Mesorat%20hashas for Eduyot 8:7

אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ, מְקֻבָּל אֲנִי מֵרַבָּן יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי, שֶׁשָּׁמַע מֵרַבּוֹ וְרַבּוֹ מֵרַבּוֹ, הֲלָכָה לְמשֶׁה מִסִּינַי, שֶׁאֵין אֵלִיָּהוּ בָא לְטַמֵּא וּלְטַהֵר, לְרַחֵק וּלְקָרֵב, אֶלָּא לְרַחֵק הַמְקֹרָבִין בִּזְרוֹעַ וּלְקָרֵב הַמְרֻחָקִין בִּזְרוֹעַ. מִשְׁפַּחַת בֵּית צְרִיפָה הָיְתָה בְעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן וְרִחֲקָהּ בֶּן צִיּוֹן בִּזְרוֹעַ, וְעוֹד אַחֶרֶת הָיְתָה שָׁם וְקֵרְבָהּ בֶּן צִיּוֹן בִּזְרוֹעַ. כְּגוֹן אֵלּוּ, אֵלִיָּהוּ בָא לְטַמֵּא וּלְטַהֵר, לְרַחֵק וּלְקָרֵב. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, לְקָרֵב, אֲבָל לֹא לְרַחֵק. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר, לְהַשְׁווֹת הַמַּחֲלֹקֶת. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, לֹא לְרַחֵק וְלֹא לְקָרֵב, אֶלָּא לַעֲשׂוֹת שָׁלוֹם בָּעוֹלָם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (מלאכי ג) הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי שֹׁלֵחַ לָכֶם אֵת אֵלִיָּה הַנָּבִיא וְגוֹ' וְהֵשִׁיב לֵב אָבוֹת עַל בָּנִים וְלֵב בָּנִים עַל אֲבוֹתָם:

R. Yehoshua said: I have received it from R. Yochanan b. Zakkai, who heard it from his master, and his master from his master, "a halachah to Moses upon Sinai," [the Holy One Blessed be He having shown to Moses upon Sinai, each generation and its expounders,] that Eliyahu will not come to rule tamei and to rule tahor, to distance and to draw near [i.e., to resolve genealogical doubts — which families suffered assimilation and which did not — but he will leave them in their status of kashruth for the future, the halachah being that "a family that was breached was breached, etc."], but [he will come] to distance those who had intruded themselves by force [i.e., those who all knew to be pasul (unfit), but who had insinuated themselves forcibly. (But a family that had been "infiltrated" because the p'sul was not known will be left in its status of kashruth)], and [he will come] to draw near all who had been (wrongly) distanced by force. The family of Beth Tzerifah was across the Jordan and Ben Tziyon [a man of violence] distanced it [i.e., proclaimed it pasul] by force. And another family was there [which was pasul], and Ben Tziyon drew it near by force [i.e., he proclaimed them to be kosher for marriage. The tanna was solicitous of men's honor and did not mention the name of the family that Ben Tziyon drew near by force as he did mention the name of the family that was kasher, to teach how much one should take care not to speak in denigration of his friend and "to cover shame." If thus with those who are pasul, how much more so with those who are kasher!] Such as these [whose kashruth and p'sul are known but who have been distanced by force or drawn near by force] Eliyahu will come to pronounce tamei and tahor, to distance and to draw near. R. Yehudah says: (He will come) to distance, but not to draw near. [He will draw near the kosher family, which was distanced by force, but he will not distance the family that was drawn near by force.] R. Shimon says: He will come to resolve disputes (among the sages). And the sages say: Neither to distance nor to draw near, but to make peace, as it is written (Malachi 3:24): "Behold, I am sending to you Eliyahu the prophet… and he will return the heart of the fathers to the sons and the heart of the sons to their fathers." [He (Eliyahu) is destined to say through the Holy Spirit: "This one is a descendant of that one." And according to R. Shimon, "fathers" are the sages, and "sons," the disciples — their hearts will be attuned to each other and dispute (machloketh) will not befall them.]

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