24 Questions

One other Gamara that has to be mentioned, and that is that I saw everybody asks that actually Yadaf that Resh Lakish, right? He wanted to show Rebbi Elazar that he doesn't really know this part. So, he asked him 24 kashas on Yadaf. Yadaf, Yadaf, Yadaf. If you go through the Torah, there's no 24 Yadafs. There's not 24 Yadafs. You don't have 24 to ask. Not in the whole Tanakh. So, where are the 24 Yadafs that he even asked him? But, I think the very very pashut tshuvas is is there's a Gamara in Masechtas Bava Metzia daf peh dalet amud alef. The Gamara talks about after Resh Lakish passed away, Rebbi Yochanan had a tremendous amount of tzaar over the untimely passing of the great Resh Lakish. And the Rabbanan, so the Rabbanan said, "Man le sol le yas le le daiteh. Who's going to go be menachem Rebbi Yochanan?" You hear the symmetry between these two Gamaros? Who's going to go be menachem Rebbi Yochanan? They're not menachem Rebbi Yochanan because someone said over a halacha and didn't give him credit for it. That's Rebbi Yochanan. This is real nichum aveilim. He lost his chaverusa. He lost his talmid. Right? He lost the great Resh Lakish. So, the Gamara said, "Neizil Rebbi Elazar ben Pedas. They decided Rebbi Elazar ben Pedas, also known as Rebbi Elazar of Ardaf, he's the one that should go be menachem Rebbi Yochanan because he'll talk in learning to Rebbi Yochanan. We think he'll have the ability to be menachem Rebbi Yochanan." So, the Gamara says, "Az yasav kamei. He went in front of Rebbi Yochanan." And kol milta de hava amar Rebbi Yochanan, everything that Rebbi Yochanan would say, so Rebbi Elazar would say, "Tanya demesayaya lecha. I have a braisa that supports you here. I have a braisa that supports you there." So, Rebbi Yochanan turned to Rebbi Elazar and said, "At Bal Lakisha, he says, "You're like Bal Lakisha." He says, "Bal Lakisha, let me tell you how I used to learn with Resh Lakish. Ki hava amina milta and I would say a vart, hava am achrei esrim ve arba kushyasa. He would ask me 24 kashas. Um afriknali esrim ve arba pirukei. And I would come up and I would have to say 24 tirutzin. Um meila Rav Chishmeisa, like this we walked away. We knew the Sugya. Ve amar, "Tanya demesayaya lecha." You're telling me a braisa and here's the punchline. "Oto layo daana deshaprei kamina. I need you to tell me I'm saying good. I knew I was saying good. If I didn't think I was saying good, I wouldn't have said it." No. The Gamara continues and the Gamara says the mamash have a azla le kara manei. Rebbi Yochanan went fighting. He was tearing his clothing because bachi be amar. And he was crying. He said, "Eicha Bal Lakisha? Eicha Bal Lakisha?" Mamash. And the Gamara tells the whole story of the end of uh the life of Rebbi Yochanan. Rebbi Yochanan's passing away through this. A fascinating Gamara. But, the bottom line is the bottom line is what was the minag of Resh Lakish. When Resh Lakish heard Rebbi Yochanan say something, he would ask him esrim ve arba kushyasa. He would ask him 24 kashas. I don't know if he had real 24 kashas over here to ask. Resh Lakish said, "We don't have 24 kashas." But, at the same time, this is the signon of Resh Lakish. When Resh Lakish fires away, he would come. He would ask him 24 kashas. When he would ask the 24 kashas Rebbi Yochanan, Rebbi Yochanan wouldn't have to say. He came to Rebbi Elazar and he asked him 24 kashas. He was ishtik. He was stumping him a little bit. I think that's the symmetry of this Gamara side with the Gamara in Yevamos side with the Gamara in Bava Metzia and side with the Gamara of side with the Gamara in Masechtas Bava Metzia daf peh dalet amud alef.