Mostly for laurens10, tapuz, and mabfan

[gnomi]

From http://www.spiritsite.com/writing/danmat/part4.htm

Four entered pardes: Ben Azzai, Ben Zoma, Aher, and Rabbi Akiva. Ben Azzai glimpsed and died. Ben Zoma glimpsed and went mad. Aher cut the plants. Rabbi Akiva emerged in peace.

Aher, "the other one," is the nickname of Elisha ben Avuyah, the most famous heretic in rabbinic literature. The exact nature of his heresy is unclear; the metaphor of "cutting the plants" may refer to his conversion to Gnostic dualism. In any case, only Rabbi Akiva, we are told, emerged unscathed.

Comments

[tapuz.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Silly all of us forgetting Ben Azzai!

I'm going to take the opportunity to push As a Driven Leaf on anyone else reading this. :-)

(Interesting information about it also from the JTS Book of the Month)

[laurens10.livejournal.com]

How about getting my favorite librarian to check it out of the library for me, tapuz? =)

[cellio]

Seconded. I really enjoyed As a Driven Leaf. It takes artistic license, to be sure, but much of what's there is true to the sources in spirit if not in precise details (and some is pretty accurate in the details).