Nevertheless, Eliezer resolved: I will go and study Torah in the presence of Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai. His father retorted, "You will not get a taste of food until you have plowed the entire field!"
When he came before Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai, Eliezer sat down and wept. "Why are you weeping?" Eliezer: "Because I wish to study Torah." "Have you never studied it?" "No." So Rabbi Yohanan began to teach him the Shema, the Tefillah, the blessing after meals, and two rules of law every day. On the Sabbath, Eliezer repeated the prayers and the rules till he memorized them. Light days he kept at it, without eating a thing, until the foul odor from his mouth attracted the attention of Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai, who asked, "Eliezer, my son, did you eat anything at ail today?" Silence. Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai repeated the question. Again silence. The students of Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai reported to him that Eliezer had not eaten for eight days. He then fumed to R. Eliezer and said, "Alas for you, Eliezer, so greatly neglected in our midst. But I say to you: Even as foul breath rose out of your mouth before me, so shall the fragrance of Torah issuing out of your mouth travel from one end of the world to the other."
-Pirkei De Rabbi Eliezer, perek 1-2
