Sukkah, Daf Kaf Het, Part 1
Introduction
At the end of the previous daf we learned that R. Eliezer never said anything he hadn’t learned from his master. Daf Kaf Het (28) continues with another baraita about R. Eliezer, including his statement that he never said anything he hadn’t heard from his master.
תנו רבנן: מעשה ברבי אליעזר ששבת בגליל העליון, ושאלוהו שלשים הלכות בהלכות סוכה, שתים עשרה אמר להם שמעתי, שמונה עשר אמר להם, לא שמעתי. רבי יוסי בר’ יהודה אומר: חילוף הדברים, שמונה עשר אמר להם שמעתי, שתים עשרה אמר להם לא שמעתי. – אמרו לו: כל דבריך אינן אלא מפי השמועה? – אמר להם: הזקקתוני לומר דבר שלא שמעתי מפי רבותי.
Our rabbis have taught: It happened that R. Eliezer spent Shabbat in the Upper Galilee, and they asked him for thirty halakhot concerning the halakhot of Sukkah. Of twelve of these he said, "I heard them [from my teachers]" of eighteen he said, "I have not heard." R. Yose b. Judah said: Reverse the words: Of eighteen he said, "I have heard them," of twelve he said, "I have not heard them." They said to him: Are all your words based only on [traditions] that you have heard? He answered them, "You wished to force me to say something which I have not heard from m teachers."
The baraita begins with the story of the sages asking R. Eliezer halakhic questions while he was in the Upper Galilee. R. Eliezer answers only those questions for which he already knows a tradition. If he doesn’t know a tradition, he doesn’t state his own opinion. This is an extreme version of one notion what it means to be a tannaitic rabbi. All rabbis transmit traditions that they learned from their teachers. This is the "Oral Torah" passed down by word of mouth from generation to generation. However, most rabbis also use their own intellect to figure out the answers to situations for which they don’t have a tradition. They operate using both their memory and their acumen. R. Eliezer, in contrast, refuses to add his own contribution to the tradition. He sees himself as merely a conduit in the passing of the tradition from one generation to the other. The other sages ask him questions, trying to get him to answer a question for which he doesn’t have a tradition. He refuses to do so, recognizing their questions for what they are.
מימי לא קדמני אדם בבית המדרש. ולא ישנתי בבית המדרש לא שינת קבע ולא שינת עראי, ולא הנחתי אדם בבית המדרש ויצאתי, ולא שחתי שיחת חולין, ולא אמרתי דבר שלא שמעתי מפי רבי מעולם.
During all my life no one was earlier than me in getting to the bet midrash. I never slept or napped in the bet midrash, nor did I ever leave a person in the bet midrash when I went out, nor did I engage in secular discussion, nor did I ever say a thing which I did not hear from my teachers.
This is a continuation of the baraita about R. Eliezer. We can see R. Eliezer’s extreme devotion to the life of Torah study. He never discussed anything besides Torah (not even sports!). He was a pure conduit for the transmission of traditions, filling his head with what he had learned and transmitting it to the next generation.
We should note that R. Eliezer is accredited with amazing, even wondrous abilities, but he is not the model that the Talmud seems to prefer. As important as memory was, most of the time the Talmud lauds intellectual sharpness, the ability to be creative and derive new halakhot. Most importantly, overall the Talmud values dialectics, the ability to see the faults in an argument and to offer a solution. As important as memory was, the rabbis valued other intellectual abilities to an even greater degree.
אמרו עליו על רבן יוחנן בן זכאי: מימיו לא שח שיחת חולין, ולא הלך ארבע אמות בלא תורה ובלא תפילין, ולא קדמו אדם בבית המדרש ולא ישן בבית המדרש לא שינת קבע ולא שינת עראי, ולא הרהר במבואות המטונפות, ולא הניח אדם בבית המדרש ויצא, ולא מצאו אדם יושב ודומם אלא יושב ושונה, ולא פתח אדם דלת לתלמידיו אלא הוא בעצמו, ולא אמר דבר שלא שמע מפי רבו מעולם, ולא אמר הגיע עת לעמוד מבית המדרש חוץ מערבי פסחים וערבי יום הכפורים. וכן היה רבי אליעזר תלמידו נוהג אחריו.
They said about R. Yohanan b. Zakkai that during his whole life he never had a secular discussion, nor did he walk four cubits without [studying the] Torah or without tefillin, nor did anyone get to the bet midrash earlier than him, nor did he sleep or nap in the bet midrash, nor did he meditate [upon words of Torah] in filthy alleyways, nor did he leave anyone in the bet midrash when he went out, nor did anyone ever find him sitting in silence, only sitting and learning, and no one opened the door for his disciples but him, and he never said anything which he had not heard from his teacher. And he never said, It is time to get up [and leave] the bet midrash except on the eve of Pesah and on the eve of Yom Kippur, and so did his disciple R. Eliezer act after him.
The next part of the baraita is about R. Yohanan b. Zakkai the legendary rabbi who spearheaded the preservation of Judaism after the destruction of the Temple. Many of the patterns of behavior attributed to R. Eliezer above were learned from his teacher, as would seem to be appropriate for such a conservative rabbi. We also learn of R. Yohanan ben Zakkai’s great humility he never let anyone else open the door for his disciples.
In the middle of the baraita we saw that R. Yohanan b. Zakkai was also strict about the rules of cleanliness. He wouldn’t even think in his heart about Torah while he was in a filthy alleyway (they did not have proper sewage back then). This is beyong the letter of the law which only prohibits talking about Torah in such places. Indeed, we can imagine that this was no easy task. For a person who learns Torah all day long, every day, stopping oneself from even thinking about Torah could not have been easy.
Towards the end of the baraita we learn that there were only two days a year in which he left "work" early. The eve of Pesah so that he could make seder with his family. And the eve of Yom Kippur so that he could make sure that his family ate a proper meal before the fast. The rest of the year Mrs. Rabban Yohanan ben Zakai you’re on your own. Leave a light on, but don’t wait up!