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Rabbi Eliezer never said anything that he didn’t hear from his rebbi.

Summary

Beraisa: Rabbi Eliezer once spent Shabbos in the Upper Galil. They asked him 30 questions in the laws of sukkah. Regarding 12 questions he said that he had heard and gave responses, but regarding the other 18 he merely said that he hadn’t heard.

Rabbi Yosi B’Rebbi Yehuda: It was the other way around. He responded to 18, and said that he hadn’t heard regarding the other 12.

They said to him: You don’t say anything on your own? Only what you heard?

Rabbi Eliezer: You’re forcing me to make a statement that I didn’t hear from my rebbe (he explained to them some of his ways so that they would be able to emulate him. He was so great that he was not concerned with kavod): No one ever came to the Beis Medrash before me (that was a tough thing then - not like today!). I never slept in the Beis Medrash (which is permitted for Torah students) nor did I even nap there. I was always the last to leave from the Beis Medrash. I never spoke secular conversation. And I never said anything that I didn’t hear from my rebbe. (He had other ways too, but this was a bit that he revealed. When Rabbi Eliezer died, he wept, saying that his talmidim only heard from him a drop from the great ocean of knowledge that he had).

Now we go to the Rebbi of Rabbi Eliezer:

They said about Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai: He never spoke unnecessary speech. He never walked 4 amos without thinking in Torah and wearing Tefillin. No one ever came to the Beis Medrash before him. He never slept in the Beis Medrash nor even napped there. He didn’t think in DIvrei Torah in unclean places (which was a great accomplishment for someone like him. There is a special dispensation in halacha for someone who cannot stop himself from thinking divrei torah to think it in the bathroom as well, but Rabban Yochanan controlled his thoughts anyway). He was always the last to leave from the Beis Medrash. He could never be found “doing nothing”, he was always sitting and learning. He would always run to the door to grab the mitzvah of opening it for his talmidim. And he never said anything that he didn’t hear from his rebbe (he was a talmid of Hillel and Shammai). He never said “It’s time to stop learning and go home” (rather, he would stop teaching and they would understand on their own that it’s time to go home) except for Erev Pesach (When they had to go home to bring the korban Pesach) and Erev Yom Kippur (when there’s a mitzvah to eat a meal).

And so too, did his disciple Rabbi Eliezer comport himself. This podcast has been graciously sponsored by JewishPodcasts.fm. There is much overhead to maintain this service so please help us continue our goal of helping Jewish lecturers become podcasters and support us with a donation: https://thechesedfund.com/jewishpodcasts/donate