person · P0203
Reish Lakish ריש לקיש
Rabbi Yochanan's student, brother-in-law, and indispensable disputant (second generation, Eretz Yisrael). A gladiator or bandit chief in his youth, he was won back to Torah by Rabbi Yochanan and became so sharp that "when he raised a difficulty, he raised twenty-four difficulties" — the dialectic that, in Rabbi Yochanan's own grief-stricken words, no successor could replace.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- ריש לקיש
- Also known as
- Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish
- Era
- amoraim
- Generation
- A2
- Received the mesorah from
- Rabbi Yochanan
- Teachers
- Rabbi Yochanan
II. When
- Traditional
- c. 3960–4035 AM
- Academic
- c. 200–275 CE
- Lifespan (traditional)
- ≈75 years
- Precision
- approximate
III. Where
- Places
- Tveria
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rabbi Yochanan brought him to Torah at the Jordan — "your strength for Torah!" — "taught him Scripture, taught him Mishnah, and made him a great man." | rabbinic | ★★★★★ | |
| After Reish Lakish's death, Rabbi Yochanan mourned him as irreplaceable: "Son of Lakish, when I would state a matter, would raise twenty-four difficulties against me... and the tradition would emerge clarified" — and cried "Where are you, son of Lakish?" until his mind gave way. | rabbinic | ★★★★★ | |
| He leapt into the Jordan after seeing Rabbi Yochanan bathing, and Rabbi Yochanan offered his sister in marriage if Reish Lakish would abandon his previous life.
The sister's name is not given.
|
rabbinic tradition | ★★★★☆ | |
| A separate Bavli story says Reish Lakish sold himself to a group called ludda'ei and escaped after killing his captors.
The identity of the ludda'ei is uncertain; translations include gladiators, brigands, or cannibals.
|
rabbinic tradition | ★★★☆☆ | |
| Following a bitter dispute with Rabbi Yochanan, Reish Lakish became ill and died; his unnamed wife appealed unsuccessfully to her brother Rabbi Yochanan on behalf of herself and her children.
The passage establishes that Reish Lakish and Rabbi Yochanan's sister had children, but none is named.
|
rabbinic tradition | ★★★★☆ |