Four tannaim ascended into the Pardes, the orchard of mystical contemplation, and Rabbi Akiva warned his companions before they entered. "When you come to the pavement of pure marble, do not cry out, 'Water! Water!' — for it is written (Psalm 101:7), He that uttereth falsehood shall not dwell in My sight."
The four were Ben Azzai, Ben Zoma, Elisha ben Abuyah (called Acher, "the Other"), and Akiva. Ben Azzai gazed and died. Of him Scripture says (Psalm 116:15), Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. Ben Zoma gazed and lost his reason. Of him Scripture says (Proverbs 25:16), Hast thou found honey? Eat only so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith and vomit it.
Acher "cut the plants" — he lost his faith and became a heretic. Only Akiva, the shepherd who learned Torah at forty, entered in peace and departed in peace. The Talmud (Chagigah 14b) uses this episode to warn that mystical ascent is not a game. The orchard does not welcome every visitor; it tests the soul that enters, and only the soul rooted in Torah and humility returns intact.