I don't understand what Chananyah b. Chizkiyah meant when he said, "If this child was so exceptionally brilliant, are all children like that!?" on the bottom of daf 13a.
Chaim Stepelman, New York, USA
Chananyah was arguing that the Book of Yechezkel should not be hidden away just because of a singular tragedy that happened as a result of a child who delved into the secrets contained therein when he was not yet mature enough to do so. He argued that this child was exceptionally brilliant, and that is why he was able to gain an understanding of the Ma'aseh Merkavah such that it became dangerous for him. But all other children do not have such genius, and thus there is no reason to hide away the Book of Yechezkel in fear of immature learners grasping its contents.
Yisrael Shaw