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gnomiFrom 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.
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.
