by the people of his generation is indescribable.
Awe is a blend of sadness, fear and wonder.
The renowned Sages R’ Yochanan and Reish Lakish attributed all their greatness in Torah to the fact that they once saw Rebbi’s fingers when they slipped out of his glove (yerushalmi Beitzah 5:2). The Talmud states: “from the days of Moshe Rabbeinu until Rebbi we do not find Torah and authority in one place” (Gittin 59a).
Rebbi once said about himself: “The reason that I am sharper than my colleagues is that I saw Rabbi Meir from behind. [I attended his lectures, and I was seated behind him where I saw only the back of his head]. And if I had seen him from his front, I would be even sharper, as it is written (Isaiah 30:20) “And your eyes shall behold your teachers”.
Rav Gidel, a student of Rav and Shmuel, taught: “When one states a teaching in the name of he who said it, he should envision the author of that teaching as if he were standing before him [and thus the lesson will be taught with greater clarity and faithfulness to the source], as the verse
states (psalms 39:7): Only with an image [of his teacher] should a person proceed (Yerushalmi Shekalim).
“People do not only learn through logic. They learn through feeling the person in front of them.”
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