Posts
in Sepphoris. A secular official passed by, but Rabbi Yochanan did not stand
up for him in respect. The official's guards made motions to strike Rabbi Yochanan, but the
official said, 'Let him be! He is busy paying homage to his creator.'
Rabbi Chaninah and Rabbi Joshua ben Levi went before the proconsul of
Caesarea. When the proconsul saw the Rabbis he stood up. His courtiers said to him,
'Why do you stand up for these Jews?' The proconsul said to them, 'I saw in them the faces of
angels.'
Rabbi Jonah and Rabbi Yose went before the governor in Antioch. When he saw
them he stood up. His courtiers said to him, 'Why do you stand up for these
Jews?' He said, 'I see their faces in a vision when I go out to battle and
on account of that vision I am victorious.' (Talmud Yerushalmi Berachot 5:1)
Rabbi Abrams states that these vignettes are particularly interesting because we are generally taught
that the secular (Roman) leaders of the land of Israel hated the Jews. Yet
here, we find evidence that they respected Jewish religion and individuals
and attributed victory to them. She asks:
1. Who do you imagine this congregation of Babylonians in Sepphoris was?
Tourists? Olim? And who do you imagine was this secular official who
respected Jews prayers?
2. Why do you think the non-Jews saw the faces of angels and victory in
battle?''
poor, why doesn't he feed them?" To which he promptly replied, "That we
by maintaining them may escape the condemnation of Gehenna." "On the
contrary," said the Emperor, "the very fact of your maintaining the poor
will condemn you to Gehenna. I will tell thee by a parable whereto this
is like. It is as if a king of our own flesh and blood should imprison a
servant who has offended him, and command that neither food nor drink
should be given him, and as if one of his subjects in spite of him
should go and supply him with both. When the king hears of it will he
not be angry with that man? And ye are called servants, as it is said
(Lev. 25: 55), 'For unto me the children of Israel are servants.'" To
this Rabbi Akiva replied, "And I too will tell thee a parable whereunto
the thing is like. It is like a king of our own flesh and blood who,
being angry with his son, imprisons him, and orders that neither food
nor drink be given him, but one goes and gives him both to eat and
drink. When the king hears of it will he not handsomely reward that man?
And we are sons, as it is written (Deut. 14: 1), 'Ye are the sons of
the Lord your God.'" "True," the Emperor replied, "ye are both sons and
servants; sons when ye do the will of God; servants when ye do not; and
now ye are not doing the will of God."
Certain philosophers once asked the elders at Rome, "If your God has no
pleasure in idolatry, why does He not destroy the objects of it?" "And
so He would," was the reply, "if only such objects were worshiped as the
world does not stand in need of; but you idolaters will worship the sun
and moon, the stars and the constellations. Should He destroy the world
because of the fools there are in it? No! The world goes on as it has
done all the same, but they who abuse it will have to answer for their
conduct. On your philosophy, when one steals a measure of wheat and sows
it in his field it should by rights produce no crop; nevertheless the
world goes on as if no wrong had been done, and they who abuse it will
one day smart for it."
(Talmud Bavli Tractate Avoda Zarah 54b)
Antoninus Caesar asked Rabbi Judah Ha Nasi: "Why does the sun rise in the
east and set in the west?" "Thou wouldst have asked," answered the
Rabbi, "the same question if the order had been reversed." "What I
mean," remarked Antoninus, "is this, is there any special reason why he
sets in the west?" "Yes," replied Rabbi, "to salute his Creator (who is
in the east), for it is said (Neh. 9: 6), 'And the host of heaven
worship Thee.'"
Talmud Tractate Bavli Sanhedrin 91b
Caesar once said to Rabbi Tanchum, "Come, now, let us be one people."
"Very well," said Rabbi Tanchum, "only we, being circumcised, cannot
possibly become like you; if, however, ye become circumcised we shall be
alike in that regard anyhow, and so be as one people." The Emperor said,
"Thou hast reasonably answered, but the Roman law is, that he who
nonpluses his ruler and puts him to silence shall be cast to the lions."
The word was no sooner uttered than the Rabbi was thrown into the den,
but the lions stood aloof and did not even touch him. A Sadducee, who
looked on, remarked, "The lions do not devour him because they are not
hungry," but, when at the royal command, the Sadducee himself was thrown
in, he had scarcely reached the lions before they fell upon him and
began to tear his flesh and devour him.
Talmud Tractate Bavli Sanhedrin 39a
Turnus Rufus asked this question also of Rabbi Akiva, "Why is the
Sabbath distinguished from other days?" Rabbi Akiva replied, "Why art
thou distinguished from other men?" The answer was, "Because it hath
pleased my Master thus to honor me." And so retorted Akiva, "It hath
pleased God to honor His Sabbath." "But what I mean," replied the other,
"was how dost thou know that it is the Sabbath-day?" The reply was, "The
river Sambatyon proves it; the necromancer proves it; the grave of thy
father proves it, for the smoke thereof rises not on the Sabbath."
Talmud Bavli Tractate Sanhedrin 65b.
Only the other day, in an essay, written for my local hospital on Jewish Ethical, Spiritual+ Personal Considerations with Illness, Dying+ Passing, that I referred to Rabbi Chaninah and his incident with a Roman.
studying Torah, which was forbidden. His punishment was being burnt to death. The
Roman executioner, to be cruel and to slow his death, wrapped him in a wet
Torah and wet wool. His students urged him to open his mouth and breath in the
fire to die quickly. Rabbi Chanina said he could not take away from him that
which was given to him by G!d.
The executioner, realizing he had a true holy person, asked if the rabbi
could, get him into Heaven, if he would take away the wet Torah and the wet wool,
The story continues that when Rabbi was being consumed by the fire, the Roman jumped into the fire also, and both entered Olam Ha Ba, having an equal share of "the world to come."
The congregation spoken about at Sepphoris was none other than the Sanhedrin which was moved there from Jerusalem. Sepphoris is better known by its Hebrew name Tsippori in the Galilee.
Was Yochanan, Bar Nafcha? Rabbi Yochanan bar Nafcha, [Rabbi Yochanan son of the blacksmith], was adopted by Rabbi Judah Ha Nasi. He was born in Zsippori and died in 279 CE. Judah ha Nasi died in 220 CE but was born in 135 CE. According to the Talmud Tractate Avodah Zarah 10a-b, Rabbi Judah the Prince was very wealthy and greatly revered in Rome. He had a close friendship with "Antoninus", possibly the Emperor Antoninus Pius who would consult Rabbi Judah on various worldly and spiritual matters. Other opinions cited suggest "Antoninus" was Caracalla, Lucius Verus or Alexander Severus.
But who was the Roman who allowed Yochanan not to stand to honor him? Caracalla died in 217 CE, Lucius died in 169 CE and Severus died in 235 CE.
Antonius died in 161 CE, so while he could not be the Roman in the Yochanan tale, he was a friend of the Jews, was a private embracer of Judaism, and allowed the dead of Bithar, from the Bar Kocha revolt of 135 CE, to be buried.
It is interesting to note also that Emperor Trajan in 100 CE, gave permission to the Jews, to rebuild the Temple, via Rabbi Joshua, but changed his feelings towards the Jews when 35 years later Bar Kocha lead a violent revolt, retook Jerusalem, printed his own coins, and Hadrian the general, soon to become emperor, was sent in to crush the revolution. It was this year that the Romans martyred Rabbis Akiva, Chaninah, Yishab, Chutzphith, Elazar, and Judah.
Another Judaphile emperor was Nerva who ruled for 2 years circa 98 CE.
So who was this kind Roman ruler? It couldn't have been Decius who ruled in 245 CE for 1.5 years as Talmud Bavli Tractate Sukkah 51b says he murdered all the Jews living in Alexandria, Egypt. It couldn't have been Diocletion who ruled in 289 CE as Yochanan died a few years before, and the Midrash in Bereshith Rabbah 63 calls him a 'swineherder.'
This then leads me to posit that Yochanan was Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, who lived circa 70 CE, and saw the destruction of the Temple. And that leads me to the answer of who is the Roman. The three-year Roman siege of Jerusalem portended doom for Jewish nationalism. The inhabitants of the Holy City were divided; some were wearied from the hopelessness of the situation; others, although refusing to surrender, fought among themselves. Hunger and disease were rampant. Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai was among those leaders who determined to do something about the impending destruction of Jerusalem..
"The Jewish people are fighting among themselves," he reasoned. "There are so many different political parties, so many different opinions how to deal with the enemy; the Sicarii, or Biryonim, as they sometimes call themselves, are clandestine killers. Anyone they see speaking to a Roman finds his life endangered and becomes a target for their foul play. The Zealots want to fight the mighty enemy and restore Jewish independence; they think the situation is the same as it was in the days of the Maccabbees.
"I, and the rest of the Rabbis only want to live peacefully, so we can study and transmit Torah. The Priests want to become allied with the Romans. And the Romans? What do they do? They enforce the siege and wait patiently while brothers destroy brothers. Woe unto us! If the Holy Temple is destroyed, it will be because my people did not want to live together in peace. It will be because we hated each other for no reason. We are one people, but we act so differently. There are four political parties, each with its own agenda. Why was the Second Holy Temple destroyed? Because needless hatred prevailed. [Talmud Bavli Yoma 9b]
"I must do something, something spectacular, something that will save the Torah way of life. The Jewish people will be able to survive without the Holy Temple, but they will not survive without Torah. Maybe my plan will work. But, perhaps my nephew, Abba Sikra, will conceive an even better plan."
The next morning, he called his nephew, who was the leader of the Binyonim: "How long will you continue to kill your brothers?"
"What can I do to stop them? I am their leader, but they do what they want. If I reprimand them, they will think that I have joined with you and the Rabbis, and they will kill me too."
"Listen, I have to escape from Jerusalem in order to try to save the Torah way of life." He explained his plan. "What do you think of it? Is it possible for me to succeed?"
"Let's do it this way, uncle. I believe it will have a better chance. No one must know what we are planning except you and your two most loyal disciples, Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Joshua
"I want you to pretend that you are gravely ill. We will announce throughout Jerusalem that Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai is dying. People will come to pay their respects. You will pretend to grow weaker and weaker. Finally, you will feign death. I will find some decayed flesh, that has a terrible odor, and I will place it on your bier. You must practice lying perfectly still, not moving a muscle, not even an eyelid. Eliezer, Joshua, and I will carry the bier to the gates of the city. We will demand that the guards let us pass, in order to bury you outside the walls.
"What will you do once you are outside the walls?"
"Make sure that I get out of the city safely, and you will see!"
It did not take many days for Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Joshua to announce the death of their revered teacher, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai. A great procession followed the bier until the gates of Jerusalem where it was halted by the Jewish guards posted inside the gates.
"Let us through," Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua and Abba Sikra demanded. "The cemetery is outside the walls and we must bury our teacher with dignity."
"We must check that you are not tricking us; that he is actually dead," they insisted. One of the guards lifted his sword, preparing to stab the body.
"How can you do that?" they clamored. "The Romans will say that the guards at the gates violated a body and thereby disgraced their revered master."
"Then we will just shove the body a little," they continued stubbornly.
"Then all the Jews inside the city will also condemn you for not having respect for the dead."
Ashamed, they opened the gates and allowed Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Jushua and Abba Sikra to walk through with the bier.
As soon as they reached a safe distance, out of sight of the gates of Jesusalem , Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakki jumped off the bier, bid farewell to his students, and ran toward the Roman camp. Once there he demanded that the guards escort him to General Vespasian's tent. Stunned to find a Jew among them, they pointed to the place where Vespasian sat in war council with his lieutenants.
"Peace to you, your majesty, King of Rome," pronounced Rabbi Yochanan, as he lowered his head respectfully.
"You deserve to die twice," ranted Vespasian. "First, you have pronounced me 'king,' while I am but a general; second, if I am the king, why haven't you come sooner to pay your respects?"
"I will answer your second question first, your majesty," whispered Rabbi Yochanan. "You see, my people are sorely divided. Some among them would surely have put me to death, had they found that I tried to contact you. As it is, my escape from Jerusalem on a bier is nothing short of miraculous."
At that exact moment, a messenger from Rome arrived.
"Your majesty," the messenger called out. There was a stunned silence all around. "Nero has died. The Senate has sent me to inform you that they have proclaimed you emperor!"
Rabbi Yochanan no longer had to answer the first question.
"You are so wise," continued Vespasian. "Before I return to Rome, and leave the siege of your holy city in the hands of Titus, my son, I will grant you any request."
"Grant me, your majesty, permission to move the Sanhedrin, the Jewish court, and its scholars from the besieged city of Jerusalem to Yavneh, a small town near the Mediterranean coast; allow the family of Rabbi Gamliel, descendants of the Davidic dynasty to live; and send a doctor to cure Rabbi Zadok who has fasted so long for Jerusalem to be saved that it is almost impossible for him to digest food."
Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai's requests were granted. Yavneh became a major center of Torah learning, the first of such cities where Torah was the focus of Jewish life. There Jewish spiritual leaders prepared for a long and arduous exile that was to begin three years later when the Holy Temple lay in ruins. The precedent of moving the Torah center from Jerusalem to Yavneh, and then to other cities in the Diaspora ( sustained the Jewish people in the centuries that followed. [ As the first Holy Temple was burning, a group of young priests went to the roof. Their leader carried the keys in his hand. He prayed: Master of the Universe! We were not worthy keepers of Your House. Therefore, please take back your keys. In the presence of the other young priests, he threw the keys heavenward. Immediately, a Heavenly Hand emerged and grasped the keys.[ Talmud Bavli, Taanit 29a] (adapted from Talmudic tales by A. Labovitz)
Hence if the Yochanan was Ben Zakkai, the Roman was Emperor Vespasian.
The second question is even more profound. Why did Romans see angels (spirituality) and victory (strength and bravery) in this Jewish scholars? The simple answer is of course because the Rabbis were men of G!D and because G!D gave them strength to do His will and to keep our traditions alive, even if it meant certain death. They were not dying for real estate. They were dying to preserve philosophy and a way of life, that lives on today.
But the real answer is deeper. Unlike other religions presently, or at their time, Talmudic Jews had a universal G!d. While we had 613 mitzvoth to obey, Noachides, even Pagan Romans, had just 7. As we saw in the death of Rabbi Chaninah in the beginning of this essay, the Roman executioner, who did an act of kindness, has an equal share in the world to come, as written in Tractate Sanhedrin 105a., ''Righteous gentiles have a place in the world to come.''
Jews did not look down upon others. We may have not like they way they treat us, but we still understood they are our fellows and equal children in the eyes of G!d. The Romans knew this.
It says (Job 37:23): "With justice and an abundance of kindness, He does not deal harshly." G-d does not withhold reward from gentiles who perform His commandments. [Jerusalem Talmud Peah 1:1]
Rabbi Akiva would say: Beloved is man who was created in the divine image. An extra amount of love is given to him because he was created in the divine image as it says (Genesis 9:6) "For in the image of G-d He made man." Mishna Pirkie Avot 3:14
Rabbi Chaninah would say: Whoever is pleasing to his fellow creatures is pleasing to G-d; but whoever is not pleasing to his fellow creatures, G-d is not pleased with him. Ibid 3:10
Ben Azzai would say: Do not regard anyone with contempt, and do not reject anything, for there is no man who does not have his hour and nothing that does not have its place. Ibid 4:3
Rabbi Judah said: The eulogy of a gentile is: ' Alas! The good, alas! ' The faithful who eats the fruit of his own labor. The sages said to him: What then did you leave for the worthy? He replied: If he the gentile was worthy why should he not be lamented in this manner. Talmud Tractate Semachot 1:8
(Leviticus 18:5) "Which man shall carry out and by which he shall live." Rabbi Yirmiyah would say: We see from here that even a gentile who fulfills his laws is like a Jewish high priest.
He would also say: (2 Samuel 7:19) "And that would be fitting for priests, Levites, and Israelites" is not what it says rather "and that would be fitting for great men - O Lord G-d." He would also say: (Isaiah 26:2) "Open the gates so the priests, Levites, and Israelites may enter" is not what it says rather "Open the gates so the righteous nation, keeper of the faith, may enter."
He would also say: (Psalms 118:20) "This is the gate of G-d; priests, Levites, and Israelites" is not what it says rather "This is the gate of G-d; the righteous shall enter through it."
He would also say: (Psalms 33:1) "Sing joyfully, O priests, Levites, and Israelites" is not what it says rather "Sing joyfully, O righteous, because of G-d."
He would also say: (Psalms 125:4) "Do good, G-d, to the priests, Levites, and Israelites" is not what it says rather "Do good, G-d, to good people." We see from here that even a gentile who follows his commandments is as righteous as the Jewish high priest. [Midrash Sifra, Acharei Mot 9:13]
(Psalms 146:8) "G-d loves the righteous." G-d said: 'I love those who love Me and so it says (1 Samuel 2:30) "For I honor those who honor Me." They love Me so I love them in return.'
Why does G-d love the righteous? Because righteousness is not an inheritance or a family trait.
You find that priests are from a priestly family and Levites are from a Levitical family as it says (Psalms 135:19-20) "O house of Aaron bless G-d! O house of Levi bless G-d!"
If someone wants to become a priest [from the family of Aaron] or a Levite he cannot because his father was not a priest or a Levite. However, if someone wants to become righteous even if he is a gentile he can because it is not a family trait as it says (ibid.) "O those who fear G-d bless G-d!" It does not say the house of those who fear G-d but those who fear G-d. It is not a family trait rather on their own they chose to fear and love G-d. Therefore, G-d loves them. [Midrash Bamidbar Rabbah 8:2].
The most telling tale of a Roman being impressed with Jew's devotion to G!d and their tradition, and showing kindness, is not with one or two rabbis but with tens of thousands of Jews. This story is recorded by three different historians, but I shall quote Josephus' version. Note that this took place 1900 years before Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Gaius Caligula was Roman Emperor from 37 to 41 C.E. In the year 39, he ordered that a statue of himself be erected in the Temple in Jerusalem. Four descriptions of the events appear in our sources: Two accounts by Josephus (War 2:184-203; Antiquities 18:261-309), one by Philo, and one by Tacitus. The two accounts of Josephus are roughly parallel for the most part, but the Antiquities account gives greater details. The following is a condensation of the account in Antiquities based on Feldman's translation.
Gaius Caligula dispatched Petronius as his legate to Syria. He ordered Petronius to lead a large force into Judaea and, if the Jews consented to receive him, to set up an image of Gaius in the Temple. If they refused, Petronius was to subdue them by force of arms and so set up the statue. Petronius hastened to carry out the commands of the emperor. He marched two or three legions to Ptolemais, intending to spend the winter there and towards spring to engage in war. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Jews came to Petronius at Ptolemais with petitions not to use force to make them transgress and violate their ancestral code. They said, "If you propose at all costs to set up the image, slay us first before you carry out these resolutions. For it is not possible for us to survive and to behold actions that are forbidden us by the decision both of our lawgiver and of our ancestors. ... In order to preserve our ancestral code, we shall patiently endure what may be in store for us... for God will stand by us; Fortune, moreover, is wont to veer now toward one side, now toward the other in human affairs."
Petronius saw that they were determined and that it would be impossible to carry out Gaius' order without great conflict and slaughter. He went to Tiberias to determine the situation of the Jews there. Again, many tens of thousands faced Petronius on his arrival. They besought him to not put up the statue. "Will you then go to war with Caesar, regardless of his resources and of your own weakness?" he asked. "On no account would we fight," they said, "but we will die sooner than violate our laws." And falling on their faces and baring their throats, they declared that they were ready to be slain. They continued to make these supplications for forty days. Furthermore, they neglected their fields even though this was the time to sow the seed. For they showed a stubborn determination and readiness to die rather than to see the image erected.
Then members of the royal family and civic leaders appealed to Petronius to refrain from the plan and instead to write to Gaius telling how incurable was their opposition to receiving the statue and how they had left their fields to sit as a protest, and that they did not choose war, since they could not fight a war, but would be glad to die sooner than transgress their customs, and that since the land was unsown there would be no harvest and no tribute. They brought pressure to bear upon him in every way and employed every device to make their plea effective. Petronius was influenced by their plea, and saw the stubborn determination of the Jews, and thought it would be terrible to bring death on so many tens of thousands of people. He thought it best to risk sending a letter to Gaius. Perhaps he might even convince him to cancel the order. If not, he would undertake war against the Jews. And thus Petronius decided to recognize the cogency of the plea of the petitioners.
Petronius convened the tens of thousands of Jews who had arrived at Tiberias, and explained the situation to them. "May God assist you, since God's might is above any human ingenuity or strength.... If Gaius is embittered and makes me the object of his wrath, I will endure every form of danger and every form of suffering that may be inflicted upon my body and my fortune rather than behold you who are so numerous destroyed for deeds so virtuous. Therefore, return to your fields and your work, and I will send a message to Rome and I will use all my own resources in your service."
Petronius then dismissed the people and asked the leaders to attend to agricultural matters and to conciliate the people. He thus did his best to encourage the masses. God was with Petronius, for as soon as he finished his speech, God sent a heavy shower out of the blue. In fact, that year had been a drought year. This was taken as a good omen, and Petronius himself was amazed by this unmistakable evidence that God's providence was over the Jews. Even the opponents of Petronius' decision were so overwhelmed that they kept their mouths shut.
Petronius included this occurrence in his letter to Gaius. For if he should slay them — and they would certainly not give up their accustomed manner of worship without a fight — he would be deprived of their revenue and would be cursed for all time.
Meanwhile, King Agrippa, who happened to be living in Rome, made an attempt to persuade Gaius. He made an extravagant banquet in Gaius' honor and thereby ingratiated himself before Gaius. Agrippa spent well beyond his means in order to please him, and Gaius was impressed by that. Hence Gaius wanted to make an equally impressive grand gesture, so he said during the banquet, after complimenting Agrippa highly on his loyalty, "You deserve the best. You name it, it's yours." He expected Agrippa to ask for some territory or some sum of tax revenue. Agrippa cleverly further ingratiated himself by saying that Gaius had already been very generous with him, and he couldn't think of asking for more. Gaius, amazed at Agrippa's character, insisted on his telling him how he could please him. Agrippa replied that he wanted nothing for himself, but since Gaius was being so exceedingly generous, " I shall ask for something that will bring you a reputation for piety and will induce the Deity to help you in everything that you wish; I ask you to abandon all further thought of erecting the statue which Petronius has your orders to set up in the temple of the Jews."
This was a hazardous request, for if Gaius were angered it would mean certain death for Agrippa, yet he felt the issue important enough for him to take the chance. But with so many witnesses, Gaius had no choice but to accede, and moreover he genuinely was so impressed with Agrippa that he cared little about the statue. So he wrote to Petronius saying that if he had not yet erected the statue he should drop the project.
But Gaius had written this before reading Petronius' message from which Gaius wrongly concluded that the Jews were bent on revolt [Feldman notes text is doubtful here] and that their attitude indicated no other intent than a threat of downright war against the Romans. So upon receiving the letter from Petronius he was infuriated. He wrote to Petronius threatening to kill him or ordering him to kill himself. But thanks to God's providence Gaius was soon himself killed, and the notification of Gaius' death reached Petronius before Gaius' letter did.
In summation, our relations with Romans, just as they are with others, are neither all good, nor all bad, but have an ebb and tide. Our philosophy of living, and what things we will put our lives on the line for, do at some point impress even the coldest of hearts. Perhaps this is what Rabbi Nathan meant in his Avot 23 when he wrote: "Who is the strongest of the strong? One who can turn an enemy into a friend." The universality of our G!d from the books of the Prophets into the Talmud, showing us to be an inclusive people, loving the stranger living among us, has kept our people going for millennia and G!d willing, if we stay close to G!d and His teachings, will continue to do so.
Shalom,
Rabbi Arthur Segal
Who's never won? Biggest Grammy Award surprises of all time on AOL Music.
