More Discussions for this daf
1. Getting things through prayer 2. Dovid Hamelech and the Harp 3. The speed of the angels
4. Chamor No'er 5. Shema after Tefilla 6. Bedai
7. Moshe and Pharaoh's astrologers 8. Ge'ulah Samuch la'Tefilah 9. Eliyahu in 4 Flights; Rav Elazar bar Avina
10. The Logic of Rebbi Yehoshua ben Levi 11. Rashi 12. Bushah & Kelimah
13. Verse proving David was not embarrassed 14. Ashrei 15. Rashi
16. Ashrei 17. Saying Shema before Shemoneh Esreh 18. Lulei
19. "Lulei" 20. Unneccessary repetition 21. Semichat Ge'ulah l'Tefilah
22. Interpretation of "BeShachbecha" 23. בחצות הלילה 24. הרקיע
25. King David dealing with Halachic issues
DAF DISCUSSIONS - BERACHOS 4

R. Wiski asks:

(a) Why does Eliahu go in 4 flights? Footnote cites Maharsha which don't have access to.

(b) Who was Elazar bar Avina - didn't find him the Seder Hadoros.

R. Wiski, NYC, US

The Kollel replies:

1. The Maharsha explains that Michael, the angel of mercy (represented by water) does his task quickly in one flight. Gavriel, the angel of Din (represened by fire), needs two flights in order to give a person time to repent and alter the Din. Since Eliyahu is comprised of the four elements, not only water and fire but also air and earth, he is not capable of flight without 3 stops, or 4 flights, and the Mal'ach ha'Maves takes 8 flights so that one has time to repent. I was not able to find other explanations.

2. Elazar bar Avina is listed in Seder ha'Doros (Amora'im, Aleph) and is also mentioned, in Atlas Etz Chaim by Rav Halperin, as a third generation Amora from Eretz Yisrael.

All the best,

Reuven Weiner