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92NY’s Goldman Center for Children and Family provides an exceptional array of programs designed to support children at every stage of their development.
at The 92nd Street Y, New York. Supported by The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity
Nov 02, 1989
Was he a mystic? Though nothing indicates his attraction to mysticism, the question hovers and returns. Meanwhile, we hear of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi’s extraordinary compassion, of his being an outstanding teacher, of his particular gifts as a storyteller, of his obsession with forgetting, of his being utterly repelled by vulgarity and obscenity, and of his timidity. Proficient in but not fully satisfied by halacha or aggada, possessed of miraculous powers, Rabbi Yehoshua did seem to move to mysticism—but only up to a point, to the brink. He who met Elijah regular at Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai’s cave would not enter the cave. He could or would not go to the end of a quest. Timidity should not leave one standing at the edge.
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