The Midrash (Tanchuma, Chukat 8) tells a very interesting story about Matan Torah. “R’ Acha in the name of R’ Yosi the son of Chanina says: When Moshe ascended to receive the Torah, he heard the voice of HaKadosh Baruch Hu sitting and learning the parsha of the Red Heifer, quoting the halacha in the name of Rebi Eliezer (Ben Horkenos). Moshe was very surprised and said to HaKadosh Baruch Hu ‘Ribbono Shel Olam, heaven and earth are Yours and You are quoting a halacha in the name of a man?!’ HaKadosh Baruch Hu replied ‘In the future, there will be a tzaddik in My world and he will open with the Red Heifer’. Moshe was so impressed, he said ‘Baruch Hashem, this Eliezer should be descended from me’. HaKadosh Baruch Hu replied ‘So it will be’.
The Midrash is addressing a question regarding the syntax of the pasuk (Shemot 18:4). “Yitro brought with him Tzipporah the wife of Moshe and her two sons. The name of the one was Gershon …. And the name of the one was Eliezer ….”. The correct syntax should be “The name of the one was Gershon … and the name of the other/second was Eliezer!” The Midrash above explains the reason for the strange syntax is because it is referring to the one, Rebi Eliezer.
In this shiur, I would like to explore the character that was R’ Eliezer ben Horkenos, also known as R’ Eliezer HaGadol, because of the important lessons we learn from him about Matan Torah.
In Pirkei Avot (2:8) it lists the students of R’ Yochanan ben Zakai and it describes R’ Eliezer ben Horkenos as – “a lime-lined pit that does not lose a drop.” From this it appears that R’ Eliezer was naturally gifted and born with a photographic memory. However, from the story of R’ Eliezer’s life as told by Avot de’Rebi Natan (6:3), we see this was not the case.
Horkenos, who lived in the time of the destruction of the 2nd Beit HaMikdash, was an extremely wealthy man. His sons, including Eliezer, were all part of the family business. From an early age, it was clear to Horkenos that Eliezer had learning disabilities so, unlike his other sons who helped run the business, Horkenos sent Eliezer to do physical labor, working the land.
One day, when Eliezer was 22-years-old, Horkenos went to visit him out in the field, only to find Eliezer sitting on a knoll, bitterly crying his eyes out. “Eliezer, why are you crying?” Horkenos asked. “I want to study Torah!” Eliezer sobbed, tears streaming down his cheeks. “Torah? You?” replied Horkenos smilingly, “Since age three we have been trying to teach you the simple aleph bet, but it goes in one ear and out the other!”
Horkenos thought that the work in the field may be too hard for Eliezer, so he instead assigned him to supervise the counting of the sheaves of wheat in the granary. After a month of this light work, Horkenos again paid a visit to his son. Eliezer was sitting on a bale of straw, weeping incessantly. “Eliezer my son, what is wrong? Is this work not easier than being out in the field?” Horkenos asked. “I want to study Torah!” was the reply. “You know that is impossible” said Horkenos.
A few weeks later Eliezer ran away from home and journeyed to the big city of Jerusalem. “Where do I go to study Torah?” he asked a passer-by. “There is only one place – the yeshiva of R’ Yochanan ben Zakai, the Gadol HaDor!”
Eliezer heads directly for the office of the great R’ Yochanan Ben Zakai, sits in the waiting room and starts to wail. The sounds of his sobbing are so heart wrenching (and loud) that R’ Yochanan ben Zakai exits his office to see what the furor is all about. “He refuses to leave,” says the secretary. R’ Yochanan beckons to Eliezer to come into his office. “What can I do for you, my son?” he asks. “I want to study Torah” sobs Eliezer. “Wonderful” replies R’ Yochanan, “What is your name?” “Eliezer,” with a sniffle. “Have you ever studied Torah before Eliezer?” “No, I can’t even read and write,” wiping the tears from his cheek.
Immediately R’ Yochanan ben Zakai realizes that this is a special project and takes it upon himself to teach Eliezer. “I will begin teaching you one line at a time. You must repeat that line over and over again.” And so it goes, week after week, month after month, year after year. R’ Yochanan ben Zakai teaches Eliezer one line at a time and it takes three weeks of constant repetition for each line to finally penetrate.
Fifteen years later, R’ Yochanan held a fundraiser, attended by all the wealthy donors of the yeshiva. R’ Yochanan ben Zakai said to his pupil Eliezer “I want you to give the sermon.”
One of the guests of honor at the event was none other than the millionaire Horkenos. Just a few weeks prior, Horkenos’ other sons approached their father demanding that he erase Eliezer from his will. “He rejected our family and our business. He ran away from home and we do not know what has become of him” they claimed.
Eliezer got up to speak and his sermon was so sublime and uplifting that angels descended from heaven to listen to his incredible words of Torah. After the sermon R’ Yochanan ben Zakai, his teacher, came up to Eliezer and kissed him on the forehead and proclaimed “R’ Eliezer my teacher, you have taught me!”
Horkenos asked who was the prodigy who had delivered such an incredible shiur. When he discovered that it was his own son, Horkenos embraced R’ Eliezer and said “I came here to remove you from my will, but instead I am making you sole heir and leaving all my assets to the yeshiva.”
R’ Eliezer was born with something – an insatiable thirst to study Torah, but every drop in that “lime-lined pit” was acquired through sweat, suffering and sheer power of will.
It is not incidental that the story of R’ Eliezer ben Horkenos is closely connected to the parsha of Matan Torah because it gives us great insight into what Matan Torah actually is. From the word “Matan,” we might mistakenly think that Torah is a free gift, acquired without effort. A person can only truly acquire Torah through toil and the degree of greatness we achieve in Torah is directly proportional to our toil. The story of R’ Eliezer is inspirational, because it proves that anyone can become a talmid chacham, regardless of what starting statistics you have. The only “statistic” essential to acquiring Torah is an insatiable thirst to acquire it. If we have that, no other obstacle can stand in our way.
Parshat HaShavua Trivia Question: Why did Yitro not remain with Bnei Yisrael in the desert?
Answer to Last Shiur’s Trivia Question: Why did Moshe have to raise his arm to split the Red Sea and not his staff? Some disbelievers in Bnei Yisrael thought Moshe’s only power was derived from his staff. This proved otherwise (R’ Bachyei, Shemot 14:16).