His teachers According to the
Talmud, Reish Lakish, like Yochanan, ascribed his knowledge of the Torah to his good fortune in having been privileged to see
Judah haNasi. According to Halevy, he was a pupil of
Judah II, grandson of Judah haNasi, in whose name he transmits many sayings. Bacher supposes that he was a pupil of
Bar Kappara, since he often hands down sayings in his name. He appears also to have attended the academy of
Hoshaiah Rabbah, whom he cites, questions, and calls the "father of the
Mishnah".
Banditry Many stories are told of Shimon's great strength and of his obesity. He was accustomed to lie on the hard ground, saying, "My fat is my cushion". According to the
Babylonian Talmud, he was supposed to have been in his early youth a
bandit and a
gladiator. Under the stress of unfavourable circumstances, he gave up the study of the Torah and sought to support himself by a worldly calling. He sold himself to the managers of a
gladiator circus, where he could make use of his great bodily strength. He worked as a gladiator, where he fought with beasts and entertained the crowd. His criminal career is strictly a Babylonian tradition, as it is not found in any of the western sources; according to the
Jerusalem Talmud, Shimon spent his entire life immersed in Torah study and his criminal past is completely absent. Johanan might be called a teacher of Reish Lakish, but Reish Lakish, through his talent and diligence, soon became equal in standing. They are designated as "the two great authorities". While Johanan was still in Sepphoris, teaching at the same time as
Hanina bar Hama, Reish Lakish stood on an equality with him and enjoyed equal rights as a member of the yeshiva and council. When Johanan went to
Tiberias and founded an academy there, Shimon accompanied him and took the second position in the academy.
His accomplishments and character traits Shimon exceeded even Yochanan in acuteness, and Yochanan admitted that his right hand was missing when Shimon was not present. "When [Shimon] discussed halakhic questions, it was as if he were uprooting mountains and rubbing them together," says
Ulla. Yochanan was often compelled by Shimon's logic to surrender his own opinion and accept that of Shimon, and even to act in accordance with Shimon's views. Yet it is said in praise of Shimon that all his objections to Yochanan's conclusions were founded on the
Mishnah, and that with him it was not a question of showing himself to be in the right, but of securing a clear and well-established decision, and that when he could find no support for his opinion he was not ashamed to abandon it. He had a strong love of truth and an unusually courageous way of saying what he thought. He even declared to the Patriarch
Judah II that fear of the latter would never induce him to keep back God's word or any opinion derived from it; and once he ventured to convey a veiled rebuke to the patriarch for avarice. Neither did he hesitate to revoke decisions of his colleagues, including Yochanan, even when action had already been taken in accordance with those decisions. On one occasion, when Yochanan presented a halakhic demonstration before Yannai, and the latter praised him for it, Shimon boldly declared, "In spite of
Rabbi Yannai's great praise, R. Yochanan's opinion is not correct". He would defend his views fearlessly before the whole faculty, and sometimes he ventured to give a decision that conflicted with the Mishnah. Nevertheless, his opinions, when they differed from those of Yochanan, were not recognized as valid, except in three cases mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud. No one equaled Shimon ben Lakish in diligence and eagerness to learn. It was his custom regularly to repeat a section from the Mishnah forty times; he boasted that even
Hiyya the Great, who was renowned for his diligence, was no more diligent than he. In order to urge his pupils to continual diligence, he often quoted a proverb which he ascribed to the Torah: "If you leave me one day, I shall leave you for two". His conscientiousness and delicately balanced sense of honor are also celebrated. He avoided association with people of whose honesty he was not fully convinced; hence the testimony of any one allowed to associate with Shimon ben Lakish was accredited even in the absence of witnesses. Shimon ben Lakish was faithful to his friends, and was ever ready to render them active assistance. This is shown by the way in which, at the risk of his own life, he rescued
Rabbi Assi, who had been imprisoned and was regarded as practically dead by his colleagues. Once his vigorous interference saved Yochanan's property from injury. Yochanan alluded to Shimon's life as a bandit, in which a knowledge of sharp weapons was a matter of course. Reish Lakish responded by supposedly denying any benefit he had received from Yochanan; "When I was a bandit they called me 'master', and now they call me 'master.'" Yochanan retorted angrily that he had brought him under the wings of the
Shekhinah. The Talmud relates that due to Yochanan becoming so upset, Reish Lakish became ill and prematurely died. Struck with guilt, Yochanan was in despair at the death of Shimon. When the academy sent
Eleazar ben Pedat to act as his study partner, Yochanan accused him of being a yes-man and pined for the times when Shimon would argue back-and-forth with him to get to the correct conclusion. It is said that he kept calling, "Where is Bar Lekisha, where is Bar Lekisha?" His despondency was so great, that he is recorded as eventually losing his sanity. ==Teachings==