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means is compared to Hillel who was wont to work all dayfor a very small amount, half of which he used to pay tothe porter at the college in order to obtain access to thestudy. Once when he had failed to earn anything he wenton the roof and lay down by the window and listened tothe discourse below. The people, noticing the darkness,looked up and saw him there all covered with snow andfinding out the reason, they assisted him to obtain work.The rich who pleads being too busy with his affairs is com-pared to R. Eleazar b. Harsum, who was a very rich man,yet so immersed in study that his own slaves hardly knewhim by sight. Once when he went to ransom some captives,his servants caught him and put him to work saying," Bythe life of our master Eleazar b. Ḥarsum, you shall workthe whole night." When he heard that they were his ownslaves he told them who he was and they released him. Theyoung man who goes after the pleasures of the world iscompared to Joseph, whom the wife of Potiphar tried toentice and who was yet able to resist, serving the Lord. Thusthere is no excuse for any of them.

92. Eleazar son of R. Simeon b. Johai was endowed withimmense strength. One day while eating a big meal he wasinsulted by some donkey drivers, so he lifted their donkeysup in his hand and put them in the loft and when they beggedhis pardon he promptly took them down two at a time.93. R. Eleazar b. Shimeon once went to R. Josef b. Laqaniaand ate and drank such a lot that he greatly astonishedhis host.

94. R. Eleazar b. Shimeon was a very strongly built manand used to carry people across the river upon his shoulders.Once the Prophet Elijah came to him in the form of an oldman and said to him," Get me a beast of burden" andEleazar asked him" What hast thou to carry?" And theProphet showed him his mantle and his water bottle. ThenEleazar said to him," Why, I can carry thee almost to theend of the world; wherefore dost thou want a beast ofburden?" So he took Elijah upon his shoulders and carried