Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat [Kohen]

First Generation Amoraim

The untranslated Rabbi Elazar mentioned in the Gemara without his father's name is Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat. He was a prominent disciple of Rabbi Yochanan.

When he would take leave of his Rebbe, he would walk backward with awe and reverence, like a person departing from the Divine Presence. In his later years, he sat on Rabbi Yochanan’s seat in Tiberias and was privileged to be called “Master of the Land of Israel.”

So devoted was he to his Rebbe that he would see Rabbi Yochanan in his dream, and understood from this that on that day he would utter new Torah insights [בכורות ה. נו.].

He left a son great in Torah, whom he himself taught. He passed away in the same year as Rabbi Yochanan, approximately at the age of 70, as we find: Thus Rabbi Elazar instructed his son Pedat to say “Ahavah Rabbah” in the morning prayer [ברכות יא:].

Rabbi Elazar was a Kohen, as we find in this story: He was eating terumah when the Angel of Death came to take him. Rabbi Elazar said to him, “If you kill me, the terumah will become impure, and I must guard it in purity!” The Angel of Death left him and he did not die at that time [מועד קטן כ"ח.].

Ascended from Babylon

Many Babylonian students eagerly desired to ascend to Eretz Yisrael and receive Torah from the disciples of Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi. These included: Zeiri, disciple of Rabbi Chiya; Rav Kahana, disciple of Rav; Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat; Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Assi; Rabbi Shimon bar Abba; Rabbi Abba bar Zavda. They were privileged to serve Rabbi Chanina bar Chama, Rabbi Yanai, and Rabbi Oshaya Rabbah.

His Love for Torah

Rabbi Oshaya went to Caesarea and established his great academy there. Rabbi Chanina bar Chama sat on the seat of Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi in Tzippori, and Rabbi Yochanan went to Tiberias and established his great academy there. Rabbi Elazar called Rabbi Oshaya Rabbah “Father of the Mishnah.”

Rabbi Elazar was in Babylon, and his prominent teachers were Rav and Shmuel, even before he ascended to Eretz Yisrael, when he was approximately 25 years old [כתובות קי"ב.].

When Rabbi Elazar ascended from Babylon, he had not yet married, as we find that Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Assi were busy preparing his chuppah. Rabbi Elazar told them, “Before you finish preparing the chuppah, I will go and hear a teaching in the Beit Midrash and return to tell it to you” [ברכות טז.].

His colleagues included: Rabbi Abba bar Zavda, Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Assi, Rabbi Chiya bar Abba, Rabbi Chelkia, Rabbi Simon, Rabbi Yoshiah. He and Rabbi Shimon ben Elyakim were judges. Rabbi Elazar was in dispute with Rabbi Yosi bar Chanina, and many Amoraim reported teachings in the name of Rabbi Elazar. Rabbi Yehudah bar Yechezkel was his colleague from Babylon, with whom he studied under Rav and Shmuel. Rabbi Huna in Babylon was older than him.

Served Rav and Shmuel

Even in his youth, he merited to serve Rav in Sura before he ascended to Eretz Yisrael, as we find related: Rabbi Elazar was serving at a meal before Shmuel. They brought fish before Shmuel that had been cooked in a meat pot, and Shmuel ate them with Kutach (a dish of sour milk, seasoned with salt and breadcrumbs).

Shmuel gave Rabbi Elazar some of the fish to eat, but he refused.

Shmuel asked him in astonishment, “To Rav, your teacher, from whom you learned that it is forbidden to eat them, I gave some, and he ate! And you, his student, will not eat?!”

Rabbi Elazar came before Rav and asked him, “Did my master retract his ruling that fish cooked in a meat pot are forbidden to eat with Kutach? For I heard from Shmuel that he gave you such fish and you ate them with Kutach?”

Rav answered his disciple Rabbi Elazar, “Heaven forbid to the offspring of Shmuel, who was the son of ‘Abba, son of Abba,’ and whose father was a great pietist, that he would feed me something I consider forbidden to eat!” And Rav vehemently denied the matter [חולין קיא:].

Awe of His Rebbe

Rabbi Yochanan was walking, leaning on Rabbi Yaakov bar Iddi, and Rabbi Elazar saw him and hid from his presence. Rabbi Yochanan said, “These two things the Babylonians have done to me: One, he did not inquire about my well-being, meaning, he did not greet me! And one, he did not say a teaching / halacha in my name!”

Rabbi Yochanan said, “This is how the great ones conduct themselves. Zeira (Zeiri) does not inquire about the well-being of his Rebbe! This is their custom, that the lesser one does not greet one greater than himself, so as not to burden him with a reply, and they fulfill the verse concerning themselves: ‘When youths saw me, they hid themselves’ [Job 29:8].”

Thus, Rabbi Elazar, who was a Babylonian and occasionally went to Babylon, upon returning to Eretz Yisrael, would not greet his Rebbe! For Rabbi Elazar feared Rabbi Yochanan, who was his prominent teacher. Nor would he say a teaching in his Rebbe’s name, because everyone knew that Rabbi Elazar was Rabbi Yochanan’s disciple [ירושלמי ברכות פ"ב ה"א].

His Greatness

Rabbi Yochanan knew how to appreciate the Torah greatness of his disciple, Rabbi Elazar, as we find:

Once, after Rabbi Elazar raised a difficulty, Rabbi Yochanan remained silent and did not respond!

After Rabbi Elazar left the Beit Midrash, Rabbi Yochanan said to his disciple, Resh Lakish, with excitement, “I saw Rabbi Elazar sitting and expounding these verses like Moses our Rebbe, from the Mouth of the Almighty (the Holy One, Blessed Be He), in the language of the Tannaim.”

Although Rabbi Elazar was an Amora, his Rebbe saw in him the greatness of the Tannaim [יבמות עב:].

Torah Study in Poverty

Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat fell ill. Rabbi Yochanan came to visit him and saw that he lived in a dark house.

Rabbi Yochanan rolled up his sleeve and exposed his arm, and light filled the house, because Rabbi Yochanan’s skin glowed. Rabbi Yochanan saw that Rabbi Elazar was weeping! He asked him, “Why are you weeping? If you are weeping because you have not studied as much Torah as you wish, behold, we learned in the Mishnah: [מנחות קי.] ‘Whether one offers much or little (in sacrifices), both are significant before the Holy One, Blessed Be He!’ The main thing is the intention of the Torah student, that he direct his heart for the sake of Heaven! You toil in Torah, and your intention is for the sake of Heaven, so you have no reason to be sad!”

And furthermore: “You exert yourself with all your strength, as much as you are able, and even if you have not achieved much, reward is given to a person from Heaven according to the effort he exerted! As we learned: ‘L’fum Tza’ara Agra!’ (According to the pain is the reward!)”

“And if you are weeping because you are not wealthy, behold, not every person merits two tables, both Torah and wealth together! And you have merited Torah, so you have no reason to be sad!”

“And if because of children, that you had and they died and did not merit long life, behold, see, this is the bone of my tenth son who died!” Ten of Rabbi Yochanan’s sons died during his lifetime, and he comforted himself with the thought that these were ‘sufferings of love’ from Heaven. Rabbi Elazar replied to him, “I am not weeping over my fate, but over your beauty, which is destined to decay in the dust.”

Rabbi Elazar's intention: that his Rebbe, Rabbi Yochanan, purified his body through Torah study and was like Adam HaRishon, and this is what Rabbi Elazar wept over.

Rabbi Yochanan said to his disciple, “If you are weeping over this, certainly one must weep over this.” And they both wept together. Meanwhile, Rabbi Yochanan asked Rabbi Elazar, “Are these sufferings beloved to you?” Rabbi Elazar said to him, “Neither they nor their reward.”

Rabbi Yochanan said to him, “Give me your hand!” Rabbi Elazar gave his hand to Rabbi Yochanan, and he raised him from his bed, and he recovered [ברכות ה:].

He Who Hates Gifts Shall Live

Rabbi Akiva asked Rabbi Nechunya ben HaKanah, “By what merit did you live long?” He replied, “Never in my life did I accept gifts, nor did I stand on my traits to repay evil to one who hurt me, and I was lenient with my money.”

The Gemara explains: “I did not accept gifts,” like Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat, who would not take gifts sent to him from the household of the Nasi, and when invited to a meal at the Nasi’s house, he would not go.

Rabbi Elazar wondered to those from the Nasi’s household, “Is it not convenient for you that I should live? For it is written: ‘He who hates gifts shall live’ [Proverbs 15:27]?!”

In contrast, Rabbi Zeira would not take gifts sent to him from the Nasi’s household, but when invited to a meal, he would accept and go. And why? Rabbi Zeira said, “It is an honor for them that I dine with them, and this is their pleasure, and it is not considered a gift” [מגילה כח.].

His Praises and Sayings

Rabbi Elazar said: “Any leader who guides the community gently merits to lead them to the World to Come, as it is said: ‘For He who has mercy on them will lead them, and by springs of water He will guide them’ [Isaiah 49:10].”

Rabbi Elazar said: “Any person who possesses understanding, meaning, who conducts his ways according to the understanding of the Torah, it is as if the Temple was built in his days, and in the end, he becomes wealthy, as it is said: ‘And by knowledge, rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches’ [Proverbs 24, סנהדרין צ"ב.].”

It was said of Rabbi Elazar: “May you be intoxicated always with her love” [Proverbs 5:19], for he would engage in Torah study in the lower market of Tzippori, and his cloak would be lying in the upper market, because he was so immersed in Torah that he would forget it. Once, a person came to steal his cloak and found a snake in it [עירובין נ"ד:].

Rabbi Yitzchak expounded the verse: “And I have been to them a little sanctuary” [Ezekiel 11:16] – these are the synagogues and study halls in Babylon. Rabbi Elazar, while already in Eretz Yisrael, expounded: “This refers to the house of our Rebbe in Babylon,” meaning, the study hall of Rav [מגילה כט.].

A Miraculous Event

Rabbi Elazar was very poor. One day he went to bleed himself (bloodletting), which was how people cleansed their bodies of toxins in their time. It is known that one needs to eat a good meal after bloodletting, and all that was left to eat in his house was garlic. Rabbi Elazar took a clove of garlic and ate it. From his weakness, he fainted and fell asleep.

The Sages came to visit him and saw him in his sleep, weeping and laughing, and sparks of fire emanating from his forehead. Rabbi Elazar woke from his sleep, and the Sages asked him, “Why did you weep and laugh in your sleep?”

He told them, “The Holy One, Blessed Be He, was sitting with me, and I asked Him: ‘Until when will I suffer in poverty in this world?’ ”

“And He said to me: ‘My son Elazar, would it be convenient for you if I overturned the world for your sake, just so you might perhaps be born at an hour and with a fortune of abundant livelihood?’ ”

Rabbi Elazar said before the Holy One, Blessed Be He, “I have done so much in Your world, and You still tell me that perhaps I would be born with a fortune of abundant livelihood!”

Rabbi Elazar further asked, “Do I have many more years left to live?”

The Holy One, Blessed Be He, replied, “Not many.” Rabbi Elazar answered and said, “If so, I do not wish that You destroy the world for the sake of the few years I have left to live!”

The Holy One, Blessed Be He, said to Rabbi Elazar, “In reward for saying this, I will give you in the World to Come thirteen rivers of pure balsam.” Rabbi Elazar said to the Sages, “I wept because I had few years left to live, and I laughed at the reward that the Holy One, Blessed Be He, promised me in the World to Come.”

Rabbi Elazar continued to tell the Sages, “I asked the Holy One, Blessed Be He, ‘Is this all You will give me in the World to Come?’ He said to me, ‘If I give you more, what will be left for your colleagues?’ ”

“I asked, ‘But You are able to give more to everyone?’ The Holy One, Blessed Be He, struck me on my forehead with a finger-to-finger tap and said to me, ‘My son Elazar, I have struck you with arrows [of holiness].’ ” Rabbi Elazar said to the Sages, “From that strike, sparks of fire emanated from my forehead” [תענית כ"ה.].