AND HE CALLED THE NAME OF THAT PLACE BETH-EL, BUT THE NAME OF THE CITY WAS LUZ AT THE FIRST. that is the Luz in which the angel of death never bore sway. What then did they do with the old people? When they were very old, they were led without the city wall and there they died.) R. Abba b. Kahana said: Why was it called Luz?- Whoever entered it blossomed forth into meritorious acts and good deeds like a luz (nut tree). The Rabbis said: As the nut has no mouth [opening], so no man could discover the entrance to the town. R. Simon said: A nut tree stood at the entrance to the city. R. Leazar b. Merom said in the name of R. Phinehas b. Hama: A nut tree stood at the entrance of a cave; this tree was hollow, and through it one entered the cave and through the cave the city.
There's passive and there's active.
ReplyDeleteLook at Rabbi Hananiah ben Teradyon, for example.