Rabbi Sheshet

Third generation of Amoraim. Rav Huna was his distinguished teacher. His contemporaries included Rav Hisda, Rav Nahman, and Rav Yosef. Rabbi Sheshet was blind, yet despite this, he knew when the king was arriving.

His Wisdom

One time, everyone went out to greet the king who was arriving in their city. Rabbi Sheshet also went out with them. A certain Sadducee, who knew him, saw him and said to him in a parable: "The full pitchers go to the river to draw water, but where should the broken pitchers go?" You are blind, and in any case, you will not be able to see the king's face! Rabbi Sheshet said to him: "Come and see, even though I am blind, I will know better than you when the king arrives." The first retinue, which precedes the king, passed with great music and noise. That Sadducee asked Rabbi Sheshet, "Well, has the king arrived?" He replied, "No," and indeed, the king was not in that retinue. The second retinue passed exactly like the first, and again that Sadducee asked Rabbi Sheshet, "Well, has the king arrived?" He replied, "No," and indeed, the king was not in that retinue. The third retinue passed; that Sadducee remained silent and said nothing, and the retinue passed quietly. Suddenly, Rabbi Sheshet said to that Sadducee, "Now the king has arrived."

The Sadducee asked him, "How do you know the king has arrived, since you are blind?" Rabbi Sheshet answered him: "We know that kingship on earth is like kingship on high."

In the kingship on high, it is written: "And He said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice" [1 Kings 19:11–12]. From the fact that there was silence in the retinue, I understood with my wisdom that the king had arrived. Rabbi Sheshet then opened and blessed: "Blessed is He who has given of His glory to His creatures."

That Sadducee said, "But you are blind, and you bless for something you will not see?" Rabbi Sheshet remained silent. Not long after, that Sadducee was apprehended by a nation of wicked people called 'Haverim', and was accused of severe charges, and his punishment was that his eyes were put out, measure for measure, for shaming Rabbi Sheshet concerning his blindness. And some say: Rabbi Sheshet was incensed with him, and he became a heap of bones, meaning, that Sadducee died on that very day. [ברכות נח:]

Divine Assistance

One day, the Exilarch met Rabbi Sheshet and asked him: "Why does my lord not come to eat with us?" Rabbi Sheshet replied: "The servants of your house do not behave properly and are suspected of eating a limb from a living animal." The Exilarch said to him, "Who will come and prove this?" He replied, "I will come and show you." Rabbi Sheshet came to the Exilarch's house and said to his attendant: "Go and quietly bring me one leg from the animal that the Exilarch's servants slaughtered for the meal!" His attendant went and brought it to him. Rabbi Sheshet asked the household servants, "Arrange the parts of the animal before me!" They went and brought three legs and placed them before him. Rabbi Sheshet asked in astonishment: "Was the animal with three legs?!" What did they do? They went and cut a leg from another animal while it was still alive and brought it before him. Rabbi Sheshet said to his attendant, "Place the leg you have before me," and he placed it before him. Rabbi Sheshet again asked in astonishment, "Was this animal a five-legged one?!" After the Exilarch saw that Rabbi Sheshet was correct in his words, he said: "If so, then let them prepare the meat before your attendant, and he will inspect and see that everything is done properly, and you can eat without apprehension!" Rabbi Sheshet said, "Excellent." They brought the table before them and the meat. The household servants placed a small bone from the thighbone inside the meat, which could cause choking, thinking that Rabbi Sheshet would not see it, eat it, and choke. Rabbi Sheshet felt the meat and sensed that bone. What did he do? He took the entire piece of meat and wrapped it in his garment. After they ate, the household servants saw something wrapped in Rabbi Sheshet's garment and wanted to check what it was. The household servants said to him: "A silver cup has been stolen from us from the kitchen," and they began to inspect everyone, perhaps one of the diners stole the cup. During the inspection, they found the piece of meat wrapped in Rabbi Sheshet's garment. The household servants came to the Exilarch with the complaint, "See, our lord, that Rabbi Sheshet does not come to eat but only comes to trouble us and level accusations against us!" Rabbi Sheshet said to them, "When I ate of the meat, I felt in it the taste of a boil, and therefore I did not finish eating it." The household servants said to him: "We did not slaughter an animal with a boil today!" He said to them, "Check the animal's hide in the place of that thighbone, and you will find that the hide is white!" They checked and found as he said. When Rabbi Sheshet left the Exilarch's house, the household servants prepared a pit for him and covered it with a mat so that he would not notice, and they showed him the way to his lodging, so that he would fall into the pit on his way. Rav Hisda, who noticed something strange, signaled Rabbi Sheshet to be careful on his way! Rabbi Sheshet saw a child returning from his studies and asked him! "What verse did you learn today?" The child said to him: "Turn aside to your right or to your left" [2 Samuel 2:21]. Rabbi Sheshet asked his attendant, "What do you see on the path before you?" He replied, "A mat lying on the ground." He said to him, "Move away from it and let's go around it." After he left, Rav Hisda asked him, "How did my lord know that there was a pit dug there?" "From the verse that child recited to me. — You signaled me with a hint." Two, Rabbi Sheshet replied: "One, and furthermore: the servants of the Exilarch's house are suspected of not being honest people, and all their intention is not for good, therefore I suspected from the outset that they intended to harm me in what they asked me to go and rest." [גיטין סז:]

His Conduct

When Rabbi Sheshet would fast, he would say after the prayer: "Master of the universe, it is revealed before You that when the Temple existed, a person would sin and offer a sacrifice, and only its fat and blood were offered, and he would be atoned. Now I have fasted, and my fat and blood have diminished. May it be Your will that my fat and blood that have diminished be as if I offered them before You upon the altar, and may You accept my fast and my prayer with favor!" [ברכות יז:] Rabbi Sheshet would review his studies every thirty days, and he would say: "Rejoice, my soul!" [פסחים סח:] He would not walk four cubits without phylacteries, nor would he divert his attention from them. [שבת קיח:] When he felt cold, he would engage in carrying beams and loads, and he would say: "Great is work, for it warms its owner." [פסחים קח.]

His Sayings

Rabbi Shizbi said in the name of Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah: "What is the meaning of the verse: 'The treacherous hunter catches no prey'?" They interpret it as a notarikon: 'He who deceives will not live long.' This refers to one who studies much but does not review his studies, and deceives people to show himself how wise he is and how much he knows. Rabbi Sheshet said: "One who does so is not treacherous but foolish!" The verse comes to praise one who learns little but immediately reviews his studies until he remembers them well, and only then continues to learn. And he is the treacherous hunter, meaning: he acts wisely in this matter like a hunter, and he will `catch no prey`, meaning: his study will endure in his hand. [עירובין נד:]