9:25 AM
Gil Student
From Sefer Ha-Hayim:
Beruriah, the scholarly wife of the Tanna R. Meir, is mentioned a handful of times in the Talmud, always in a very positive light. It is therefore surprising that Rashi, in his commentary to Avodah Zarah (18b), should relate a very negative story about Beruriah in which she ends up committing suicide. There is no extant earlier source for this story, yet anyone familiar with Rashi's style of commentary knows that it is not in his nature to create stories.
R. Zevi Hirsch Chajes (AKA Maharatz Chayes) offers an explanation of this puzzle... (continued here)
