Envisioning a future when the covenant between God and Israel is restored, the prophet Isaiah declares in the name of God:
“I will make your battlements of rubies,
Your gates of precious stones,
The whole encircling wall of gems.” (54:12)
Understood metaphorically, this verse envisions a time when the cities of the Israelites will thrive, shining as though covered in precious jewels. But Rabbi Yohanan has a far more literal read:
In the future, the Holy One, Blessed be God, will bring precious stones and pearls that are 30 by 30 cubits, and God will hollow out in them a hole of 10 by 20 cubits and set them in the gates of Jerusalem.
Rabbi Yohanan imagines a future for Jerusalem in which the gates are literally made of precious stones so large that the entrances are carved out of a single gem. Too good to be true? At least one student thinks so:
A certain unnamed student sneered at Rabbi Yohanan, saying: Now we do not find precious stones even of the size of an egg of a dove, and yet all of this we will find?
If pearls the size of eggs are things of the imagination, scoffed at this student, how could anyone possibly believe there are gems as large as a multi-story building?
If Rabbi Yohanan responded to the heckling of his student, it wasn’t recorded in the Talmud. Instead, the text tells us that the student, some time later, happened to be on a ship at sea where he saw something remarkable:
Ministering angels were sitting and sawing precious stones and pearls that were 30 by 30 cubits, and hollowed out in them were holes of 10 by 20 cubits. The student said to the angels: “For whom are these?” The angel told the student: In the future, the Holy One, Blessed be God, will place them in the gates of Jerusalem.
Upon returning home, the student paid a visit to the study hall and communicated his change of heart to Rabbi Yohanan:
Interpret, my teacher! It is fitting for you to interpret! I saw just as you said.
Having seen with his own eyes that Rabbi Yohanan’s vision of an adorned Jerusalem was indeed a future reality, the student became an ardent fan of his teacher’s interpretations of scripture. Surprisingly, though, Rabbi Yohanan was not pleased. Rather than welcoming the erstwhile skeptical student back to the house of study, he offered a harsh rebuke:
“Worthless man, if you had not seen, you would not have believed; clearly, you are mocking the statement of the sages.” Rabbi Yohanan set his eyes upon him, and the student was instantly killed and turned into a heap of bones.
In the end, the student embraced Rabbi Yohanan and his interpretation, but only after he saw proof. It is in this that Rabbi Yohanan finds unforgivable fault.
What is this story about? Authority, perhaps. The student challenged his teacher and faced his wrath and, hyperbolically, the ultimate consequence for doing so. Interestingly, that consequence didn’t come after the student expressed doubt. Rather, it came only after the student was convinced by external proof (an angel, no less!) that changed his mind. The latter may have been more threatening to Rabbi Yohanan, who would want students to understand the rabbis as the ultimate authorities in religious matters. But the consequence for this student is so severe that this interpretation of the story is deeply unsettling.
The story is also about faith. Isaiah envisions redemption as a time when the closeness between God and the people will be self-evident and when the glory of Jerusalem will be restored to mind-blowing splendor. This unnamed student let the details of this vision distract them; their inability to imagine giant pearls got in the way of the hope for redemption and the yearning to be, once again, close to God. And for that, he lost everything.
Read all of Bava Batra 75 on Sefaria.
This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on September 8, 2024. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.
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