Rabbi Meir Baal HaNess [Rabbi Meir]

Third generation of Tannaim. One of Rabbi Akiva's five disciples. His colleagues included Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, Rabbi Natan HaBavli, Rabbi Yochanan HaSandlar, and Rabbi Yose ben Chalafta. Rabbi Meir was a scribe, meaning he was a Sofer, and he knew the entire Torah by heart, meticulously detailing its missing and superfluous letters [עירובין י"ג:]. He descended from the lineage of Nero, the general sent by the emperor to destroy the Holy Temple. When Nero heard that God was destined to avenge the Temple's destroyers, he fled and converted to Judaism, and Rabbi Meir emerged from his descendants [גיטין נ"ו:]. His wife, Beruriah, was the daughter of the Tanna Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon, one of the Ten Martyrs. Rabbi Akiva appointed him to be the head of the Yeshiva after him.

His Disciples and Teachers

His disciples: Rav, Rabbi, Sumakhos, Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar, and Rabbi Shimon ben Rabbi. His teachers: Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov, Elisha ben Avuya, Rabbi Tarfon, Rabbi Yishmael, and Rabbi Akiva. He was ordained into the rabbinate by Rabbi Yehuda ben Baba, who was one of the Ten Martyrs. The well-known story of why he was called Baal HaNess, "And the God of Meir answers me," and the incident in a place called Asia, where they had no Megillat Esther and he wrote a Megillah for them by heart, is found in Tractate Megillah page 18b.

Of His Praises and Sayings

Rabbi Acha bar Chanina said: It is revealed and known before Him by whose word the world came into being that there was no one like Rabbi Meir in his generation. Why then did they not establish Halakha according to his opinion? Because his colleagues could not fully grasp his thought processes, for he would declare impure as pure and provide justification for it, and pure as impure and provide justification for it. It was taught: His name was not Rabbi Meir, but Rabbi Nehorai. Why then was he called Rabbi Meir? Because he "illuminates the eyes" (me'ir einei) of the Sages with Halakha. Rabbi said: The reason I am sharper in Torah than my colleagues is that I merited to see Rabbi Meir from behind when I studied Torah. Had I seen him from the front, I would have been even sharper, as it is said: "And your eyes shall see your teacher" [ישעיה ל, כ]. It was taught: Rabbi Meir used to say: One who learns Torah but does not teach it, about him it is said: "For he has despised the word of the Lord" [במדבר טו, לא], meaning he disdains the words of Torah [סנהדרין צט]. Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Meir: No slander (lashon hara) that does not contain some truth at its beginning will persist in the end. That is to say: in order for slander to be accepted by the listener, the speaker always first says something that sounds true and is known to be true, and then says the falsehood and evil [סוטה ה.].

His Wisdom

Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai, and Rabbi Yose ben Chalafta were traveling and found an inn where they could spend the Sabbath. Rabbi Meir was precise with names, meaning he could discern a person's character, whether good or bad, from their name, and his colleagues did not know how to be precise with names. Rabbi Meir asked the innkeeper, "What is your name?" He replied, "Kidor." Rabbi Meir said to his colleagues, "It implies that he is a wicked man, as it is said: 'For they are a generation of reversals'" [דברים לב, כ]. Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Yose entrusted their money to him on Friday evening to keep it for them until after the Sabbath, while Rabbi Meir hid his money near the grave of Kidor's father. Kidor's father came to him in a dream and said to him: "Come take the money from above my head!" In the morning, Kidor asked Rabbi Meir what to do. Rabbi Meir replied: "Dreams from Friday night mean nothing, pay no attention to the dream." Rabbi Meir went and guarded his money until after the Sabbath. After the Sabbath, when Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Yose came to retrieve their money from Kidor, he told them: "You did not give me anything." Rabbi Meir said to them, "Why did you not do as I did?" They said to him, "Why didn't you tell us?" Rabbi Meir replied: "I told you to be wary, so why were you not wary?" What did they do? They lured Kidor to a wine shop to get him drunk and thereby extract their money from him. Because they saw lentil remnants on his mustache, which he had eaten earlier at home, they went and told his wife in his name: "Kidor asked that you return our money to us, and the sign he gave us is that you cooked lentils for him today!" His wife believed them and returned their money to the Sages. When Kidor returned home and realized he had been caught in his theft, he became angry, and in his anger, he killed his wife. After the incident, the Sages said: "Washing hands before a meal caused a Jew to eat pork." Why? Because Kidor did not wash his hands, the restaurant owner thought he was a Gentile and gave him pork. "And after-meal waters (mayim acharonim) caused a life to be taken." Why? If Kidor had performed after-meal waters after his meal at home and had wiped his hands and cleaned his mustache, he would not have been caught in his theft, and he would not have killed his wife [יומא פ"ג:].