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Heaven Lost the Vote at the Oven of Akhnai

When Rabbi Eliezer called on miracles and then a heavenly voice to win a legal argument, Rabbi Joshua stood up and told heaven to stay out of Torah.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. The Tree Flew and No One Moved
  2. A Carob Tree Could Not Decide Torah
  3. Rabbi Joshua Drew the Line at Heaven
  4. Eliezer Was Not Forgiven for What Followed

Rabbi Eliezer had every argument, and the sages rejected them all.

The question was about a sectional oven, built in pieces and joined with sand, and whether it could become ritually unclean. Rabbi Eliezer ruled it pure. Every other sage in the house of study ruled it impure. He answered their objections. They rejected his answers. The argument ran until it was clear that no further logical point would change anyone's mind, and then Rabbi Eliezer turned to the world itself.

The Tree Flew and No One Moved

"If the law is as I say, let this carob tree prove it."

The carob tree uprooted itself and flew a hundred cubits through the air. Some accounts say four hundred. The sages shrugged. Trees do not decide Torah.

A Carob Tree Could Not Decide Torah

Rabbi Eliezer called on the stream next. It reversed its course and flowed backward. The sages said the same thing. A stream proves nothing about ritual law. Then he called on the walls of the study house. They began to lean inward, about to fall on the scholars, until Rabbi Joshua rebuked the walls directly: when Torah scholars argue about halakhah, you have no place in the debate. The walls stopped falling. They did not fully straighten either. They remained at an angle, honoring both the rebuke and the miracle, and the Talmud records that they stand that way to this day.

The argument was not about whether the miracle was real. Everyone present could see the tree lying displaced. Everyone watched the walls lean. The question was whether reality, as physically spectacular as it might be, constitutes legal authority. The sages answered consistently: it does not. Wonder does not replace responsibility. The Torah was given to human beings, which means human beings are responsible for its interpretation, and that responsibility cannot be outsourced to a flying tree.

Rabbi Joshua Drew the Line at Heaven

The final move was a voice from heaven, a bat kol, testifying directly that the law was with Rabbi Eliezer in all his disputes. It was an extraordinary intervention. Heaven itself was entering the room.

Rabbi Joshua stood up and quoted Deuteronomy (30:12): it is not in heaven. He did not hedge. He did not express the appropriate reverence for a divine voice before explaining why it had no jurisdiction. He simply quoted the verse. The Torah was given at Sinai. It is not in heaven anymore. It is here, among us. We decide it by majority vote. Even a heavenly voice cannot override that, because the Torah itself established the process, and the process requires human deliberation, not supernatural intervention.

The Talmud, at Bava Metzia 59b, records what God said when told what had happened. God laughed. "My children have defeated Me," God said. "My children have defeated Me."

Eliezer Was Not Forgiven for What Followed

The aftermath was severe. The sages excommunicated Rabbi Eliezer. Not for being wrong, but for continuing to act as if the miracles and the heavenly voice had settled the matter. He went home. His students were afraid to explain the verdict to him. His brother-in-law Rabban Gamliel, who had pronounced the excommunication, sailed back to his home by sea, and a great wave nearly swallowed his ship. Gamliel prayed. The storm subsided. But the tradition suggests the wave was a consequence of what the court had done, not a reversal of it.

That evening, everything Rabbi Eliezer's glance rested on was burned: the grain, the olives, the standing crops. The power of his grief and anger moved through the world. When he wept, the wells dried up. The tradition keeps these details because it is not pretending the decision was comfortable. Eliezer was a giant. The majority ruled against a giant. The pain of that ruling was real and visible in the world for a long time after.

Oven Of AkhnaiTorahRabbisBat KolMiraclesHalakhah
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Bava Metzia 59bTalmud Bavli, Bava Metzia

And this is known as the oven of akhnai. The Gemara asks: What is the relevance of akhnai, a snake, in this context? Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said: It is characterized in that manner due to the fact that the Rabbis surrounded it with their statements like this snake, which often forms a coil when at rest, and deemed it impure. The Sages taught: On that day, when they discussed this matter, Rabbi Eliezer answered all possible answers in the world to support his opinion, but the Rabbis did not accept his explanations from him.

After failing to convince the Rabbis logically, Rabbi Eliezer said to them: If the halakha is in accordance with my opinion, this carob tree will prove it. The carob tree was uprooted from its place one hundred cubits, and some say four hundred cubits. The Rabbis said to him: One does not cite halakhic proof from the carob tree. Rabbi Eliezer then said to them: If the halakha is in accordance with my opinion, the stream will prove it.

The water in the stream turned backward and began flowing in the opposite direction. They said to him: One does not cite halakhic proof from a stream. Rabbi Eliezer then said to them: If the halakha is in accordance with my opinion, the walls of the study hall will prove it. The walls of the study hall leaned inward and began to fall.

Rabbi Yehoshua scolded the walls and said to them: If Torah scholars are contending with each other in matters of halakha, what is the nature of your involvement in this dispute? The Gemara relates: The walls did not fall because of the deference due Rabbi Yehoshua, but they did not straighten because of the deference due Rabbi Eliezer, and they still remain leaning. Rabbi Eliezer then said to them: If the halakha is in accordance with my opinion, Heaven will prove it.

A Divine Voice emerged from Heaven and said: Why are you differing with Rabbi Eliezer, as the halakha is in accordance with his opinion in every place that he expresses an opinion? Rabbi Yehoshua stood on his feet and said: It is written: “It is not in heaven” (Deuteronomy 30:12). The Gemara asks: What is the relevance of the phrase “It is not in heaven” in this context? Rabbi Yirmeya says: Since the Torah was already given at Mount Sinai, we do not regard a Divine Voice, as You already wrote at Mount Sinai, in the Torah: “After a majority to incline” (Exodus 23:2).

Since the majority of Rabbis disagreed with Rabbi Eliezer’s opinion, the halakha is not ruled in accordance with his opinion. The Gemara relates: Years after, Rabbi Natan encountered Elijah the prophet and said to him: What did the Holy One, Blessed be He, do at that time, when Rabbi Yehoshua issued his declaration? Elijah said to him: The Holy One, Blessed be He, smiled and said: My children have triumphed over Me; My children have triumphed over Me.

The Sages said: On that day, the Sages brought all the ritually pure items deemed pure by the ruling of Rabbi Eliezer with regard to the oven and burned them in fire, and the Sages reached a consensus in his regard and ostracized him. And the Sages said: Who will go and inform him of his ostracism? Rabbi Akiva, his beloved disciple, said to them: I will go, lest an unseemly person go and inform him in a callous and offensive manner, and he would thereby destroy the entire world.

What did Rabbi Akiva do? He wore black and wrapped himself in black, as an expression of mourning and pain, and sat before Rabbi Eliezer at a distance of four cubits, which is the distance that one must maintain from an ostracized individual. Rabbi Eliezer said to him: Akiva, what is different about today from other days, that you comport yourself in this manner? Rabbi Akiva said to him: My teacher, it appears to me that your colleagues are distancing themselves from you.

He employed euphemism, as actually they distanced Rabbi Eliezer from them. Rabbi Eliezer too, rent his garments and removed his shoes, as is the custom of an ostracized person, and he dropped from his seat and sat upon the ground. The Gemara relates: His eyes shed tears, and as a result the entire world was afflicted: One-third of its olives were afflicted, and one-third of its wheat, and one-third of its barley.

And some say that even dough kneaded in a woman’s hands spoiled. The Sages taught: There was great anger on that day, as any place that Rabbi Eliezer fixed his gaze was burned. And even Rabban Gamliel, the Nasi of the Sanhedrin at Yavne, the head of the Sages who were responsible for the decision to ostracize Rabbi Eliezer, was coming on a boat at the time, and a large wave swelled over him and threatened to drown him.

Rabban Gamliel said: It seems to me that this is only for the sake of Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, as God punishes those who mistreat others. Rabban Gamliel stood on his feet and said: Master of the Universe, it is revealed and known before You that neither was it for my honor that I acted when ostracizing him, nor was it for the honor of the house of my father that I acted; rather, it was for Your honor, so that disputes will not proliferate in Israel.

In response, the sea calmed from its raging. The Gemara further relates: Imma Shalom, the wife of Rabbi Eliezer, was the sister of Rabban Gamliel. From that incident forward, she would not allow Rabbi Eliezer to lower his head and recite the taḥanun prayer, which includes supplication and entreaties. She feared that were her husband to bemoan his fate and pray at that moment, her brother would be punished.

A certain day was around the day of the New Moon, and she inadvertently substituted a full thirty-day month for a deficient twenty-nine-day month, i.e., she thought that it was the New Moon, when one does not lower his head in supplication, but it was not. Some say that a pauper came and stood at the door, and she took bread out to him. The result was that she left her husband momentarily unsupervised.

When she returned, she found him and saw that he had lowered his head in prayer. She said to him: Arise, you already killed my brother. Meanwhile, the sound of a shofar emerged from the house of Rabban Gamliel to announce that the Nasi had died. Rabbi Eliezer said to her: From where did you know that your brother would die?

She said to him: This is the tradition that I received from the house of the father of my father: All the gates of Heaven are apt to be locked, except for the gates of prayer for victims of verbal mistreatment. § The Sages taught: One who verbally mistreats the convert violates three prohibitions, and one who oppresses him in other ways violates two. The Gemara asks: What is different with regard to verbal mistreatment, that three prohibitions are written concerning it: “And you shall neither mistreat a convert” (Exodus 22:20); “And when a convert lives in your land, you shall not mistreat him” (Leviticus 19:33); “And you shall not mistreat, each man his colleague” (Leviticus 25:17), and a convert is included in the category of colleague?

With regard to one who also oppresses a convert as well, three prohibitions are written: “And you shall neither mistreat a convert, nor oppress him” (Exodus 22:20); “And you shall not oppress a convert (Exodus 23:9); “And you shall not be to him like a creditor” (Exodus 22:24). This last prohibition is a general prohibition, in which converts are included. Consequently, it is not correct that one who oppresses a convert violates only two prohibitions.

Rather, both this one, who verbally mistreats a convert, and that one, who oppresses him, violate three prohibitions. It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Eliezer the Great says: For what reason did the Torah issue warnings in thirty-six places, and some say in forty-six places, with regard to causing any distress to a convert? It is due to the fact that a convert’s inclination is evil, i.e., he is prone to return to his previous way of living.

What is the meaning of that which is written: “And you shall not mistreat a convert nor oppress him, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 22:20)? We learned in a baraita that Rabbi Natan says: A defect that is in you, do not mention it in another. Since the Jewish people were themselves strangers, they are not in a position to demean a convert because he is a stranger in their midst.

And this explains the adage that people say: One who has a person hanged in his family [bidyotkei], does not say to another member of his household: Hang a fish for me, as the mention of hanging is demeaning for that family. MISHNA: One may not intermingle produce bought from one supplier with other produce, even if he intermingles new produce with other new produce and ostensibly the buyer suffers no loss from his doing so.

Full source
Bava Metzia 59bHebraic Literature (1901)

The sages were debating whether a certain oven, built in sections and joined with sand, could become ritually unclean. Rabbi Eliezer ruled it pure. The majority ruled it impure. He answered every argument they raised, but they would not move.

Finally, Rabbi Eliezer turned to them and said, "If the law is as I say, let this carob tree prove it." The tree uprooted itself and flew a hundred cubits through the air, some say four hundred. The sages shrugged. "We do not accept evidence from a carob tree."

"Let this stream prove it," he cried. The water in the channel reversed and ran uphill. "We do not accept evidence from a stream," they said.

"Let the walls of the study house prove it." The walls of the beit midrash began to topple inward. Rabbi Joshua stood up and rebuked them. "If scholars are disputing a point of law, what business is it of yours? Be still." Out of honor to Rabbi Joshua, the walls did not fall. Out of honor to Rabbi Eliezer, they did not straighten. They remain tilted to this day.

Rabbi Eliezer played his last card. "Let Heaven itself prove it." A bat kol, a voice from above, rang out: "Why do you argue with Rabbi Eliezer, when the law follows him in every case?"

Rabbi Joshua rose to his feet, quoted Deuteronomy, and called back to the sky, "It is not in heaven" (Deuteronomy 30:12). The Torah was given at Sinai, and Sinai itself wrote the rule we now follow: "After the majority you shall incline" (Exodus 23:2). A heavenly voice no longer overrules a human court.

Later, the prophet Elijah appeared to Rabbi Nathan. Nathan asked, "What was the Holy One doing at that moment?" Elijah answered, "He was laughing and saying, 'My children have defeated Me. My children have defeated Me'" (Bava Metzia 59b).

God delighted in losing the argument, because it was exactly the kind of argument He had raised His children to win.

Full source
Gaster, Exempla no. 125; cf. Bava Metzia 59a-bThe Exempla of the Rabbis (1924)

A famous debate arose in the academy between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua over the ritual status of a particular oven, called the oven of Akhnai. The technical question has become secondary in Jewish memory. What mattered was the argument about how halakhah is decided.

Rabbi Eliezer had every reason to believe he was right. He produced argument after argument. The other sages, led by Rabbi Yehoshua, rejected each one. Rabbi Eliezer turned to nature for help. "If the law is as I say, let this carob tree prove it," he declared. The carob tree tore itself out of the ground and traveled a hundred cubits down the field. "A tree cannot settle a legal question," the sages said.

"Let the stream of water prove it," Rabbi Eliezer said. The stream reversed course and began to flow backward. "A stream cannot settle a legal question," the sages said.

"Let the walls of the academy prove it," he said. The walls of the study hall bent inward, as if to fall. Rabbi Yehoshua rebuked even the walls, telling them not to intrude on a legal dispute among scholars. Out of respect for both rabbis, the walls stopped leaning, but neither fell back into place.

Finally Rabbi Eliezer cried, "Let heaven itself prove it!" A bat kol, a voice from heaven, answered and said, "Why do you argue with Rabbi Eliezer? The law is in accordance with him in every place!" Rabbi Yehoshua rose and quoted (Deuteronomy 30:12), "It is not in heaven." The Torah has already been given. It is no longer in heaven's hands. The sages vote.

The majority ruled against Rabbi Eliezer, and in the aftermath they imposed a form of excommunication on him. Rabbi Akiba was chosen to carry the difficult news. A dearth fell on the land. Rabban Gamliel, Eliezer's brother-in-law and the presiding authority, was nearly drowned in a storm at sea. The sages had done what they did, they explained, not out of malice but to prevent factions. The Exempla preserves this scene drawn from Bava Metzia (59a–b).

Full source
Exempla of the Rabbis, No. 125Exempla of the Rabbis (Gaster, 1924)

This entry comes from the Exempla of the Rabbis, the collection of brief rabbinic tales gathered and published by Moses Gaster in 1924, and it preserves in miniature one of the most famous confrontations in the Talmud, the dispute over the oven of Akhnai. The argument turns on a question of levitical purity, whether a certain oven built in segments could become ritually impure, and it sets R. Eliezer against R. Joshua and the assembled sages. R. Eliezer, certain of his ruling, calls upon nature itself to vindicate him.

One after another the wonders answer his appeal. The carob tree uproots itself, the channel of water flows backward, and the walls of the study hall begin to lean inward, each a sign in his favor, and at last even a voice from heaven declares that the law is as he says. Yet the sages refuse to bow to miracles, holding that the Torah was already given at Sinai and that legal truth is now decided by the majority of the court rather than by signs from above. They rule against R. Eliezer and place him under a ban, and it falls to R. Akiba to break the painful news to him gently. The tale records the heavy consequences that followed: a great dearth struck the land, and R. Gamliel, his brother-in-law and head of the court, was endangered by a storm at sea. The sages acted with such severity, the account explains, in order to avert factions and preserve the unity of the law against the chaos of competing authorities.

Full source
Exempla of the Rabbis, No. 125Exempla of the Rabbis (Gaster, 1924)

The most dramatic dispute in the history of Jewish law ended with a voice from heaven. And the sages overruled it. The Talmud (Bava Metzia 59b) records the famous argument between Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus and the majority of sages over the ritual purity of the "oven of Akhnai."

Rabbi Eliezer ruled that a particular type of oven was ritually pure. Every other sage disagreed. Rabbi Eliezer marshaled every legal argument he knew, but the majority would not budge. So he turned to supernatural proof.

"If the law is as I say, let this carob tree prove it!" The tree uprooted itself and flew a hundred cubits. "A carob tree proves nothing," the sages replied. "Let the stream prove it!" The stream reversed its flow. "A stream proves nothing." "Let the walls of this study house prove it!" The walls began to lean inward, as if about to collapse. Rabbi Yehoshua rebuked the walls: "When scholars argue about law, what business is it of yours?" The walls stopped leaning but did not straighten, out of respect for both sages.

Finally, Rabbi Eliezer called on the highest authority: "Let heaven prove it!" A divine voice rang out: "Why do you argue with Rabbi Eliezer? The law is always as he says!"

Rabbi Yehoshua stood and quoted the Torah itself: "It is not in heaven" (Deuteronomy 30:12). The Torah was given at Sinai. From that moment on, legal decisions are made by the majority of sages on earth, not by voices from above. Even God's opinion, after Sinai, does not override the rabbinic process.

The Talmud adds: at that moment, God laughed and said, "My children have defeated Me. My children have defeated Me."

Full source
Bava Metzia 59bTalmud Bavli, Bava

And this is the oven of Akhnai. What is Akhnai? Rav Yehuda said in the name of Shmuel: That they surrounded it with words like this snake (akhna), and declared it impure. It was taught: On that day Rabbi Eliezer brought forth all the responses in the world, but they did not accept them from him.

He said to them: "If the law is as I say, let this carob tree prove it." The carob tree was uprooted from its place one hundred cubits, and some say four hundred cubits. They said to him: "One does not bring proof from a carob tree." He returned and said to them: "If the law is as I say, let the channel of water prove it." The channel of water flowed backward. They said to him: "One does not bring proof from a channel of water."

He returned and said to them: "If the law is as I say, let the walls of the study hall prove it." The walls of the study hall inclined to fall. Rabbi Yehoshua rebuked them; he said to them: "If Torah scholars are contending with one another in the law, what business is it of yours?" They did not fall, out of respect for Rabbi Yehoshua, and they did not straighten, out of respect for Rabbi Eliezer, and they still stand inclined.

He returned and said to them: "If the law is as I say, let it be proven from Heaven." A heavenly voice went forth and said: "What is it to you regarding Rabbi Eliezer, for the law is as he says in every place?"

Rabbi Yehoshua stood on his feet and said: "It is not in heaven!" (Deuteronomy 30:12). What is "It is not in heaven"? Rabbi Yirmiyah said: That the Torah has already been given from Mount Sinai; we pay no heed to a heavenly voice, for You already wrote at Mount Sinai in the Torah: "After the majority to incline" (Exodus 23:2). Rabbi Natan came upon Elijah; he said to him: "What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do at that hour?" He said to him: "He laughed and said, 'My children have defeated Me! My children have defeated Me!'"

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