Study Sanhedrin folio 68A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
The Talmud asks: And did R' Akiva learn these halakhot from R' Yehoshua? But isn’t it taught in a baraita: When R' Eliezer took ill, R' Akiva and his colleagues came to visit him. He was sitting on his canopied bed [bekinof ], and they were sitting in his parlor [biteraklin]; they did not know if h
And that day was Friday, and R' Eliezer’s son Hyrcanus entered to remove his tefillin, as tefillin are not worn on Shabbat. His father berated him, and he left reprimanded. Hyrcanus said to his father’s colleagues: It appears to me that father went insane, since he berated me for no reason. R' El
Since the rabbis perceived from this retort that his mind was stable, they entered and sat before him at a distance of 4 cubits, as he was ostracized (see Bava Metzia 59b). It is forbidden to sit within 4 cubits of an ostracized person.
R' Eliezer said to them: Why have you come? They said to him: We have come to study Torah, as they did not want to say that they came to visit him due to his illness. R' Eliezer said to them: And why have you not come until now? They said to him: We did not have spare time. R' Eliezer said to them
R' Eliezer raised his two arms and placed them on his heart, and he said: Woe to you, my two arms, as they are like two Torah scrolls that are now being rolled up, and will never be opened again. I have learned much Torah, and I have taught much Torah. I have learned much Torah, and I have not tak