Talmud Bavli
Talmud Bavli

Musar for Megillah 56:15

ואמר עולא לשתמש איניש במאן דתני ארבעה ולא לשתמש במאן דמתני ארבעה כי הא דריש לקיש הוה אזיל באורחא מטא עורקמא דמיא אתא ההוא גברא ארכביה אכתפיה וקא מעבר ליה א"ל קרית אמר ליה קרינא תנית תנינא ארבעה סידרי משנה א"ל פסלת לך ארבעה טורי וטענת בר לקיש אכתפך שדי בר לקישא במיא

One may accept service from one who can repeat the four [orders of the Mishnah] but not from one who can [also] teach them. As in the following story of Resh Lakish, who was once traveling along a road when he came to a pool of water, and a man came up and put him on his shoulders and began taking him across. He said to the man: Can you read the Scriptures? He answered: I can read. Can you recite the Mishnah? [He replied]: I can recite four orders of the Mishnah. Resh Lakish thereupon said: You have hewn four rocks, and you carry the son of Lakish on your shoulder? Throw the son of Lakish into the water!

Shenei Luchot HaBerit

On (32, 4): וישלח יעקב מלאכים לפניו אל עשו אחיו ארצה שעיר שדה אדום,"Jacob sent angels (resp. human messengers) ahead of him to his brother Esau to the land of Se'ir," Rashi comments that these were "real" angels. If that were so, it is difficult to understand Jacob making use of holy beings for a secular, totally private mission. He could just as well have sent human messengers! We have an explicit ruling that even nowadays, when the כהן cannot perform sacred duties due to the absence of the Temple, one must not employ a כהן to perform mundane tasks. How then could Jacob employ angels for such a purpose? (gloss of the Mordechai on Gittin).
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