that he had brought him under the wings of the Shekhinah. The Talmud relates that due to Yochanan becoming so upset, Reish Lakish became ill and prematurely died. Struck with guilt, Yochanan was in despair at the death of Shimon. When the academy sent Eleazar ben Pedat to act as his study partner, Yochanan accused him of being a yes-man and pined for the times when Shimon would argue back-and-forth with him to get to the correct conclusion. It is said that he kept calling, "Where is Bar Lekisha, where is Bar Lekisha?" His despondency was so great, that he is recorded as eventually losing his sanity. Teachings The independence which Shimon ben Lakish manifested in the discussion of halakha was equally pronounced in his treatment of aggadah. In aggadah, too, he held a prominent position, and advanced many original and independent views which struck his contemporaries with amazement and which did not win respect until later. His aggadot include exegetical and homiletical interpretations of the Scriptures; observations concerning Biblical characters and stories; sayings concerning the Commandments, prayer, the study of the Law, God, the angels, Creation mythology, Israel, and Rome, Messianic and eschatological subjects, as well as other dicta and proverbs. His aggadic teachings include: "Should the sons of Israel find rest with the people among whom they are scattered, they would lose their desire to return to Israel, the land of their fathers" "Israel is dear to God, and He takes no pleasure in any one that utters calumnies against Israel" "The proselyte, however, is dearer to God than was Israel when it was gathered together at Sinai, because Israel would not have received the Law of God without the miracles of its revelation, whereas the proselyte, without seeing a single miracle, has consecrated himself to God and accepted the kingdom of heaven". "The words of the Torah can be remembered only by one who sacrifices himself for the sake of studying them". "Israel took the names of the angels from the Babylonians during the period of the Exile, because Isaiah [6:6] speaks only of 'one of the seraphim' without calling him by name; whereas Daniel names the angels Michael and Gabriel" "The adversary (saṭan), the evil inclination, and the angel of death, are one and the same being." "Job never actually existed; he is only the imaginary hero of the poem, the invention of the poet" His