Bava Batra 116 – Man Who Leaves Not a Son

R. Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, "Whoever does not leave behind a son to inherit him, the Holy One, Blessed be He is full of anger toward him."

From where do we know this? "If a man dies and he has no son, and you will pass (veha'avartem) his inheritance" and "evrah" means a day of anger, as in "a day of anger."

But is it a son or a student? Since Rabbi Yochanan lost his ten sons and would console people with "Look, this is a bone of my last son," - it must be that he meant a student, for otherwise, he would not publicize that God was angry with him. Then why did he say "son?" - These were the words of his teacher, but he himself felt that a man must leave a student.

Art: A Turkish School in the Vicinity of Cairo by John Frederick Lewis