Elisha ben Abuyah אלישע בן אבויה
“Acher” — the Other; the teacher his student would not renounce
After the pardes he abandoned observance, and the sages stopped saying his name: in the texts he is "Acher," the Other.
The best-known thing about him is not his apostasy but his student's conduct. Rabbi Meir went on learning from him. To the reproach the answer given on his behalf was: "he found a pomegranate — he ate the inside and threw away the peel." The Talmud cites the argument without dismissing the question: may one learn from a man who has left?
One scene is retold more than the rest: it is Shabbat, Acher rides on horseback, Rabbi Meir walks beside him on foot and listens. Reaching the limit that may not be crossed on Shabbat, Acher says: turn back, I have counted the paces by my horse's hooves. He remembered the law exactly — and did not keep it.
His words in tractate Avot are given without a name, as "he used to say": one who learns as a child — what is he like? Like ink written on fresh paper. One who learns as an old man — like ink written on paper scraped clean.
On the timeline
Sources
Chazal: Mishnah, Talmud, midrash, Zohar
- Chagigah 14b — “he cut the shoots”
- Chagigah 15a–15b — the horse on Shabbat, the counted paces, and “he ate the inside and threw away the peel”
Basis: Talmud and midrash.