Elisha ben Abuya and R. Meir

The following story occurs after Elisha ben Abuya wittingly departs the rabbinic fold, an action that likely grants him his later moniker of Aḥer, “the other.” Despite his excommunication, the Talmud transmits a number of teachings and opinions in his name and thus acknowledges his vast rabbinic learning. This narrative attests to the particular position of Elisha ben Abuya as a figure who is marginal to the rabbinic community and yet inextricably tied to his former rabbinic life by both his vast knowledge and his association with the rabbis. His former student R. Meir follows him in the hope of learning more Torah from him, but Aḥer tells him to turn back so as not to cross the Sabbath boundary. Though Aḥer continues to have contact with the rabbinic world, he also knows that he has passed the point of turning back.