Shimon ben Lakish

Shim‘on ben Lakish (Hebrew: שמעון בן לקיש‎‎; Aramaic: שמעון בר לקיש‎‎ Shim‘on bar Lakish or bar Lakisha), better known by his nickname Reish Lakish, was an amora who lived in the Roman province of Syria Palaestina in the third century. He was reputedly born in Bosra, east of the Jordan River, around 200 CE, but lived most of his life in Sepphoris. Nothing is known of his ancestry except his father's name.

He is something of an anomaly among the giants of Torah study as he was supposed to have been in his early youth a bandit and a gladiator.

Reish Lakish was regarded as one of the most prominent amoraim of the second generation, the other being his brother-in-law and halakhic opponent, Johanan bar Nappaha.

According to the Talmud, Reish Lakish, like Yochanan, ascribed his knowledge of the Torah to his good fortune in having been privileged to see the patriarch Judah the Prince. According to Halevy, he was a pupil of Judah II, grandson of Judah the Prince, in whose name he transmits many sayings. Bacher supposes that he was a pupil of Bar Kappara, since he often hands down sayings in his name ("Ag. Pal. Amor." i. 340). He appears also to have attended the seminary of Rabbi Hosheiah, whom he cites (Ḳid. 80a; Me'i. 7b; Bek. 13a), questions (Yeb. 57a), and calls the "father of the Mishnah" (Yer. B. Ḳ. 4c).

Many stories are told of Shim‘on's gigantic strength and of his corpulence. He was accustomed to lie on the hard ground, saying, "My fat is my cushion" (Gitin 46b-47a). Under the stress of unfavorable circumstances he gave up the study of the Torah and sought to support himself by a worldly calling. He sold himself to the managers of a circus ("Ludus gladiatorius"), where he could make use of his great bodily strength. He worked as a gladiator, where he was compelled to risk his life continually in combats with wild beasts (ib.) According to other sources, Reish Lakish lived for a time in the wilderness where he made his livelihood as a bandit. From this low estate he was brought back to his studies by Rabbi Yochanan.

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