Shimon ben Lakish (; Shim‘on bar Lakish or bar Lakisha), better known by his nickname Reish Lakish (c. 200 — c. 275), was an amora who lived in the Roman province of Judaea in the third century. He was reputedly born in Bosra, east of the Jordan River, around 200 CE, but lived most of his life in Sepphoris. Nothing is known of his ancestry except his father's name. He is something of an anomaly among the giants of Torah study as, according to the Babylonian Talmud, he was in his early youth a bandit and a gladiator. He was regarded as one of the most prominent amoraim of the second generation, the other being his brother-in-law and halakhic opponent, Johanan bar Nappaha. Biography 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 corpulence. 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 unfavorable 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 would fight with beasts and entertain the crowd. According to other sources, Reish Lakish lived for a time in the wilderness where he made his livelihood as a bandit. From this low estate he was brought back to his studies by Rabbi Yochanan. The early commentators speculated that he was a Torah scholar before his life of crime. His criminal career is strictly a Babylonian tradition, as it is not found in any of the sources of the land of Israel; according to the Jerusalem Talmud Shimon spent