיה?
ניזיל רבי אלעזר בן פדת, דמחדדין שמעתתיה.
Ultimately, R' Shimon ben Lakish, Reish Lakish, died.
R' Yoḥanan was sorely pained over losing him.
The Rabbis said:
Who will go to calm R' Yoḥanan’s mind and comfort him over his loss?
They said: Let R' Elazar ben Pedat go, as his statements are sharp (מחדדין שמעתתיה), i.e., he is clever and will be able to serve as a substitute for Reish Lakish.
R' Elazar ben Pedat Fails to Fill the Void
R' Elazar ben Pedat sits before R' Yoḥanan and, rather than challenging him, simply affirms his statements by citing supporting baraitot.
But this does not satisfy R' Yoḥanan. He protests that Reish Lakish would raise 24 objections to each statement, forcing him to refine his position with 24 responses.9 That process, he says, led to real halakhic growth (רווחא שמעתא). Mere agreement, by contrast, adds nothing.
אזל יתיב קמיה.
כל מילתא דהוה אמר רבי יוחנן
אמר ליה: תניא דמסייעא לך.
אמר:
את כבר לקישא?!
בר לקישא,
כי הוה אמינא מילתא,
הוה מקשי לי עשרין וארבע קושייתא,
ומפרקינא ליה עשרין וארבעה פרוקי,
וממילא רווחא שמעתא.
ואת אמרת: ״תניא דמסייע לך״,
אטו לא ידענא דשפיר קאמינא?!
R' Elazar ben Pedat went and sat before R' Yoḥanan.
With regard to every matter that R' Yoḥanan would say,
R' Elazar ben Pedat would say to him: There is a ruling which is taught in a baraita that supports your opinion.
R' Yoḥanan said to him:
Are you comparable to Bar-Lakish (בר לקישא)?!
In my discussions with Bar-Lakish,
when I would state a matter,
he would raise 24 difficulties against me in an attempt to disprove my claim,
and I would answer him with 24 answers (פרוקי),
and the halakha by itself would become broadened (רווחא) and clarified.
And yet you say to me: There is a ruling which is taught in a baraita that supports your opinion.
Do I not know that what I say is good?!
Being rebutted by Reish Lakish served a purpose; your bringing proof to my statements does not.
R' Yoḥanan’s Mental Collapse and Death
R' Yoḥanan mourns openly, tearing his garments and crying out repeatedly for "Bar-Lakish."
His grief spirals into madness (שף דעתיה).
The Rabbis pray for mercy on him—and he dies.
הוה קא אזיל וקרע מאניה
וקא בכי
ואמר: ״היכא את בר לקישא, היכא את בר לקישא״!
והוה קא צוח
עד דשף דעתיה מיניה.
בעו רבנן רחמי עליה
ונח נפשיה.
R' Yoḥanan went around, rending his clothing,
weeping
and saying: Where are you, Bar-Lakish?! Where are you, Bar-Lakish?!
R' Yoḥanan screamed
until his mind was taken (שף דעתיה) from him, i.e., he went insane.
The Rabbis prayed and requested for God to have mercy on him and take his soul,
and R' Yoḥanan died.
For the preceding sugya to our sugya, see my two-part series: “Thief-Catching, Corpulence, and Virility: Stories of R' Elazar ben Shimon and R' Yishmael ben Yosei (Bava Metzia 83b-84a)“, final part here.
“[directly] from the smithy (בי סלקי)”.
Based on the common pre-modern belief in maternal impression.
I quote this passage in a note in my piece “Ancient Burial Caves, Rankings of Beauty, and the Magus: Tales of R' Bena’a (Bava Batra 58a)“, on section “Ranking the Beauty of Sarah, Eve, Adam, Shekhinah, Rav Kahana, Rav, R' Abbahu, and Jacob“.
“[R' Yoḥanan] taught [Reish Lakish] to read (אקרייה - i.e. Bible), and taught him to repeat (אתנייה - i.e. Mishnah)”.
שוייה גברא רבא - literally: “[R' Yoḥanan] turned [Reish Lakish] into a great man“.
The list cited here is identical with the the first six items listed in Mishnah_Kelim.13.1:
הסיף,
והסכין,
והפגיון,
והרמח,
מגל יד
ומגל קציר,
והשחור
וזוג של ספרים שנחלקו —
הרי אלו טמאין.
The sword,
knife,
dagger,
spear,
hand-sickle,
harvest-sickle,
clipper (שחור),
and barbers’ scissors (זוג של ספרים) [whose component parts] were separated —
are susceptible to impurity.
רבי - rabbi.
For another instance in the Talmud of rabbi used to have a non-scholarly connotation, see my piece “Three Charges, Many Miracles: The Trial of R’ Elazar ben Perata (Avodah Zarah 17b)“, section ““Why did you teach Torah; steal?”“:
ומ"ט קרו לך רבי?
רבן של תרסיים אני
They asked him: But if you do not teach Torah, then what is the reason that they call you “rabbi” (רבי)?
He answered: I am the master [rabban] of weavers [tarsiyyim].
תחת כנפי השכינה.
This idiom is more typically used for influencing someone to convert to Judaism; see my note on my piece “From Foes to Faithful: The Conversions of Israel's Historical Biblical Enemies and their Descendants (Sanhedrin 96b)“, on section “Divine Debate Over Redemption: The Rejected Conversion of Nebuchadnezzar's Descendants (Jeremiah 51:9)“.
Compare the similar trope in my piece “Pt2 R’ Shimon’s Flight from the Romans, Hiding, and Return: A Story of Persecution, Miracles, and Retribution (Shabbat 33b-34a)“, section “Part 2: The Cost of Scholarly Greatness: R’ Pineḥas ben Ya’ir’s Lament and R’ Shimon’s Rise to Intellectual Mastery Through Suffering“, where I summarize:
R' Pineḥas ben Ya’ir cried and lamented (אוי) seeing him in such a state, but R' Shimon reassured him, saying that his suffering had led to his current intellectual greatness:
As initially, R' Pineḥas would answer (מפרק) R' Shimon’s questions (מקשי) with 12 responses, but eventually, R' Shimon far surpassed him: not only was he now the one answering the questions, but he would respond with twice as many responses as R’ Pineḥas previously would—responding with 24 answers to R' Pineḥas’s questions.