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Resh Lakish Leapt From Violence Into Torah

Resh Lakish was working as a robber when he saw Rabbi Yohanan in the river, leapt across, and never went back to the life he left on the bank.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. The River and the Leap
  2. The Offer and Its Price
  3. The Partnership That Followed
  4. What the Fight Revealed

The River and the Leap

Resh Lakish was at the Jordan. The accounts disagree on the details of how he was living at that point: some say gladiator, some say bandit, some say he sold himself to a circus troupe to keep himself fed through hard years after his father died and left him nothing. What the Talmud preserves is the body: a man built for physical danger, used to strength as his working tool, comfortable with the violence that sustained him.

Rabbi Yohanan was bathing in the Jordan. He was known as one of the last beautiful men of the land of Israel, a man whose appearance had survived the destruction of Jerusalem and the hardships of the rabbinic period in a way that people noticed and remembered. Resh Lakish saw him and leapt.

Rabbi Yohanan looked at him and said: your strength belongs to Torah.

The Offer and Its Price

The sentence was not a compliment. It was a reassignment. Yohanan was not saying that Resh Lakish was impressive. He was saying that the force currently organized around robbery was organized around the wrong thing, and that Torah was where it belonged.

He offered his sister in marriage if Resh Lakish returned to study. Resh Lakish accepted.

Then he tried to leap back to the bank where his weapons were, and he could not. The Talmud records this without explanation. The same legs that had carried him across the river to Yohanan could not now carry him back to the tools of his former life. Something had broken in the circuit between the body and its old purposes. The weapons sat on the bank. Resh Lakish stood in the water.

The failed second leap was not a miracle in the conventional sense. It was the body's announcement that the first leap had been final.

The Partnership That Followed

Resh Lakish became one of the two or three sharpest minds in the rabbinic world of his generation. He and Rabbi Yohanan studied together, argued together, and the quality of their argument was famous enough that the Talmud preserved its shape for centuries. Yohanan raised a question and Resh Lakish pressed back. Resh Lakish proposed a ruling and Yohanan found the weakness in it. The friction was productive in the way that only equals can be productive together.

Yohanan said more than once that whenever he thought he had found something, Resh Lakish would raise twenty-four objections and Yohanan would need to give twenty-four answers, and both of them would come out of the exchange knowing something they had not known going in. This was not the dynamic of a teacher and a student who had been educated conventionally. Resh Lakish had brought something to Torah that Torah did not already have: the precision of a man trained to read danger, to sense weakness in a position, to push until the construction either held or fell.

What the Fight Revealed

The end of the partnership arrived through a legal argument about whether a knife or a sword could contract ritual impurity before it was completed as a weapon, which Yohanan and Resh Lakish were working through when Yohanan said something that cut differently than the question required. He observed that a robber would know about this kind of thing.

Resh Lakish heard what was in the remark. He told Yohanan that calling him back to his former life with a joke in the middle of a legal argument was not what a teacher was supposed to do. He had left that life. Yohanan had been the one who told him his strength belonged to Torah and had offered his sister to make the transfer possible. To reach back now and call him a robber in the study house was a denial of the whole transformation.

Yohanan was wounded. He did not speak to Resh Lakish the way he had spoken to him before. Resh Lakish fell ill and died. The Talmud records that Yohanan fell into grief so deep that his students could not reach him. They found a replacement study partner for him, a scholar named Rabbi Eleazar ben Pedat, and Yohanan's response to every sharp answer the new man gave was: there was a son of Laish who used to raise twenty-four objections to my one statement. You agree with me. That is not what I need.

Resh LakishRepentanceTorahRabbi YohananFriendshipTragedy
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From the tradition

Sources

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The texts this telling draws on, in full. Open a card to read inline, or expand it for a wider, quieter read.

Bava Metzia 84aTalmud Bavli, Bava Metzia

Elijah the prophet encountered him and said to him: Until when will you inform on the nation of our God to be sentenced to execution? Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei, said to Elijah: What should I do? It is the king’s edict that I must obey. Elijah said to him: Faced with this choice, your father fled to Asia.

You should flee to Laodicea rather than accept this appointment. § With regard to these Sages, the Gemara adds: When Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei, and Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon, would meet each other, it was possible for a pair of oxen to enter and fit between them, under their bellies, without touching them, due to their excessive obesity. A certain Roman noblewoman [matronita] once said to them: Your children are not really your own, as due to your obesity it is impossible that you engaged in intercourse with your wives.

They said to her: Theirs, i.e., our wives’ bellies, are larger than ours. She said to them: All the more so you could not have had intercourse. There are those who say that this is what they said to her: “For as the man is, so is his strength” (Judges 8:21), i.e., our sexual organs are proportionate to our bellies. There are those who say that this is what they said to her: Love compresses the flesh.

The Gemara asks: And why did they respond to her audacious and foolish question? After all, it is written: “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him” (Proverbs 26:4). The Gemara answers: They answered her in order not to cast aspersions on the lineage of their children. The Gemara continues discussing the bodies of these Sages: Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The organ of Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei, was the size of a jug of nine kav.

Rav Pappa said: The organ of Rabbi Yoḥanan was the size of a jug of five kav, and some say it was the size of a jug of three kav. Rav Pappa himself had a belly like the baskets [dikurei] made in Harpanya. With regard to Rabbi Yoḥanan’s physical features, the Gemara adds that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: I alone remain of the beautiful people of Jerusalem. The Gemara continues: One who wishes to see something resembling the beauty of Rabbi 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 Rabbi Yoḥanan’s beauty. The Gemara asks: Is that so? Was Rabbi Yoḥanan so beautiful? But doesn’t the Master say: The beauty of Rav Kahana is a semblance of the beauty of Rabbi Abbahu; the beauty of Rabbi Abbahu is a semblance of the beauty of Jacob, our forefather; and the beauty of Jacob, our forefather, is a semblance of the beauty of Adam the first man, who was created in the image of God.

And yet Rabbi Yoḥanan is not included in this list. The Gemara answers: Rabbi Yoḥanan is different from these other men, as he did not have a beauty of countenance, i.e., he did not have a beard. The Gemara continues to discuss Rabbi Yoḥanan’s beauty. Rabbi 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. The Rabbis said to Rabbi Yoḥanan: Isn’t the Master worried about being harmed by the evil eye by displaying yourself in this manner?

Rabbi Yoḥanan said to them: I come from the offspring of Joseph, over whom the evil eye does not have dominion, as it is written: “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a fountain [alei ayin]” (Genesis 49:22); and Rabbi Abbahu says: Do not read the verse as saying: “By a fountain [alei ayin]”; rather, read it as: Those who rise above the evil eye [olei ayin]. Joseph’s descendants are not susceptible to the influence of the evil eye.

Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina said that this idea is derived from here: “And let them grow [veyidgu] into a multitude in the midst of the earth” (Genesis 48:16). Just as with regard to fish [dagim] in the sea, the water covers them and the evil eye therefore has no dominion over them, as they are not seen, so too, with regard to the offspring of Joseph, the evil eye has no dominion over them. The Gemara relates: One day, Rabbi 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. Rabbi Yoḥanan said to Reish Lakish: Your strength is fit for Torah study. Reish Lakish said to him: Your beauty is fit for women.

Rabbi 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.

Rabbi Yoḥanan taught Reish Lakish Bible, and taught him Mishna, and turned him into a great man. Eventually, Reish Lakish became one of the outstanding Torah scholars of his generation. One day the Sages of the study hall were engaging in a dispute concerning the following baraita: With regard to the sword, the knife, the dagger [vehapigyon], the spear, a hand sickle, and a harvest sickle, 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 Sages inquired: And when is the completion of their manufacture? Rabbi Yoḥanan says: It is from when one fires these items in the furnace. Reish Lakish said: It is from when one scours them in water, after they have been fired in the furnace.

Rabbi 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 Rabbi Yoḥanan: What benefit did you provide me by bringing me close to Torah? There, among the bandits, they called me: Leader of the bandits, and here, too, they call me: Leader of the bandits. Rabbi Yoḥanan said to him: I provided benefit to you, as I brought you close to God, under the wings of the Divine Presence.

As a result of the quarrel, Rabbi Yoḥanan was offended, which in turn affected Reish Lakish, who fell ill. Rabbi Yoḥanan’s sister, who was Reish Lakish’s wife, came crying to Rabbi 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. Rabbi 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.” Ultimately, Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, Reish Lakish, died. Rabbi Yoḥanan was sorely pained over losing him.

The Rabbis said: Who will go to calm Rabbi Yoḥanan’s mind and comfort him over his loss? They said: Let Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat go, as his statements are sharp, i.e., he is clever and will be able to serve as a substitute for Reish Lakish. Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat went and sat before Rabbi Yoḥanan. With regard to every matter that Rabbi Yoḥanan would say, Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat would say to him: There is a ruling which is taught in a baraita that supports your opinion.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said to him: Are you comparable to the son of Lakish? In my discussions with the son of Lakish, when I would state a matter, he would raise twenty-four difficulties against me in an attempt to disprove my claim, and I would answer him with twenty-four answers, and the halakha by itself would become broadened 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. Rabbi Yoḥanan went around, rending his clothing, weeping and saying: Where are you, son of Lakish? Where are you, son of Lakish?

Rabbi Yoḥanan screamed until his mind was taken from him, i.e., he went insane. The Rabbis prayed and requested for God to have mercy on him and take his soul, and Rabbi Yoḥanan died.

Full source
Exempla of the Rabbis, No. 224Exempla of the Rabbis (Gaster, 1924)

These two short tales from Gaster's Exempla of the Rabbis both turn on the deadly power of a sage's anger and grief. The first concerns R. Yohanan, remembered as one of the last truly handsome men of Jerusalem. Resh Lakish, who at that time was a brigand, once surprised him while he bathed in the river, at first mistaking him for a woman because of his beauty. R. Yohanan persuaded the robber to abandon his banditry and devote himself to Torah study, promising him his own sister in marriage as an inducement. Resh Lakish became a great scholar and R. Yohanan's most formidable study partner. Years later, in the heat of a dispute over a fine point of law, R. Yohanan's anger flared against his old companion, and the rebuke proved fatal: Resh Lakish died. Stricken with remorse, R. Yohanan grieved for him without consolation until his own death.

The second tale (No. 225) tells of R. Dimi of Nahardea, who brought figs to sell and came before the Resh Galuta, the Exilarch, who neglected to examine him properly. Later Rabba sent R. Ada b. Ahaba to test whether R. Dimi was a genuine scholar. R. Ada concluded, mistakenly, that the man was ignorant, and by undermining his standing he spoiled R. Dimi's trade. R. Dimi complained bitterly to R. Joseph, and as a consequence R. Ada b. Ahaba died. Afterward various scholars each took the blame upon themselves with regret, each fearing that his own conduct had brought about the death.

Full source
Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 280:1Yalkut Shimoni on Torah

Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: The Torah that was given to Moses - its parchment was of white fire, and it was written in black fire, and sealed with fire, and wrapped in fire, and while writing it He wiped the pen in His hair, and from there Moses took the radiance of the face. Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman says: from the tablets Moses took the radiance of the face. When he saw that Israel had done that deed, he took them and broke them. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: when you arranged the tablets for Israel I gave you your reward, the radiance of the face, and now you have broken the tablets. Rabbi Yitzchak said: Our masters taught - the cask is broken, it is broken to the broker. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: you were the broker between Me and My children; you broke them, you replace them; whence? As it is said, "At that time the LORD said unto me, Hew you" (Deuteronomy 10:1). "And let them be ready for the third day" - whence do we know that a woman who emits semen on the third day is impure? As it is said, "And let them be ready for the third day." "And let them be ready for the third day" - this is the sixth day, on which the Torah was given, as it is said, "For on the third day the LORD will come down," and this is one of the ten descents in the Torah. "In the sight of all the people" - this teaches that if they had been lacking even one, they would not have been worthy to receive. Rabbi Yose says: even if there are two thousand and two myriads, they are worthy to receive, as it is said, "And when it rested he said, Return, O LORD, unto the ten thousands of the thousands of Israel" (Numbers 10:36). "And you shall set bounds for the people" (Exodus 19:12) - I might hear, to its east; therefore Scripture says "round about." "Saying" - that they were permitted to one another. "Take heed" - with a negative commandment. One might think he may not go up but may touch; therefore Scripture says, "or touch the border of it." One might think he may not go up nor touch, but may enter by means of a litter; therefore Scripture says, "or touch the border of it." "Whosoever touches the mount shall surely be put to death" - this is the punishment. "No hand shall touch it" (Exodus 19:13) - and not at Shiloh, nor at the Tent of Meeting, nor at the eternal House. Whence that it is by pushing down? Scripture says "thrown down." And whence that it is by stoning? Scripture says "stoned." And whence both by stoning and by pushing down? Scripture says "he shall surely be stoned or thrown down." And whence that if he died from the pushing down he has fulfilled it? Scripture says "or thrown down." And whence that even for the generations it is so? Scripture says "he shall surely be stoned or thrown down."

Full source
Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 186:5Yalkut Shimoni on Torah

"And it covered the eye of the land" (Exodus 10:5). Reish Lakish said: Everything that the Holy One, blessed be He, created in the human being, He created in the earth. A human being has a head, and the earth has a head, as it is said, "and the head of the dust of the world" (Proverbs 8:26). A human being has eyes, and the earth has eyes, as it is said, "and it covered the eye of the whole land" (Exodus 10:15). A human being has ears, and of the earth it is written, "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth" (Isaiah 1:2). A human being has a mouth, and the earth: "and the earth opened its mouth" (Numbers 16:32). A human being has hands, and the earth: "and the earth, behold, is broad of hands." A human being has an arm, and it is written, "and underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deuteronomy 33:27). A human being has a navel, and it is written, "those who dwell on the navel of the earth" (Ezekiel 38:12). A human being has thighs, and the earth: "and I will gather them from the thighs of the earth." A human being has feet, and it is written, "and the earth stands forever" (Ecclesiastes 1:4). A human being eats, and it is written, "a land that eats its inhabitants" (Numbers 13:32). A human being drinks, and the earth: "from the rain of heaven it drinks water" (Deuteronomy 11:11). A human being shakes, and the earth: "and the earth quaked." A human being becomes drunk, and it is written, "the earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard" (Isaiah 24:20). A human being vomits, and it is written, "and the land vomited out its inhabitants" (Leviticus 18:25).

And just as a woman gives birth, so does the earth, as it is said, "Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Shall a nation be born at once?" (Isaiah 66:8). These are Israel, for in one moment the Holy One, blessed be He, brings them and brings them into Jerusalem, as it is said, "and you shall say in your heart, Who has borne me these?" (Isaiah 49:21). The Holy One, blessed be He, says to her: By your life, in a brief hour I will gather your exile, for so Isaiah said, "Lift up your eyes round about and see," and so on.

"And the LORD turned a very strong sea wind, and it lifted the locusts and drove them into the Sea of Reeds" (Exodus 10:19). Locust, chasil, and sal'am came and ate what was left by the hail. Then Egypt rejoiced, trapped many of them, and salted them. But when the LORD drove the locusts away, even from the salted ones not a single locust remained.

Full source
Exempla of the Rabbis, No. 224Exempla of the Rabbis (Gaster, 1924)

Rabbi Yohanan and Resh Lakish, the sage and the former bandit, formed one of the most famous study partnerships in the Talmud. Their relationship began in the most unlikely way: Rabbi Yohanan, who was extraordinarily beautiful, was bathing in the Jordan River when Resh Lakish, then a notorious gladiator and outlaw, leaped into the water after him.

"Your strength should be devoted to Torah," Rabbi Yohanan told him. Resh Lakish replied: "Your beauty should belong to women." Rabbi Yohanan made him an offer: "If you devote yourself to Torah study, I will give you my sister in marriage. And she is even more beautiful than I am."

Resh Lakish agreed. He tried to leap back out of the river to retrieve his weapons. But found he could not. The moment he committed himself to Torah, his physical strength diminished. The bandit's power was gone. What replaced it was far greater.

Resh Lakish became one of the sharpest minds in the Talmud, Rabbi Yohanan's constant intellectual sparring partner. Their debates were ferocious, brilliant, and essential to the development of Jewish law. The Talmud (Bava Metzia 84a) makes clear that Rabbi Yohanan valued Resh Lakish's challenges above all others, because only someone who had lived outside the law could truly test the law's boundaries.

When Resh Lakish died, Rabbi Yohanan was inconsolable. They sent him another study partner, but the new man simply agreed with everything Rabbi Yohanan said. "You are nothing like Resh Lakish," Rabbi Yohanan wept. "He would raise twenty-four objections, and I would give twenty-four answers, and the law was clarified. You just agree." Agreement without challenge is not partnership. It is loneliness.

Full source