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Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai had five disciples: Rabbi Eliezer
ben Horkenos, Rabbi Joshua ben Chananyah, Rabbi Yossei the
Kohen, Rabbi Shimon ben Netanel and Rabbi Elazar ben Arach....
He [Rabban Yochanan] used to say: If all the sages of Israel
were to be in one side of a balance-scale and Eliezer ben
Horkenos were in the other, he would outweigh them all. Abba
Shaul said in his name: If all the sages of Israel were to
be in one side of a balance-scale, Eliezer ben Horkenos included,
and Elazar ben Arach were in the other, he would outweigh
them all.
Ethics of the Fathers 2:9
The word torah means “instruction,” for
nothing in Torah is merely anecdotal; every “incident”
is a lesson, each “parenthetical” observation a
law of life. If the Ethics of the Fathers devotes the
better part of a mishnah to the discussion of the relative
virtues of Rabbi Yochanan’s disciples, it is to teach
us something about ourselves and how we are to view the potential
of man.
The mishnah cites two opinions as to which disciple
was the superior. Rabbi Yochanan is quoted as saying that
Rabbi Eliezer was greater than all the other sages of Israel
put together. But another opinion, also attributed to Rabbi
Yochanan (cited in his name by Abba Shaul) is that Rabbi Elazar
outweighed them all. The commentaries[1]
explain that there is no contradiction between the two versions.
Rabbi Eliezer possessed a quality (a mind like “a cemented
cistern that loses not a drop”[2])
in which he surpassed all others, while there was something
about Rabbi Elazar (his capacity to generate new ideas “like
an ever-increasing wellspring”[3])
in which he outweighed all the sages, including Rabbi Eliezer.[4]
Therein lies the eternal lesson for each and every one of
us. Every human being was created to fill a certain role in
G-d’s creation—a role that cannot be filled by anyone
else. So not only is he unique, not only is he indispensable,
but there is a point of reference from which he is the greatest
human being in the world—greater than all other human
beings combined. It is our challenge and duty to discover
this specialty in ourselves and develop that area in which
one is truly “the greatest man who ever lived.”
Based on the Rebbe’s talks, Tammuz 28, 5743 (July
9, 1983); Av 4, 5742 (July 24, 1982)[5]
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[1]. See Bartenura, Tosefot Yom Tov and Midrash Shmuel
on our mishnah.
[2]. Ethics of the Fathers 2:9.
[4]. The Talmud (Horiot 14a) records a debate over
which quality should take precedence in the choosing of
a leader: the retention of past wisdom or the generation
of new. The conclusion is that the former should take precedence
over the latter, since leadership requires, first and foremost,
a thorough knowledge of the law. This explains why the view
that Rabbi Eliezer was the greatest disciple is attributed
to Rabbi Yochanan himself, while the view stressing Rabbi
Elazar’s overriding quality is quoted in his name by
Abba Shaul. Rabbi Yochanan speaking as “Rabbi Yochanan”—the
leader of his generation—emphasized the virtue of retention;
but Rabbi Yochanan is also the source of the view—expressed
in private, and publicly stated by another sage—that
there is a point of reference from which the quality of
“an ever-increasing wellspring” is the ultimate
measure of greatness.
[5]. Biurim L’Pirkei Avot (Kehot, 1996), pp. 108-109;
110-111.
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