The problem of evil affected a Tannaitic rabbi, Elisha ben Abuyah to become an apostate.
Thus, in the Talmud, his name is renamed to "acher", which means "the other".
There are two version of his de-conversion story:
It once happened that he was sitting studying in the valley of Gennesaret. He saw a man climb to the top of a tree [where there was a bird’s nest containing a mother and her chicks]. The man took both the mother and her chicks,and climbed down safely. The next day he saw another man climb to the top of a tree, take the chicks only, and release the mother. When the man reached the ground, a snake bit him and he died.
Elisha recalled that the Bible says: You must certainly set the mother free, and take only the chicks. Thus you will have a good life and a long one [Deuteronomy 22:7]. What happened, he wondered, to this man’s good life? What happened to his long life? Unfortunately, Elisha was not aware of the interpretation Rabbi Jacob had already given the passage: Thus you will have a good life -- in the next world, which is entirely good. And a long one -- in the future life, where everything lasts long. [And so he fell into heresy.]
Others tell a different story. Once Elisha saw in a dog’s mouth the tongue of Rabbi Judah the Baker, dripping blood. “This is the Torah,” he said, “and this is its reward? This is the tongue that faithfully declared the Torah’s words? This is the tongue that never tired of speaking Torah? This is the Torah, and this is its reward? Clearly enough, there is no reward. Clearly enough, there is no resurrection.”
Thus, in the Talmud, his name is renamed to "acher", which means "the other".
There are two version of his de-conversion story:
It once happened that he was sitting studying in the valley of Gennesaret. He saw a man climb to the top of a tree [where there was a bird’s nest containing a mother and her chicks]. The man took both the mother and her chicks,and climbed down safely. The next day he saw another man climb to the top of a tree, take the chicks only, and release the mother. When the man reached the ground, a snake bit him and he died.
Elisha recalled that the Bible says: You must certainly set the mother free, and take only the chicks. Thus you will have a good life and a long one [Deuteronomy 22:7]. What happened, he wondered, to this man’s good life? What happened to his long life? Unfortunately, Elisha was not aware of the interpretation Rabbi Jacob had already given the passage: Thus you will have a good life -- in the next world, which is entirely good. And a long one -- in the future life, where everything lasts long. [And so he fell into heresy.]
Others tell a different story. Once Elisha saw in a dog’s mouth the tongue of Rabbi Judah the Baker, dripping blood. “This is the Torah,” he said, “and this is its reward? This is the tongue that faithfully declared the Torah’s words? This is the tongue that never tired of speaking Torah? This is the Torah, and this is its reward? Clearly enough, there is no reward. Clearly enough, there is no resurrection.”
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