Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi – an unusual rabbinic leader

 

One might imagine that the author of one of the seminal works of Jewish scholarship would be completely immersed in Torah learning and somewhat detached from the world around him. This was not Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi. This nasi (prince) was not only the head of the Sanhedrin, but also the leader of the Jewish people who was required to deal routinely with the Roman administration.

 

Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi (about 135 to 217 CE), or Rebbe as he was called, was well-trained for both tasks. He came from a family that had provided leadership to the Jewish people since the time of the sage Hillel at the end of the 1st century CE. He was taught Torah by his father’s colleagues who were the preeminent scholars of that generation. He also learnt Greek at home. Learning Greek knowledge was frowned upon by the sages of that time, but his family was granted an exception because of their need to deal with the Romans.  

 

The emperor Hadrian ruthlessly crushed the Bar Kochba Revolt. He then attempted to crush Judaism and its rabbinic leadership on the not unreasonable assumption that the rabbis under the leadership of Rabbi Akiva had supported this revolt. This was the period of the Hadrianic persecutions. Rebbe’s father, Rabban Simeon II ben Gamaliel, had been a student of Rabbi Akiva and he went into hiding outside the country because of a price on his head. Another preeminent student of Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, hid in a cave in the north of Israel (see: “What’s the big deal about Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (Rashbi)?” on page xxx). The Sanhedrin meanwhile went underground.

 

It would take about 20 years before Rome and the Jews were able to comfortably coexist. Antoninus Pius, the son of the emperor Hadrian, relaxed his father’s decrees later in his rule. The Sanhedrin was then able to meet again at Usha. Subsequent to this, the restoration of the patriarchate was allowed, and Rebbe’s father, Rabban Simeon II ben Gamaliel, was invited to lead the Sanhedrin despite his previous sympathies with the Bar Kochba revolt.

 

On the death of his father, Rebbe was appointed head of the Sanhedrin, and he moved the court from Usha, where he had been brought up, to Bet She’arim. His leadership was not accepted calmly by all the sages and Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Nathan attempted to depose him. However, their efforts against his appointment were unsuccessful. Rabbi Nathan subsequently apologized but Rabbi Meir refused to do so. Because of this affront to his family, Rebbe referred to him in his Mishna as “others say” and not by his name.

 

During the time of Rebbe's exilarch, the relationship between the Jews and the Roman leadership warmed considerably. Interestingly, there are over 100 mentions in the Talmud and midrashim of conversations between Rebbe and a Roman emperor called “Antoninus,” some of them philosophical and others about more intimate matters, such as the emperor’s household and palace intrigues. There has been much discussion among Jewish scholars as to who this Antoninus was. A strong possibility is that he was either the emperor Severus, or more likely his son Caracalla, both of whom had a high regard for Jews. Their positive relationship with the Jews represented a marked change from previous Roman administrations and made Rebbe’s administrative role that much easier.

 

Rebbe became extremely rich due to land holdings that were donated to him and this gave his office an aura of grandeur. Nevertheless, he is quoted as saying: “Whoever chooses the delights in this world will be deprived of the delights of the next world; whoever renounces the former will receive the latter.” His piety and holiness are mentioned in Jewish sources.

 

Rebbe would eventually relocate the Sanhedrin to Tzipori, and this is where he lived for health reasons for the last 18 years of his life. This is also where he wrote his foundational work on Jewish law, the Mishna. This was more of a compendium of Jewish law than an original composition. Much of its material had already been put together by Rabbi Akiva and his students, and Rebbe followed the order they had used. However, he was the one who decided what should be left in and out of his book. The material he left out is often quoted as either a Beraitha or Tosefta in the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds and is evidence of the large amount of material that Rebbe had to sift through. In some instances, Rebbe would provide a number of opinions on a matter of Jewish law and not a final decision. His Mishna would become the basis for the discussions of the two talmuds, and thus an essential link in the transmission and elaboration of Jewish law.

 

Rebbe died in Tzipori, but he instructed that he be buried in Beit She’arim and in the ground rather than in a sarcophagus. The story of his death, as related in the Talmud, is shown in a movie in the synagogue at Tzipori. The rabbis were praying for his recovery and this prevented the departure of his soul. Aware of Rebbe’s physical distress, his maidservant broke a vessel. Because of the disturbance, there was a break in the prayers and this permitted Rebbe to die. Rebbe’s funeral procession stopped at eighteen places during the 12 Km to Bet She’arim and he was eulogized at each stop.

 

His functions were taken over by his two sons - Rabbi Shimeon, who led his yeshiva, and Rabbi Gamaliel, who succeeded him as the administrative prince or nasi and head of the Sanhedrin. Rebbe recognized that it would take an unusually talented person (such as himself) to be able to do combine these two functions. Both sons are buried in the same catacomb as Rebbe.