Daily Tanach Tuesday Sefer Melachim 2 Chapter 2 Part 5: The prophets search for Eliyahu

* The article below is an excerpt from the above Sefer

1.      The prophets search for Eliyahu:

·         The disciples of the prophets press upon Elisha to allow them to search for Eliyahu until he finally agrees: The disciples of the prophets proposed to Elisha that they go search for his master Eliyahu. They told him that they are a total of 50 men who are as strong as soldiers and that they can help him look for him as “perhaps a wind from Hashem has carried Eliyahu and thrown him on one of the mountains or in one of the valleys.” However, Elisha declined the offer and said that they should not search for him.

·         They, however, continued to press upon Elisha to agree to the search, until they made him feel ashamed for refusing it [as it made him seem as if he’s not interested in seeing his master any longer, as he desires to keep the mantle of leadership that he now received being that his master disappeared[1]]. And so, he finally agreed with them to allow them to go search for his master Eliyahu.

·         The search returns empty-handed: So, they sent fifty men to go search for him, and they searched for three days but did not find him. When they returned from their empty-handed search, they found that Elisha was staying in Yericho. When they approached him, he chastised them for having gone, telling them that he told them that they should not go, as they would not find him.

 



[1] Rashi 2:17

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