Judah ha-Nasi
| Rabbinical eras |
|---|
Rabbi Judah haNasi, (Hebrew, יהודה הנשיא, "Judah the Prince" also referred to as Rabbeinu HaKadosh (Our holy rabbi), and Rebbi ([My] rabbi or teacher)) was a key leader of the Jewish community of Judea toward the end of the 2nd century CE, during its occupation by the Roman Empire. He is best known in Judaism as the chief "editor" or "redactor" of the Mishnah, the first part of the written compendium of Jewish religious law known as the Oral Law or Torah SheBe'al Peh upon which the Talmud is based and from which classical Jewish law Halakha is derived. He was reputedly of the Davidic line, the royal line of King David, hence the title "Prince." However, many experts in the Hebrew language insist that the correct translation is "President." This is certainly the meaning of the word in modern Hebrew. If that is the correct translation in the case of Rabbi Yehudah, it would refer to his position as president of the community of scholars.
Biography
Little firm data is available on Rabbi Judah's life; the Mishnah and Talmud contain no serious biographical studies of the rabbis, and the same tractate will conflate the points of view of many different people.
Modern historians find it difficult to separate fact from legend, and many have given up on the idea that one can write an accurate biography of Mishnaic rabbis. At best, they hold, one can recover the basic outline of a rabbi's life as recalled by later sages, and this outline can be studied in a historical perspective. Most Orthodox Jews view the biographical statements in the Mishnah, Talmud and in some cases, even the early midrash collections, as being entirely historically reliable.
According to a statement handed down in the Land of Israel (by Abba ben Kahana, Midrash Genesis Rabbah lviii.; Midrash Eccl. Rabbah i. 10) and in Babylonia (Ḳid. 72b), Judah I. was born on the same day on which Akiva died a martyr's death. The Talmud suggests that this was a result of Divine Providence, since God granted to the Jewish people another leader of great stature to succeed Rabbi Akiva right after he past away. This was in the year 135 CE/AD. The place of his birth is not known; nor is it recorded where his father, Shimon ben Gamliel II, sought refuge with his family during the persecutions under Hadrian.
On the restoration of order in the Land of Israel, Usha became the seat of the academy and of its director; and here Judah spent his youth. It may be assumed that his father gave him about the same education that he himself had received, and that his studies included Greek (Talmud Sotah 49b); indeed, his knowledge of Greek fitted him for dialogue with the Roman authorities. He had a predilection for this language, saying that the Jews of the Land of Israel who did not speak Hebrew should consider Greek as the language of the country, while Syriac (Aramaic) had no claim to that distinction (Sotah ib.). In Judah's house pure Hebrew seems to have been spoken; and the choice speech of the "maids of the house of Rabbi" became famous (Meg. 18a; R. H. 26b; Naz. 3a; 'Er. 53a).
According to the Talmud Rabbi Judah the Prince was very wealthy and greatly revered in Rome. Rashi mentions a friendship between Rabbi Judah and Antoninus Pius.[citation needed]
Rabbi Judah's Legacy
According to Jewish tradition, God gave to the Jewish nation the Written Law - Tanach - and revealed to Moses additional laws and customs, called the Oral Law (also called "Laws Moses received in Sinai"). For centuries the Biblical prohibition of writing the Jewish Oral Law was enforced and one could only find books of the Written Law, namely, the Tanach. In Rabbi Judah's time Jews were undergoing harsh persecutions and many feared that the oral tradition would be forgotten. Rabbi Judah, the leading Jewish authority at the time, decided to write the Oral tradition in a desperate attempt to preserve the chain of tradition, one of the most important pillars of Judaism. This is a very very rare instance in Judaism history where the Rabbis decided to ignore a biblical prohibition but Rabbi Judah was firm and assured that this was the only way of saving Judaism. He therefore compiled the Mishna, the first recording of the oral law of the Jewish people.
From the Talmud
In the Talmud, one of the most prominent rabbis is Judah haNasi, often called simply "Rabbi." The title "Nasi" is often translated as "Prince," but a more correct translation by modern hebrew grammarians is "President." As great a rabbi as he was, even he could make mistakes. One day, a calf being led to slaughter broke free and sought refuge under his robes, bellowing with terror. Yehuda pushed the poor animal away, saying: "Go; for this purpose you were created."
In Heaven it was said: "Since he showed no pity, let us bring suffering upon him." And then he was afflicted with very painful gallstones and other illnesses. He prayed for relief, but his prayers were ignored, just as he had ignored the pleas of the calf.
Then one day his cleaning lady found some baby weasels in the house and was about to expel them violently with her broom, but Yehuda said, "Leave them alone! It is written: 'His Mercy is upon all his works.'"
And from Heaven was heard: "Since he has shown compassion, let us be compassionate with him." And Rabbi Yehuda was healed of his gallstones and his other afflictions.
Source
Babylonian Talmud (Talmud Bavli), Tractate Bava Metzia 85a