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at The 92nd Street Y, New York. Supported by The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity
Oct 17, 1985
The famous Talmudic story of the four (Ben Azzai, Ben Zoma, Ben Abuyah, and Rabbi Akiva) who entered the orchard of forbidden knowledge frames our study of these two Talmudic giants. They were close: Ben Azzai wouldn’t marry because he could love only the Torah, Ben Zoma because he was a mystic. Both sought the meaning of Jewish suffering in the origins of creation, and thereby Ben Azzai lost his life, Ben Zoma lost his mind. The latter’s mystical madness, and perhaps even Ben Zoma himself, appears in all my books. Perhaps they sacrificed life and mind to try to protect our people from further suffering? Only their companion Rabbi Akiva left the orchard in peace, seeking peace for his people and the world--and maybe that saved him.
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