The deeds of Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi [from the Sefer Ma'asiot of Rabbi Nissim Ga'on; Beit Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)] Rabbi Joshua ben Levi discovered something so overwhelming and frightening [which would continue to do so] unless he could manage to uncover the true mystery and the straightforward meaning of the matter. And he learned of his doubt, and he clarified the matter. And this is what occured: He fasted for many days and sat in his fasting and prayed to his Creator (may His Name be Blessed) for Elijah [the Prophet] to appear to him. And behold, Elijah approached and appeared to him. And [Elijah] said to him: If you have a matter you desire from me, I will fulfill it for you. And Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said to him: I want to travel with you, and to witness the events in the world which are improved by your actions, and I will be able to learn much wisdom from you. And Elijah said to him: You will not be able to bear (tolerate) the things that you will see me do and it will be very bothersome for me to explain to you the purpose of my deeds and actions. And Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said to him: My Master, I will not ask [anything of you] or bother you with any questions, for all I want is to see is what you do and what you say and nothing more. And Elijah made a condition with him that if Rabbi Joshua asked him to know the reasoning of his actions, signs, wonders and the like, that if he asked him any question he would not travel with him anymore. Then they both went together until they came to the house of an utterly poor and destitute man who had nothing [of value] but one cow which was standing with him in the yard. And the man and his wife were sitting at the gate. And [the couple] saw [Elijah and Joshua ben Levi] coming toward them, and they went to greet them and they asked of them of their welfare and were rejoiced to meet them. And they brought them of the best of their home and they brought out before them whatever food or drink they had. And they all ate and drank. And they slept there [overnight]. And the morning came, and they rose to go about on their way. And Elijah prayed for the cow to die, and it died immediately. And they both went [on their way]. And Rabbi Joshua ben Levi saw and wondered about the matter and was overwhelmed and thought to himself "Was there was no reward for this poor man for the honor he showed to us but to kill his cow? And he has no other one!" And he said to Elijah: "My master, why did you kill the cow of this man, who honored us so much?" And Elijah answered: "Remember the condition for our travels: you have to be quiet, and not ask, unless you want to separate from me." And so Joshua Ben Levi stopped talking, and did not ask again. And the two walked together all day long. At night, they arrived to the house of a very rich man, who did not give them any food or drink, and just let them sleep there. And the house of the man had a wall that was about to fall, but in the morning Elijah prayed, and the wall was miraculously restored. And the two walked from there. And this added to R. Joshua Ben Levi's grief and surprise, but he controlled himself and did not ask any questions regarding the deeds of Elijah. And they walked all they long, and at night they arrived at a huge synagogue, in which all the chairs were made from silver, and there was gold everywhere, and every person was sitting there according to how rich and powerful they were. And one of them [looked at Elijah and R. Joshua ben Levi and] said: "Who will feed these poor tonight?" And another answered: "Oh, they should be all right with the water, the bread and the salt they themselves brought here!" And so they refused to honor them even minimally. They slept there until morning, and as they were up and leaving Elijah said to them: "May God make you all strong leaders!" And they walked all the next day, and this compounded R. Joshua ben Levi's suffering, but he was careful not to ask. And as the sun was setting, they arrived in a town, and the leaders of the town saw them coming, and they went to meet them, with happiness and good heartedness, and received them with smiles and comraderie, and gave them the best that was in their houses, and they ate and drank and slept there in great honor. And come morning, Elijah prays: "May the Holy One of Blessing give you all only one leader." And as Rabbi Joshua Ben Levi hears this, he can't hold himself back anymore. He can't be quiet and not ask regarding the deeds of Elijah. And so: "Now, please, tell me your secret!" And Elijah said: "Now, that you really want to leave me, I will explain to you all of it, and let you know the secret of my deeds. Now you will know that regarding the man whose cow I killed there was a decree that his wife should die, and I prayed to God that his cow would die in her place, moreover, I saw that through that woman a great goodness would come to his house, and all would be well afterwards. And the rich man whose wall I fixed, there was a great treasure of silver and gold hidden under that wall, and should he fix it by himself he would have discovered it. And I know that the wall will collapse gain, and that the treasure will remain hidden, and that house will not be rebuilt. And the people I prayed that they would all become great leaders, this is because it will be bad for them, as they will not be able to reach any agreement on their thoughts and deeds, since any place that has too many bossy leaders eventually gets destroyed and vandalized. And the people I prayed that they should have only one leader it is because such a community will have agreement and all will work together towards their goals, and there will be no disputes among them, all will be well. And this is why the makers of sayings say: "Too many captains sink the ship, but one mayor makes a city prosper." And Elijah told R. Joshua Ben Levi: "I am leaving you, but here is what I will leave you with: if you see an evil person who is prospering, do not let yourself despair, because it will be that evil person's downfall. And if you see a righteous person suffering, whether for lack of food, clothing or because of sickness or other sufferings, don't get angry, and don't let your impulse to doubt take you over, and strengthen your mind and heart, because the Holy One is just, and righteous, and God is paying attention to all the ways in which people walk. A person cannot know every thing, and who can ask God for an accounting of God's deeds?" And with that the two said 'Shalom' to each other, and went their separate ways.