History of the Jews, Vol. 2 (of 6)

Amongst Meïr's disciples was one named Symmachos ben Joseph, who adopted and exaggerated his method to such an extent that it was said of him that he could argue well, but could not come to any practical decision. It was even said of him that his forefathers could not have been present at the Revelation on Sinai. After Meïr's death both Symmachos and his disciples were excluded from the school, because they did not seek for truth, but only to dispute sophistically. It is probable that Meïr repaired to the Synhedrion of Usha when important questions were under discussion. He did not live on good terms with the Patriarch Simon.

Simon ben Jochai of Galilee was as striking but not so many-sided a personage as Meïr, and he was falsely reported to be a worker of miracles – a mystic and a Cabbalist. Few facts of his life are known, but we may infer from what is recorded that he was rather of a matter-of-fact than of an imaginative turn of mind. Nothing is known of Simon's youth, and later, after his return with others from the exile imposed on them under Hadrian's rule, his activity seems to have spent itself on the newly organized Synhedrion at Usha. In opposition to his father, Jochai, who stood in favor with the Roman authorities, the son was a decided enemy of Rome, and was not much liked by them. For uttering a truthful censure on the Roman Governor, he was sentenced to death, and could save himself only by flight, and upon this fact legend has seized in order to surround Simon with wonders and miracles. Amongst the various legal decisions, sayings and remarks which have been preserved of him there is no trace of a mystical tendency. On the contrary his reasoning with regard to biblical laws was always of a simple nature. The system of following out the reasoning of the Law, and thence drawing deductions, was peculiar to Simon.

This was an improvement on Akiba's system, which consisted in drawing from pleonastic words, syllables and letters, the principles of legal deductions. The following are instances of Simon's method. The Bible forbids the distraint of a widow's goods; Simon restricted the reference to cases of poor widows. Simon drew his conclusion in the following manner: – The biblical law which enacts that a widow should be spared all legal seizure of goods could only apply to poor widows. A rich woman had no cause for being so spared. Further, that the prohibition against intermarrying with the seven Canaanite races must also be extended to all idolatrous nations, as the law was actually intended to prevent the people from being drawn into idolatry.

Another opinion of Simon's shows how far removed he was from all exaggerated religious theories. He had a curious saying that the fulfilment of the Law was only possible to those who lived on manna or the tithes. Unlike most teachers of the Law, Simon pursued no occupation or business; he was at that time the only man whose life's business was the study of the Law. Simon's dwelling-place and school-house were in the fertile oil district of Tekoa, in Galilee. He had his circle of disciples, and because he survived his colleagues he became the only authority of the following period.

Another important name was that of Judah ben Ilai of Usha, whose character bore a similarity to that of Joshua. Modest, wise, diplomatic, eloquent, he knew how to bridge over the breach which existed between the Roman and the Jewish nature. He was therefore especially designated "the wise," or "the first speaker." Judah was not a man of property, but, like Joshua, he supported himself by an occupation of which he was not ashamed. He often used the expression – "The work honors the laborer. He who does not teach his son a handicraft designs him to be a robber." His mode of teaching had no especially pronounced characteristics.

As with Judah we have no distinctive features recorded, so also of the life of José ben Chalafta of Sepphoris but little is known. He also followed a trade, and one of the lowest kind. He was a worker in leather. Unlike his contemporaries, José devoted himself to the collection of the annals of Jewish history, and left an account from the creation of the world to the war of Bar Cochba, under the name of Seder Olam. He endeavored to fix the various dates correctly from the historical records of the Bible. He tried to render clear the doubtful passages, and to fill up the gaps in traditions. On the other hand, from the time of Alexander the Great, we find that this chronicle of José gives independent and trustworthy, but very scanty information.

But little that is noteworthy is known of the other disciples of Akiba. Besides the Galilean circle of scholars there was yet another in the extreme south of Judæa (Darom) who continued Ishmael's mode of teaching; only two members of this circle, Josiah and Jonathan, are known.

Nathan, a Babylonian, and a son of the Prince of the Captivity, was a man of special interest. It is not known where he received instruction in the Halachas, nor what occasioned him to remove to Judæa, or to give up the more favorable position that he occupied in his native country. The foreign teachers of the Law at this period were Judah ben Bathyra of Nisibis, who appears to have sheltered the fugitives from Judæa; also Chananya, nephew of Joshua, in Nahar-Pakod, who had been sent by his uncle to Babylon, so as to remove him from the influence of the Jewish Christians; and, lastly, Matiah ben Charash in Rome, who first transplanted the knowledge of the Jewish Law from Asia to Europe.

Whilst the teachers of the Law in Galilee endeavored to reanimate the body of the nation, to re-establish the Synhedrion, and to secure and spread traditions by collecting and classifying them, but little was needed to cause a deep schism which threatened to separate the Babylonian congregation entirely from the main body.

The wisdom of the Patriarch Simon II. deftly avoided this breach. Chananya established a sort of Synhedrion in Nahar-Pakod, probably in the neighborhood of Nahardea, of which he was the president, whilst a certain Nechunyan, perhaps the Prince of the Captivity, appears to have supported him. The Babylonian community, until then under the control of Judæa, and now left uncared for through the destruction of all religious institutions in the fatherland, welcomed a Synhedrion in their midst as of joyful import, and gratefully accepted its ordinances and decisions. Chananya immediately introduced a leap year, and the celebration of the festivals as had been customary in Judæa. But when the Synhedrion had been established in Usha it was no longer possible to continue the existence of a body which threatened the unity of Judaism, and tended to divide it into an eastern and western Judaism. In order to avoid such a division the Patriarch Simon sent two ambassadors, Isaac and Nathan, with flattering messages to Chananya, with the unusual superscription, "To his holiness Chananya." The president of the Babylonian Synhedrion, who had not expected such friendliness, received the Jewish ambassadors in the kindest manner, and introduced them with flattering speeches to the assembly. Having secured the confidence of the nation, they named the ultimate reason of their embassage. At the public service they read from the Book of Laws, "Such are the feast days of Chananya" (instead of God). Another read from the prophets – "From Babylon shall the light go forth, and the word of the Lord from Nahar Pakod" (instead of Zion and Jerusalem). The audience, whose attention was drawn through these ironical allusions, and who felt that an independent Synhedrion in Babylon would be contrary to the spirit of the Law, felt their consciences disturbed. Chananya vainly endeavored to weaken the impression by implicating the ambassadors. They replied that to establish an opposition Synhedrion in Babylon was tantamount to building an altar, at which Chananya and Nechunya would officiate as unauthorized priests, and was in fact equal to disavowing the God of Israel. Chananya, however, doubted the continuance of a Synhedrion in Judæa, saying that the teachers of the Law there did not enjoy any authority, to which the ambassadors replied, "The little ones whom thou hast deserted have meanwhile grown up." Chananya, however, did not relinquish his design until Judah ben Bathyra, in Nisibis, pointed out to him that in holy things unqualified obedience must be paid to the Judæan Synhedrion. Finding no response or interest anywhere, he countermanded the festivals as arranged by himself, and the Babylonian Synhedrion came to an end.

Dissensions arose at the College of Usha, which threatened to have similar results to the contest between Gamaliel and Joshua. The Patriarch Simon, in order to increase his dignity, endeavored to introduce a special etiquette, in order to remove the equality previously existing between all officials. In the absence of the Ab-beth-din Nathan and the speaker Meïr, he instituted a new order of rank, which would definitely recognize him as the superior head. This distinction lay herein, that at all public sittings of the Synhedrion the people, who were accustomed to rise at the entrance of the president and other important officials, and to remain standing until the sign was given them to be seated, should reserve this mark of honor in future for the President alone; in honor of his substitute only the first rows were to stand until he had taken his seat; and still less ceremony was to be observed towards the speaker (the Chacham).

When Nathan and Meïr for the first time attended the meeting and noticed the new arrangements they secretly determined to conspire against Simon, and to deprive him of his office. For this purpose, however, the consent of the nation, with whom the appointment of Patriarch rested, became necessary. They determined to puzzle Simon by difficult questions (on the Halachas), and he seems to have been inferior to them in knowledge of traditional lore, and when they had revealed his weakness before the whole assemblage they intended proposing the deposition of a Patriarch who was not conversant with all branches of the Law. They also determined that Nathan, who belonged to the family of the Prince of the Captivity, and who was also of the race of David, should become Patriarch, and that Meïr should be second in rank as substitute. This plot, however, was betrayed to Simon, and the conspirators found him prepared.

The Patriarch, on revealing the scheme against him, succeeded in having the two expelled from the Synhedrion. But they made their absence felt by writing difficult questions and distributing them amongst the assembly, whom they thereby placed in an awkward position. Referring to these two José afterwards said, "We are in the house of the Law, but the Law is outside." They were readmitted, but Simon arranged that their names should not be recorded in the ordinances enacted by him. R. Nathan subsequently made peace with the Patriarch, but the breach with Meïr endured. Simon at length excommunicated him, but Meïr was not as submissive as he who, without a word, had accepted Gamaliel's sentence. Referring to a former resolution of the Synhedrion in Usha, that no member could be excommunicated, Meïr replied, "I do not care for your sentence until you prove to me on whom, on what grounds, and under what conditions it can be imposed." In proud recognition of his own worth, Meïr is said on his death-bed to have uttered the words: "Tell the sons of the Holy Land that their Messiah has died in a foreign land." According to his last will, his body was buried on the sea-shore.

Simon's patriarchate was not free from the disturbances and oppressions which the Roman officials permitted themselves to perpetrate towards the Jewish people. The mutual hatred of Jews and Romans, which had followed from the revolt of Bar-Cochba and Hadrian's persecution, was so great that the powerful victors could not do otherwise than make their power felt by those whom they had conquered. Simon ben Gamaliel notes the daily tortures and oppressions: "Our forefathers only scented trouble from afar; we, however, have suffered from them through many days, years, periods, and cycles; we have more right to become impatient than our forefathers. If, as formerly, we desired to record our troubles and temporary relief on a scroll, we should not find space enough." The hatred of the Romans on the one hand, and the endurance of the Jews on the other, appear to have ended in a fresh revolution in Judæa, which took place in the last year of the reign of the Emperor Antoninus Pius (161), but its rise, scene of action, and results are not known. The attempt at a new call to arms appears to have been connected with the warlike preparations commenced by the Parthians against Rome. Though often deceived, the Judæans still hoped for the help of the Parthians, as a means of deliverance from the Roman yoke. Simon b. Jochai, who heartily despised the hypocritical policy of the Romans, said, "When thou seest a Persian (Parthian) steed tied to an Israelite tombstone, then canst thou believe in the advent of the Messiah." Meanwhile, the badly-organized revolt was soon suppressed by the Governor of Syria before the Parthians could come to the rescue. The Parthian war, which lasted several years (161–165), began shortly after the death of the Emperor Antoninus Pius, when the Roman Empire for the first time was governed by two rulers, the philosophical but impractical Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and the dissolute Verus Commodus. At the first attack the Parthians, under their king Vologeses, entered Syria, defeated the governor, Atidius Cornelianus, who had just repressed the Jewish revolt, put his legions to flight, and devastated the country. The second emperor, Verus, was sent with fresh troops to the East, though he was eminently unfitted to conduct a war. The conquest of the Parthians was therefore undertaken by capable generals, whilst the emperor gave himself up to dissipation in Antioch, Laodicea, and Daphne.

Fresh persecutions appear to have been instituted by the Emperor Verus against the Jews of Palestine. First they lost the right of using their own courts of justice. It is not certain whether Jewish judicial functions were set aside, or whether the Jewish judges were deposed. Simon ben Jochai thanked God for the interference of the Romans, as he, like his contemporaries, did not feel himself fitted to exercise judicial rights. Notwithstanding that the chiefs of the Synhedrion had taken no part in the revolution, they yet seem to have been suspected and watched by the Roman authorities. A conversation was once reported which took place between Judah, José and Simon ben Jochai at Usha, where, it appears, a discussion was held with regard to the Roman policy. Judah, who, like Joshua, endeavored to calm those who stood around, had been praising Rome for her actions. "How useful this nation has been; everywhere it has erected towns with market-places; it has put bridges over rivers, and built bath-houses for the preservation of health." José kept silent, neither giving praise nor blame. Simon ben Jochai, on the other hand, could not repress his displeasure. "What the Romans do," he said, "they only do for the sake of selfishness and gain. They keep houses of bad repute in the cities, misuse the bathing-places, and levy toll for the bridges." A proselyte, Judah, repeated this, perhaps without desiring to make mischief. Judah, however, the eulogist of Rome, was loaded with honors, José was banished to Laodicea, and Simon was condemned to death. In consequence of these events the Synhedrion at Usha seems to have been dissolved, for the most important members were withdrawn, and its proceedings watched.

Simon, who had taken refuge, as before stated, in a cave, became the hero of various miracles. He is said to have spent years in this cave, supporting himself on carob-beans and spring water, in consequence of which his skin became full of boils. When he learnt that affairs had taken a favorable turn, probably through the death of the Emperor Verus (169), he took this as a sign that he might venture out, and by bathing in the warm springs of Tiberias his shattered health became restored. Out of gratitude he declared the town of Tiberias, which had hitherto been avoided by the pious, because buildings had been erected over graves, as clean and suitable for a dwelling-place. This aroused the anger of the pious who lived in Magdala (Tarichea), who considered this decision as a frivolous innovation. After his return Simon ben Jochai was asked to repair to Rome, and to intercede with the Emperor Marcus Aurelius for the abolition of the laws against the Jews. Simon took as his companion on this journey Eleazar, the son of José, probably because he was acquainted with the Latin language. When they arrived in Rome, assisted by various influential Roman Jews, they probably succeeded in obtaining from Marcus Aurelius the concession sought. Christian teachers also addressed petitions to the Emperor and requested him to show mercy on Christendom. The legend relating to Simon attributes the attainment of the emperor's favor to a miracle; he had, namely, delivered the daughter of the emperor, Lucilla, from a demon (Bartholomaion), and out of gratitude the emperor permitted him and his followers to take from the state archives whatever they chose, and they took out the inhuman decree against the Jews and destroyed it. There appear to have been actual grounds for this story, for Eleazar ben Joseph, Simon's friend, boasted that he had seen in the room the vessels of the Temple, the frontal of the high priest, and the curtain of the Holy of Holies, which Titus had carried off as trophies, and which could be seen only by those especially favored.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE PATRIARCHATE OF JUDAH I

The Patriarch Judah I. – His Authority and Reputation – Completion of the Mishna – The Last Generation of Tanaites – Condition of the Jews under Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, Septimius Severus, and Antoninus Caracalla – Character and contents of the Mishna – Death of Judah.

175–219 C. E

The last generation of the Tanaites had come back to the same point from which they first had started, thus completing the whole circle. In the same way as the first had found complete expression in a single personality, Jochanan ben Zaccai, so also the last culminated in one standard-bearer, who formed the central point of his times. The former had been followed by several disciples, each possessing his peculiar school, tendency, and system; and thus the material of tradition was divided into a multiplicity of fractional parts. It was the Patriarch Judah, the son of Simon II., who reunited them, and thus brought the activity of the Tanaites to a conclusion. He was the chief authority of the last generation, compared with whom the other teachers of the Law were of no importance; he abandoned the old tendencies and prepared the way for a new departure. In spite of the important position which he occupies in Jewish history but little is known of Judah's life. It was during a time of great affliction, when the calamitous consequences of the Bar-Cochba war were still being felt, that his superior talents and great parts developed themselves. He so distinguished himself by mature questions and striking answers that his father and the college advanced him to the foremost rank of the disciples while he was still in his first youth. As though he felt that his vocation was to be the collecting and arranging of the most dissimilar opinions, Judah did not confine himself to any one school, but sought the society of several teachers of the Law. This it was that saved him from that one-sidedness and narrowness of mind which is given to upholding, with more fidelity than love of truth, the words of one teacher against all other doctrines. The most important of his teachers were Simon ben Jochai and Eleazar ben Shamua, whose school was so crowded with students that six of them were obliged to content themselves with one seat.

Judah was elevated to the dignity of Patriarch upon his father's decease, and the cessation of the persecutions after Verus's death. He was blessed with such extraordinary gifts of fortune that it used to be said proverbially, "Judah's cattle-stalls are worth more than the treasure-chambers of the King of Persia." Living very simply himself, he made but small use of this wealth for his personal gratification, but employed it in the maintenance of the disciples who during his Patriarchate gathered around him in numbers from at home and abroad, and were supported entirely at his cost. At the time of the awful famine, which, together with the plague, raged for several years during the reign of Marcus Aurelius throughout the whole extent of the Roman empire, the Jewish prince threw open his storehouses and distributed corn to the needy. At first he decided that those only should be succored who were occupied in some way with the study of the Law, thus excluding from his charity the rude and uneducated populace. It was only when his over-conscientious disciple, Jonathan ben Amram, refused to derive any material benefit from his knowledge of the Law, exclaiming, "Succor me not because I am learned in the Law, but as you would feed a hungry raven," that Judah perceived the mistake of trying to set bounds to his charity, and he thenceforth distributed his gifts without distinction. On another occasion Judah also yielded to his better convictions and overcame his nature, which seems not to have been entirely free from a touch of harshness. The daughters of Acher, a man who had held the Law in contempt, having fallen into distress, came to Judah for help. At first he repulsed them uncharitably, remarking that the orphans of such a father deserved no pity. But when they reminded him of their father's profound knowledge of the Law, he immediately altered his mind.

Distinguished by his wealth and his intimate knowledge of the subject-matter of the Halachas, he succeeded without trouble in doing that which his predecessors had striven in vain to accomplish, namely, to invest the Patriarchate with autocratic power, unfettered by the presence of any rival authority, and to transfer the powers of the Synhedrion to the person of the Patriarch. The seat of the principal school and of the Synhedrion during the time of Judah, and after Usha had lost its importance (a short time previously it seems to have been the neighboring town of Shefaram), was first at Beth-Shearim, northeast of Sepphoris, and later on at Sepphoris itself. Judah chose this latter town for his residence, on account of its elevated and healthy situation, in the hopes of recovering from a complaint from which he had suffered for several years. In Sepphoris there seems to have existed a complete council of seventy members, which was entrusted with the decision of religious questions according to the adopted routine. Judah's reputation was so great, however, that the college itself transferred to him the sovereign power which up till then had belonged to the whole body or to individual members. It was rightly observed of Judah that since the time of Moses, knowledge of the Law and possession of authority had not been united in any one person as in him. A most important function which was conferred upon this Patriarch, or rather which he got conferred on him, was that of appointing the disciples as judges and teachers of the Law. He was allowed to exercise this power without consulting the College, but on the other hand the nominations of the high Council were invalid without the Patriarch's confirmation. The nomination of spiritual guides of the communities, the appointments to the judicial offices, the filling up of vacancies in the Synhedrion, in a word, all Judæa and the communities abroad, fell in this manner into dependence on the Patriarch. That which his father and grandfather had striven in vain to accomplish, came about, so to speak, at his touch. In his time there was no longer a deputy (Ab-Beth-Din), nor a public speaker (Chacham). Judah, the Prince (ha-Nassi), alone was all in all. Even the Synhedrion itself had resigned its authority, and continued to exist henceforward only in name; the Patriarch decided everything. By reason of his great importance he was called simply Rabbi, as if, when compared with him, no teacher of the Law were of any consequence, and he himself were the personification of the Law.

He soon further increased his powers by deciding that even the most capable were not competent to pronounce on any religious question without having first been expressly authorized by him. How great was the importance of this act may be seen from the circumstance that the foreign communities, as well as those of Judæa, were obliged to put themselves in direct communication with the Patriarch in order to obtain their officials, judges, and teachers. The community of Simonias, which lay to the south of Sepphoris, begged the Patriarch to send them a man who should give public lectures, decide questions of law, superintend the Synagogue, prepare copies of authentic writings, teach their sons, and generally supply all the wants of the community. He recommended to them for this purpose his best pupil, Levi bar Sissi. It may be seen from this example how great were the requirements demanded of the instructors of the people. Another disciple of Judah, Rabba bar Chana by name, a native of Cafri in Babylon, was obliged to obtain the authorization of the Patriarch before being able to decide any questions of religion and law in his native land. In the same manner a third of his disciples, Abba Areka, also a native of Babylon, who later on became a great authority with the Babylonian communities, obtained this influence solely by Judah's nomination. One dignity alone, that of the Prince of the Captivity in Babylon, was on an equal footing with the Patriarchate, and Judah was all the more jealous thereof on account of its being conferred and upheld by the Parthian authorities, while his office was at most merely tolerated by the Roman rulers.