Elisha ben Abuyah / Acher
Jewish Apostates:
The Enemy Within

When the Talmudic sages gave the apostate Elisha ben Abuya the epithet “Acher,” they meant it as a term of derision. Yet they so respected his wisdom, they never censored him out of the Mishnah. Rabbi Wein puzzles through the stories surrounding this enigmatic figure, showing how a fallen Torah scholar represents the ultimate tragedy in Jewish life.

• a comparison to the traitorous Josephus
• Acher’s influence on Rebbe Meir
• the different meanings of “Acher”
• Why can’t Acher do teshuva?