וַיַּעֲזֹ֣ב אֶת־הַבָּקָ֗ר וַיָּ֙רָץ֙ אַחֲרֵ֣י אֵֽלִיָּ֔הוּ וַיֹּ֗אמֶר אֶשְּׁקָה־נָּא֙ לְאָבִ֣י וּלְאִמִּ֔י וְאֵלְכָ֖ה אַחֲרֶ֑יךָ וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לוֹ֙ לֵ֣ךְ שׁ֔וּב כִּ֥י מֶה־עָשִׂ֖יתִי לָֽךְ׃
[Elisa] ließ gleich die Rinder und lief Elija nach und sprach: Lass mich doch [zum Abschied] meinen Vater und meine Mutter küssen, dann will ich dir folgen. Er sprach zu ihm: Gehe doch zurück, denn was habe ich dir getan?
Depths of Yonah
By contrast, it was best for Elisha, who had a much softer personality than Eliyahu HaNavi (as evidenced by Melachim I 19:20-21 and Melachim II 2:21-22), to anoint Chazael (Melachim II 8:7-15). Elisha’s crying when informing Chazael of his divine destiny to punish our people (see Melachim I 19:15-18), likely softened the blow Chazael dealt to our people (Melachim II 12:18-19).
Rabbeinu Bahya
Most major prophets practiced living in isolation for long periods of time, not even engaging in tending sheep. Examples are Elijah and Elisha. Of Elisha we read in Kings I 19,19 that “12 yokes of oxen were ahead of him.” This means that he had already given up his vocation of tending the oxen and had withdrawn from them. This is what Jeremiah meant when he wrote there in verse 20 that Elisha asked permission from Elijah “to let me kiss my father and mother good-by, and I will follow you.” At the end of verse 21 we are told: “Then he arose and followed Elijah and became his attendant.”