Shimon ben Lakish

Shimon ben Lakish (Hebrew: שמעון בן לקיש; Imperial Aramaic: שמעון בר לקיש Shim‘on bar Lakish or bar Lakisha), better known by his nickname Reish Lakish (sometimes promounced "Rish Lakish") (c. 200 — c. 275), was an amora who lived in the Roman province of Judaea in the third century. He was said to be 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 important people of Torah study as, according to the Babylonian Talmud, he was in his early youth a bandit and a gladiator.

He 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 Judah haNasi. According to Halevy, he was a pupil of Judah II, grandson of Judah haNasi, 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. He appears also to have attended the academy of Hoshaiah Rabbah, whom he cites, questions, and calls the "father of the Mishnah".

Many stories are told of Shimon's great strength and of his obesity. He was accustomed to lie on the hard ground, saying, "My fat is my cushion".

According to the Babylonian Talmud, he was supposed to have been in his early youth a bandit and a gladiator. Under the stress of unfavourable 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 gladiator circus, where he could make use of his great bodily strength. He worked as a gladiator, where he fought with beasts and entertained the crowd. Another account has him seeing the beardless Johanan bar Nappaha naked and risking it all:

The Gemara relates: One day, Rabbi Yoḥanan was bathing in the Jordan River. Reish Lakish saw him and jumped into the Jordan, pursuing him. At that time, Reish Lakish was the leader of a band of marauders. Rabbi Yoḥanan said to Reish Lakish: Your strength is fit for Torah study. Reish Lakish said to him: Your beauty is fit for women. Rabbi Yoḥanan said to him: If you return to the pursuit of Torah, I will give you my sister in marriage, who is more beautiful than I am. Reish Lakish accepted upon himself to study Torah. Subsequently, Reish Lakish wanted to jump back out of the river to bring back his clothes, but he was unable to return, as he had lost his physical strength as soon as he accepted the responsibility to study Torah upon himself.

The early commentators speculated that he was a Torah scholar before his life of crime. His criminal career is strictly a Babylonian tradition, as it is not found in any of the western sources; according to the Jerusalem Talmud, Shimon spent his entire life immersed in Torah study and his criminal past is completely absent.