Elijah's removal from earth, so far being an interruption to his
relations with men, rather marks the beginning of his real activity as
a helper in time of need, as a teacher and as a guide. At first his
intervention in sublunar affairs was not frequent. Seven years after
his translation, (43) he wrote a letter to the wicked king Jehoram, who
reigned over Judah. The next occasion on which he took part in an
earthly occurrence was at the time of Ahasuerus, when he did the Jews a
good turn by assuming the guise of the courtier Harbonah, (44) in a
favorable moment inciting the king against Haman. (45)
It was reserved for later days, however, for Talmudic times, the golden
age of the great scholars, the Tannaim and the Amoraim, to enjoy
Elijah's special vigilance as protector of the innocent, as a friend in
need, who hovers over the just and the pious, ever present to guard
them against evil or snatch them out of danger. With four strokes of
his wings Elijah can traverse the world. (46) Hence no spot on earth is
too far removed for his help. As an angel (47) he enjoys the power of
assuming the most various appearances to accomplish his purposes.
Sometimes he looks like an ordinary man, sometimes he takes the
appearance of an Arab, sometimes of a horseman, now he is a Roman
court-official, now he is a harlot.
Once upon a time it happened that when Nahum, the great and pious
teacher, was journeying to Rome on a political mission, he was without
knowledge robbed of the gift he bore to the Emperor as an offering from
the Jews. When he handed the casket to the ruler, it was found to
contain common earth, which the thieves had substituted for the jewels
they had abstracted. The Emperor thought the Jews were mocking at him,
and their representative, Nahum, was condemned to suffer death. In his
piety the Rabbi did not lose confidence in God; he only said: "This too
is for good." (48) And so it turned out to be. Suddenly Elijah
appeared, and, assuming the guise of a court-official, he said:
"Perhaps the earth in this casket is like that used by Abraham for
purposes of war. A handful will do the work of swords and bows." At his
instance the virtues of the earth were tested in the attack upon a city
that had long resisted Roman courage and strength. His supposition was
verified. The contents of the casket proved more efficacious than all
the weapons of the army, and the Romans were victorious. Nahum was
dismissed, laden with honors and treasures, and the thieves, who had
betrayed themselves by claiming the precious earth, were executed, for,
naturally enough, Elijah works no wonder for evil-doers. (49)
Another time, for the purpose of rescuing Rabbi Shila, Elijah pretended
to be a Persian. An informer had announced the Rabbi with the Persian
Government, accusing him of administering the law according to the
Jewish code. Elijah appeared as witness for the Rabbi and against the
informer, and Shila was honorably dismissed. (50)
When the Roman bailiffs were pursuing Rabbi Meir, Elijah joined him in
the guise of a harlot. The Roman emissaries desisted from their
pursuit, for they could not believe that Rabbi Meir would choose such a
companion. (51)
A contemporary of Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Simon ben Yohai, who spent thirteen
years in a cave to escape the vengeance of the Romans, was informed by
Elijah of the death of the Jew-baiting emperor, so that he could leave
his hiding-place. (52)
Equally characteristic is the help Elijah afforded the worthy poor.
Frequently he brought them great wealth. Rabbi Kahana was so needy that
he had to support himself by peddling with household utensils. Once a
lady of high standing endeavored to force him to commit an immoral act,
and Kahana, preferring death to iniquity, threw himself from a loft.
Though Elijah was at a distance of four hundred parasangs, he hastened
to the post in time to catch the Rabbi before he touched the ground.
Besides, he gave him means enough to enable him to abandon an
occupation beset with perils. (53)
Rabba bar Abbahu likewise was a victim of poverty. He admitted to
Elijah that on account of his small means he had no time to devote to
his studies. Thereupon Elijah led him into Paradise, bade him remove
his mantle, and fill it with leaves grown in the regions of the
blessed. When the Rabbi was about to quit Paradise, his garment full of
leaves, a voice was heard to say: "Who desires to anticipate his share
in the world to come during his earthly days, as Rabba bar Abbahu is
doing?" The Rabbi quickly cast the leaves away; nevertheless he
received twelve thousand denarii for his upper garment, because it
retained the wondrous fragrance of the leaves of Paradise. (54)
Elijah's help was not confined to poor teachers of the law; all who
were in need, and were worthy of his assistance, had a claim upon him.
A poor man, the father of a family, in his distress once prayed to God:
"O Lord of the world, Thou knowest, there is none to whom I can tell my
tale of woe, none who will have pity upon me. I have neither brother
nor kinsman nor friend, and my starving little ones are crying with
hunger. Then do Thou have mercy and be compassionate, or let death come
and put an end to our suffering." His words found a hearing with God,
for, as he finished, Elijah stood before the poor man, and
sympathetically inquired why he was weeping. When the prophet had heard
the tale of his troubles, he said: "Take me and sell me as a slave; the
proceeds will suffice for thy needs." At first the poor man refused to
accept the sacrifice, but finally yielded, and Elijah was sold to a
prince for eighty denarii. This sum formed the nucleus of the fortune
which the poor man amassed and enjoyed until the end of his days. The
prince who had purchased Elijah intended to build a palace, and he
rejoiced to hear that his new slave was an architect. He promised
Elijah liberty if within six months he completed the edifice. After
nightfall of the same day, Elijah offered a prayer, and instantaneously
the palace stood in its place in complete perfection. Elijah
disappeared. The next morning the prince was not a little astonished to
see the palace finished. But when he sought his slave to reward him,
and sought him in vain, he realized that he had had dealings with an
angel. Elijah meantime repaired to the man who had sold him, and
related his story to him, that he might know he had not cheated the
purchaser out of his price; on the contrary, he had enriched him, since
the palace was worth a hundred times more than the money paid for the
pretended slave. (55)
A similar thing happened to a well-to-do man who lost his fortune, and
became so poor that he had to do manual labor in the field of another.
Once, when he was at work, he was accosted by Elijah, who had assumed
the appearance of an Arab: "Thou art destined to enjoy seven good
years. When dost thou want them now, or as the closing years of thy
life?" The man replied: "Thou art a wizard; go in peace, I have nothing
for thee." Three times the same question was put, three times the same
reply was given. Finally the man said: "I shall ask the advice of my
wife." When Elijah came again, and repeated his question, the man,
following the counsel of his wife, said: "See to it that seven good
years come to us at once." Elijah replied: "Go home. Before thou
crossest thy threshold, thy good fortune will have filled thy house."
And so it was. His children had found a treasure in the ground, and, as
he was about to enter his house, his wife met him and reported the
lucky find. His wife was an estimable, pious woman, and she said to her
husband: "We shall enjoy seven good years. Let us use this time to
practice as much charity as possible; perhaps God will lengthen out our
period of prosperity." After the lapse of seven years, during which man
and wife used every opportunity of doing good, Elijah appeared again,
and announced to the man that the time had come to take away what he
had given him. The man responded: "When I accepted thy gift, it was
after consultation with my wife. I should not like to return it without
first acquainting her with what is about to happen." His wife charged
him to say to the old man who had come to resume possession of his
property: "If thou canst find any who will be more conscientious
stewards of the pledges entrusted to us than we have been, I shall
willingly yield them up to thee." God recognized that these people had
made a proper use of their wealth, and He granted it to them as a
perpetual possession. (56)
If Elijah was not able to lighten the poverty of the pious, he at least
sought to inspire them with hope and confidence. Rabbi Akiba, the great
scholar, lived in dire poverty before he became the famous Rabbi. His
rich father-in-law would have nothing to do with him or his wife,
because the daughter had married Akiba against her father's will. On a
bitter cold winter night, Akiba could offer his wife, who had been
accustomed to the luxuries wealth can buy, nothing but straw as a bed
to sleep upon, and he tried to comfort her with assurances of his love
for the privations she was suffering. At that moment Elijah appeared
before their hut, and cried out in supplicating tones: "O good people,
give me, I pray you, a little bundle of straw. My wife has been
delivered of a child, and I am so poor I haven't even enough straw to
make a bed for her." Now Abika could console his wife with the fact
that their own misery was not so great as it might have been, and thus
Elijah had attained his end, to sustain the courage of the pious. (57)
In the form of an Arab, he once appeared before a very poor man, whose
piety equalled his poverty. He gave him two shekels. These two coins
brought him such good fortune that he attained great wealth. But in his
zeal to gather worldly treasures, he had no time for deeds of piety and
charity. Elijah again appeared before him and took away the two
shekels. In a short time the man was as poor as before. A third time
Elijah came to him. He was crying bitterly and complaining of his
misfortune, and the prophet said: "I shall make thee rich once more, if
thou wilt promise me under oath thou wilt not let wealth ruin they
character." He promised, the two shekels were restored to him, he
regained his wealth, and he remained in possession of it for all time,
because his piety was not curtailed by his riches. (58)
Poverty was not the only form of distress Elijah relieved. He exercised
the functions of a physician upon Rabbi Shimi bar Ashi, who had
swallowed a noxious reptile. Elijah appeared to him as an awe-inspiring
horseman, and forced him to apply the preventives against the disease
to be expected in these circumstances.
He also cured Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi of long-continued toothache by laying
his hand on the sufferer, and at the same time he brought about the
reconciliation of Rabbi Judan with Rabbi Hayyah, whose form he had
assumed. Rabbi Judah paid the highest respect to Rabbi Hayyah after he
found out that Elijah had considered him worthy of taking his
appearance. (59)
On another occasion, Elijah re-established harmony between a husband
and his wife. The woman had come home very late on Friday evening,
having allowed herself to be detained by the sermon preached by Rabbi
Meir. Her autocratic husband swore she should not enter the house until
she had spat in the very face of the highly-esteemed Rabbi. Meantime
Elijah went to Rabbi Meir, and told him a pious woman had fallen into a
sore predicament on his account. To help the poor woman, the Rabbi
restored to a ruse. He announced that he was looking for one who knew
how to cast spells, which was done by spitting into the eye of the
afflicted one. When he caught sight of the woman designated by Elijah,
he asked her to try her power upon him. Thus she was able to comply
with her husband's requirement without disrespect to the Rabbi; and
through the instrumentality of Elijah conjugal happiness was restored
to an innocent wife. (60)
Elijah's versatility is shown in the following occurrence. A pious man
bequeathed a spice-garden to his three sons. They took turns in
guarding it against thieves. The first night the oldest son watched the
garden. Elijah appeared to him and asked him: "My son, what wilt thou
have knowledge of the Torah, or great wealth, or a beautiful wife?"
He chose wealth, great wealth. Accordingly Elijah gave him a coin, and
he became rich. The second son, to whom Elijah appeared the second
night, chose knowledge of the Torah. Elijah gave him a book, and "he
knew the whole Torah." The third son, on the third night, when Elijah
put the same choice before him as before his brothers, wished for a
beautiful wife. Elijah invited this third brother to go on a journey
with him. Their first night was passed at the house of a notorious
villain, who had a daughter. During the night Elijah overheard the
chickens and the geese say to one another: "What a terrible sin that
young may must have committed, that he should be destined to marry the
daughter of so great a villain!" The two travellers journeyed on. The
second night the experiences of the first were repeated. The third
night they lodged with a man who had a very pretty daughter. During the
night Elijah heard the chickens and the geese say to one another: "How
great must be the virtues of this young man, if he is privileged to
marry so beautiful and pious a wife." In the morning, when Elijah
arose, he at once became a matchmaker, the young man married the pretty
maiden, and husband and wife journeyed homeward in joy. (61)
If it became necessary, Elijah was ready to do even the services of a
sexton. When Rabbi Akiba died in prison, Elijah betook himself to the
dead man's faithful disciple, Rabbi Joshua, and the two together went
to the prison. There was none to forbid their entrance; a deep sleep
had fallen upon the turnkeys and the prisoners alike. Elijah and Rabbi
Joshua took the corpse with them, Elijah bearing it upon his shoulder.
Rabbi Joshua in astonishment demanded how he, a priest, dared defile
himself upon a corpse. The answer was: "God forbid! the pious can never
cause defilement." All night the two walked on with their burden. At
break of day they found themselves near Caesarea. A cave opened before
their eyes, and within they saw a bed, a chair, a table, and a lamp.
They deposited the corpse upon the bed, and left the cave, which closed
up behind them. Only the light of the lamp, which had lit itself after
they left, shone through the chinks. Whereupon Elijah said: "Hail, ye
just, hail to you who devote yourselves to the study of the law. Hail
to you, ye God-fearing men, for your places are set aside, and kept,
and guarded, in Paradise, for the time to come. Hail to thee, Rabbi
Akiba, that thy lifeless body found lodgment for a night in a lovely
spot." (62)