Grave

Matya ben Charash

Tanna

Grave of the Tanna Rabbi Matya ben Charash Burial place - Eilabun Rabbi Matya ben Charash was the head of the yeshiva and the rabbinical court in Rome. He studied under Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus (Seder HaDorot). In the year 3895 (135 CE), after the fall of Betar and the suppression of the Bar Kochba revolt, he was forced to leave the Land of Israel. Settling in Rome, he established a new center of Torah in the very capital of the empire that had conquered Israel. When Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai visited Rome at the head of a delegation, he found Rabbi Matya ben Charash there and studied Torah together with him (Yoma 53b, Meilah 17a). The yeshiva of Rabbi Matya ben Charash was not only the first in Europe — the Talmud names it among the greatest yeshivot in the entire Jewish world, alongside the yeshiva in Yavne and the yeshiva of Rabbi Akiva (Sanhedrin 32b). The Trial This story happened with Rabbi Matya ben Charash, who always sat in the Beit Midrash studying Torah, and the radiance of his face was like the radiance of the sun, and the appearance of his face resembled that of an angel, because he never raised his eyes to look at women. One day an angel of G-d looked at the tzadik and thought: "Can it be that this man never sins?" Then the angel of G-d went and asked G-d: "What do You think of Rabbi Matya ben Charash?" To which G-d replied: "He is a perfect tzadik." Then the angel of G-d said: "Give me permission to test him." G-d said to the angel: "Go." The angel of G-d appeared before the rabbi in the form of a beautiful woman, whose beauty had no equal in the world. When the tzadik saw her, he immediately turned away. Then the woman quickly moved to the side toward which Rabbi Matya had turned, and he turned away from her again. The tzadik then thought: "I fear that my yetzer hara (evil inclination) will overcome me and cause me to sin." What did the tzadik do? He called the student who was with him and ordered him to bring red-hot nails. The student brought him the nails, and the tzadik blinded his own eyes with them. When the angel of G-d saw this, it trembled and fell. At that time the Holy One, Blessed be He, called the angel Raphael (for he is responsible for healing) and said to him: "Go and heal Rabbi Matya ben Charash." The angel Raphael came to the rabbi and stood before him, but the rabbi asked: "Who are you?" and the angel answered: "I am Raphael, the angel; the L-rd has sent me to heal your eyes." Rabbi Matya replied: "Leave me be; what has been done is done, and so it shall remain." Raphael returned before the Holy One, Blessed be He, and said: "Master of the Universe, this is how Matya answered." The L-rd said to him: "Return to him and tell him that I Myself guarantee that the yetzer hara will have no power over him." Raphael immediately went and healed Rabbi Matya. (Midrash Aseret HaDibrot, 79-80) From this our sages learn: "Whoever is careful not to look at women, the yetzer hara has no power over him." The Ari HaKadosh teaches that Rabbi Matya ben Charash is the gilgul of a man named Palti ben Layish, to whom King Saul gave his daughter Michal, the wife of King David, since Saul mistakenly believed that their marriage was invalid and that his daughter was unmarried. Palti placed a sword in the bed between them and never touched her. Nevertheless, he should not have kept her with him, and should have told King Saul that he did not wish to marry her (because of her uncertain status). Even though King Saul was a Torah scholar, and Palti ben Layish was obligated to show him respect, it is said: "In a matter involving desecration of the Name of the Most High, no respect is shown even to a rabbi." Moreover, although Palti did not touch Michal, he nevertheless derived some pleasure from gazing upon what did not belong to him, since she sat and lay beside him. Therefore he had to rectify this, and he was reincarnated as Rabbi Matya ben Charash. And when Satan wished to tempt him, he restrained himself and did not even wish to look at that beautiful woman. And both of them — Rabbi Matya ben Charash and Palti ben Layish — were a spark of the soul of the righteous Yosef, son of the patriarch Yaakov. (Ahavat Chaim on Shemot) In Pirkei Avot 4:15 his teaching is quoted: "Be first to greet every person you meet," and "Better to be a tail to lions than a head to foxes." A Segula connected with the great Tanna Rabbi Matya ben Charash Light 18 candles in the merit (bizchut) of Rabbi Matya ben Charash and recite Tehillim chapter 86 eighteen times, asking for whatever you need — it is guaranteed that, with G-d's help, you will merit miracles. May the merit of the great tzadik, the Tanna Rabbi Matya ben Charash, protect our people!(Midrash Yalkut Shimoni, Vayechi 161) Segula at the Grave Kabbalists believe that the Tanna Rabbi Matya ben Charash was a gilgul of Yosef HaTzadik, son of the patriarch Yaakov, and was also strong in shmirat einayim (guarding of the eyes) — therefore the segula at his grave is to ask for healing of the eyes. The segula is to perform a "Tikun Einayim" at the grave — reciting a special order of verses from the Tanach.