Rabbi Dosa ben Hyrcanus remembered that Rabbi Yehoshua's mother used to carry him in his cradle into the synagogue so that his ears might become accustomed to the sounds of the words of the Torah.

Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai had five disciples and they were: Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah, Rabbi Yose, the priest, Rabbi Shimon ben Netanel and Rabbi El'azar ben Arach. He [Rabbi Yohanan] used to list their outstanding virtues: Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus is a plastered cistern which loses not a drop; Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah--happy is the she who bore him; Rabbi Yose, the priest, is a pious man; Rabbi Simeon ben Nethaneel is one that fears sin, And Rabbi El'azar ben Arach is like a spring that flows ever stronger.

The Gemara continues to praise the Sages. The Sages taught: Hillel the Elder had eighty students. Thirty of them were sufficiently worthy that the Divine Presence should rest upon them as it did upon Moses our teacher, and thirty of them were sufficiently worthy that the sun should stand still for them as it did for Joshua bin Nun, and twenty were on an intermediate level between the other two. The greatest of all the students was Yonatan ben Uzziel author of the Targum Yonatan, and the youngest of them was Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai.

The Gemara relates: The Sages said about Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai that he did not rest from mikra; Mishna; Gemara; halakhot and aggadot; grammar of the Torah and grammar of the scribes;kal va'chomer inferences and g'zeira shavah analogies; scientific calculation of the equinoxes and seasons; and mathematics[gematriyaot]. Moreover, he excelled in the conversation of ministering angels; the conversation of demons, and the conversation of palm trees; parables of launderers,parables of foxes; and a general sense of priorities, for a great matter and a small matter.

There was an incident involving Rabbi Yehoshua bar Ḥananya (a Levite), who went to help (another Levite) Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Gudgedato assist in closing the doors of the Temple. Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Gudgeda said to him: My son, go back, as you are among the poets and not among the gatekeepers.

Rabbi Yehoshua married a daughter of a priest and became ill with lasting health problems. He said: Apparently, it displeases Aharon haKohen that I attach myself to his beautiful and worthy descendant, thus giving him a shlepper of a son-in-law like me.

When he reachedRabbi Yehoshua’s house, he saw that the walls of his house were black.Rabban Gamlielsaid toRabbi Yehoshua in wonderment: From the walls of your house it is apparent that you are a charcoal burner, as until then he had no idea that Rabbi Yehoshua was forced to engage in that arduous trade in order to make a living. Rabbi Yehoshuasaid to him: Woe unto a generation that you are its leader as you are unaware of the difficulties of Torah scholars, how they make a living and how they feed themselves.

Rabbi Yehoshua says: A woman wants $50k of support and a vibrant relationship full of eros, horseplay, and lightheaded silliness [tiflut]more than $450k of support and a relationship of distance, separate circles, and nun-like abstinence.

This is as the daughter of Caesar said to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya: Woe to splendid wisdom, contained in an ugly vessel!Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananyasaid to her: Does your father keep his wine inclay vessels? Caesarina said to him: Of course! In what rather should he keep it?Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananyasaid to her: You, who are so important, should put it in vessels of gold and silver. Young Caesarina went and said this to her father, who approved her science experiment and agreed to help her. He put the wine in vessels of gold and silver and it turned sour. When the nursemaid and the empress came and told the emperor that the wine had turned sour and made a godawful mess all over Caesarina's nursery, he shamefacedly said to his daughter: Who told you to do this? His daughter responded: Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya. Caesar summoned him and said to him: Why did you say this to her?Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananyasaid to him: Just as she said to me, so I said say to her, to demonstrate to her that fine material is best preserved in the least of vessels. The emperor said to him: But there are handsome people who are learned. Rabbi Yehoshua replied wittily: Had they been ugly, they would have been even more learned! That is, it is commendable for beautiful people to acquire kindness and humility, inasmuch as the world praises them constantly for existing. People whose appearance is constantly denigrated learn to value kindness and compassionabove all else. People whose appearance is pleasing to their supervisors are often allowed to indulge in fits of self-importance, expecting the world to bow before their natural gifts; people whose appearance causes the world to wave them away in disgust must work more than twice as hard to be thought half as good.

The son of one widow asked Rabbi Eliezer: If my father says to me: Get me a glass of water to drink, and my mother also says to me: Get me a glass of water to drink, which of them should I obey first?Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, whose interfering mother nigh on ruined his life, said to him: Set by the honor of your mother for a moment, and do honor to your father, as you and your mother are both obligated to honor your father. He came before Rabbi Yehoshua andsaid to him: This is what the other rabbi said. But if one’s mother is divorced, what is the halakha? Rabbi Yehoshuasaid to him: From your eyelashes, which are filled with tears, it is evident that you are the son of a widow.You goofball, pour water for them into a pitcher and cackle at them as one does to call chickens to feeding time, and see who shows up to pour their own water first!
That is, Rabbi Yehoshua believed that the answer to such a delicate question depends on the conditions of the divorce, the maturity of the adults in question, and the closeness of the family relationships, none of which can be prescribed academically by anyone who does not know the family well. We will see later in the deposition of Rabban Gamliel that Rabbi Yehoshua often tried to diffuse stressful social situations with a joke.

Rabbi Yehoshua ...would say: An idiot of a chassid, and a conniving rasha, and an abstinent/separatist woman [perusha], and a plague of Pharisees; all these are people who erode the world.

... The Sages taught: There are seven over-abstinent people who erode the world: * The abstinent of Shechem who circumcise their menfolk for material gain
* The self-flagellating separatists, who promote toxic mental health attitudes and actual self-harm, just like--
* The bloodletting separatists who self-harm like non-Jewish priests
* The pestle-like separatists who beat themselves over the head, literally or figuratively
* The abstinent who are never satisfied with the commandments and always say: Tell me what my extra obligation is and I will perform it.* Those who are separate due to love (i.e. Elsa in Disney’s Frozen, who pushes her devoted sister away to keep young Anna safe from Elsa’s powers)
* ...and those who separate due to fear (e.g. Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi, who senses rising darkness in his teenage nephew and raises a hand to slay him). (22b:2)

On acts of kindness. ...Once, Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, left Jerusalem, and Rabbi Yehoshua was walking after him and saw he saw the Holy Temple lying destroyed in ruins. [Rabbi Yehoshua said: Woe to us, for this is destroyed –] the place where all of Israel’s sins are forgiven! [Rabbi Yochanan] said to him: My son, do not be distressed, for we have a form of atonement just like it. And what is it? Acts of kindness, as it says (Psalms 89:3), “For I desire kindness, not a well-being offering.” Did not Daniel the Beloved Man [of God] not do just so...?

The Sages taught: The verse states: “Justice, justice, shall you follow.” This teaches that one should follow the Sages to the academy where they are found. For example, follow after Rabbi Eliezer to Lod, after Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai to B'ror Chayil, after Rabbi Yehoshua to Peki'in, after Rabban Gamliel to Yavne, after after Rabbi Akiva to Bnei Brak, after Rabbi Matya to Rome [Romi]...

Rabbi Yehoshuasaid to them: My children, come, and I will tell you how we should act. To not mourn at all is impossible, as the decree was already issued and the Temple has been destroyed. But to mourn excessively as you are doing is also impossible, as our people simply cannot live this way. After all, the Sages do not issue a decree upon the public unless a majority of the public is able to abide by it, as it is written: “You are cursed with the curse, yet you rob Me, even this whole nation” (Malachi 3:9). Rabbi Yehoshua continues: Rather, this is what the Sages said: A person may plaster his house with plaster, but he must leave over a small amount in it without plaster to remember the destruction of the Temple. The Gemara interjects: And how much is a small amount? Rav Yosef said: One cubit by one cubit. Rav Ḥisda said: This should be opposite the entrance, so that it is visible to all. Rabbi Yehoshua continues: The Sages said that a person may prepare all that he needs for a meal, but he must leave out a small item to remember the destruction of the Temple. The Gemara interjects: What is this small item? Rav Pappa said: Something akin to small, fried fish.Rabbi Yehoshua continues: The Sages said that a woman may engage in all of her cosmetic treatments, but she must leave out a small matter to remember the destruction of the Temple. The Gemara interjects: What is this small matter? Rav said: She does not remove hair from the place on the temple from which women would remove hair. The source for these practices is a verse, as it is stated: “If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its cunning. Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I remember you not; if I set not Jerusalem above my highest joy” (Psalms 137:5–6).

As it is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Eliezer says: A person has no way of properly fulfilling the mitzva of a Festival but to choose either eating and drinking,or sitting and studying Torah--that is to say, those who waste time on feasting and visiting during the holiday are neglecting their mitzvot. Rabbi Yehoshua says: There is no need for such a choice. Indeed, we should divide it: Half to God, Torah study, and half to yourselves, engaging in eating, drinking, and other festive activities.

[On the day that Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria opened up the yeshiva to all men who wished to learn, one of the ideas discussed was how far one may carry a pouch on Shabbat rather than passing it off to a willing gentile.] It was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Eliezer says: On that day they measured with a large se’a measurement, i.e., they did well to issue these decrees, which construct a fence around the Torah to prevent its violation. Rabbi Yehoshua said: On that very day they measured with a minimal se’a, i.e., because these decrees are difficult to observe, they not only will lead people to violate the decrees, but to violate Torah prohibitions as well.

Rabbi Yoḥanan raised an objection to Reish Lakish from a baraita (see Tosefta, Eduyyot 3:3): Once, human bones were found in the Chamber of the Woodshed, and the Sages sought to decree impurity upon all of Jerusalem, i.e., to proclaim all who go there to be impure. Rabbi Yehoshua stood upon his feet to voice a formal objection and said: Is it not a shame and disgrace for us to decree impurity upon the city of our fathers because there might be undiscovered skeletons in any part of the holy city? Show me: Where are the dead of the flood, and where are all of the dead killed by Nebuchadnezzar in the previous exile?

HALAKHAH:Rebbi Jonah said, our Mishnah speaks about poor ḥaverim, and about guests following Rebbi Joshua. It was stated: “It happened that Rebbi Joshua went to Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai in Beror Ḥayil, and some local people brought them fruit. Rebbi Joshua said to them, if they stay overnight, we are obliged to tithe; otherwise, we are not obliged to tithe.” Rebbi Yose said that the Mishnah speaks about am haäreẓ poor. If you restrict the tithing laws to poor ḥaverim, you lock the door before am haäreẓ poor. How does Rebbi Yose hold about “the stranger?” Following what was stated: “(Lev. 25:45) ‘Those who dwell among you,’ to include the stranger; Rebbi Eliezer said, that means the gentile stranger.”

§ The Sages taught: There was an incident involving Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Beroka and Rabbi Elazar ben Ḥisma, when they went to greet Rabbi Yehoshua in Peki’in.Rabbi Yehoshuasaid to them: What novel idea was taught today in the study hall? They said to him: We are your students and we drink from your water, i.e., all of our Torah knowledge comes from you, so it is impossible for us to teach you anything you do not know already? He said to them: Even so, there cannot be a study hall without a chiddush.

He urged them asked them: Whose week was it to lead the Sanhedrin? They said to him: It was Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya’s week. [See Brachot 27-28 below, during the period where the reinstated Rabban Gamliel shared the leadership duties with his replacement, Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria.] He inquired: And on what subject was the lecture today? They said to him: He spoke about the portion ofhakhel, the mitzva of assembly.Rabbi Yehoshua persisted: And what verse did he interpret homiletically with regard to this mitzva? They said to him that Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya interpreted the following verse: “Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little ones” (Deuteronomy 31:12). This verse is puzzling: If men andnashim chashuvot come to learn, and women, caregivers, and children cometo hear, why do the boisterous toddlers come? They come in order to give a reward to those who bring them, so that all caregivers of all standings can also come and learn. Rabbi Yehoshuasaid to them with great excitement: This splendid gem of wisdom was in your hands, and you tried to conceal it from me?

There was asimilar incidentwhere Rabban Gamliel and Rabbi Yehoshua were traveling together on a ship. Rabban Gamliel, a seasoned commuter, had packed light and only hadbread for the journey. Rabbi Yehoshua, who seldom traveled overseas and was apt to overplan, had packed not only bread, and additionally he had flour and other groceries for emergencies. The journey lasted longer than expected, and Rabban Gamliel’s bread was finished. He relied on Rabbi Yehoshua’s flour for nourishment. Rabban Gamlielsaid toRabbi Yehoshua: Did you know from the outset that we would have so substantial a delay? Is that the reason that you brought so many things that you even had flour with you? Rabbi Yehoshuasaid toRabban Gamliel: There is one star that rises once in seventy years and misleads sailors at sea, causing their journeys to be extended. And I said: Perhaps that star will rise during our journey and mislead us.Rabban Gamlielsaid to him: So much wisdom is at your disposal, and you board a ship to fundraise??? Rabbi Yehoshuasaid to him: Before you wonder about me, wonder about two students that you have on dry land, Rabbi Elazar Ḥisma and Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Gudgeda, who are so wise that they know how to calculate how many drops of water there are in the sea, and yet they have neither bread to eat nor a garment to wear.Embarrassed, Rabban Gamlielmade up his mind to seat them at the head of the academy in cushy administrative positions with large salaries. WhenRabban Gamlielascended to dry land, he sent a messenger to them to tell them to come so that he could appoint them to high honor, but, shy as they were, they did not come. He again sent a messenger to them and they came.Rabban Gamlielsaid to them: Do you imagine that I am granting you authority, and since you did not want to accept the honor you did not come when I sent for you?

Caesar said to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya: Why does the fragrance of a cooked Shabbat dish diffuse so deliciously? He said to him: We have a certain spice called Shabbat [shevet--it's actually dill, bad pun here], which we place in the recipes and its fragrance diffuses. The emperor said to him: Give us some of it.

Rabbi Yehoshua gave the imperial chefs all the recipes from the best Shabbat tables of Judaea. However, as every dish was brought out, the emperor sniffed and said, "This is tasty enough, but it is the same stuffed fish and roast fowl that I have every day." Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: it is not the recipe alone that delights the heart, your Majesty, but the experience of Shabbat itself. For anyone who observes Shabbat, the spice is effective, and for one who feasts but does not observe Shabbat, it is not effective.

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya was in the house of the Caesar. A particular heretic (posibly a Christian prosletyzer) gestured to him, indicating that his was the nation whose Master, God, turned His face away from it.Rabbi Yehoshuagestured to him that His hand is outstretched over us in protection. Caesar said to Rabbi Yehoshua: What did he gesture to you, and how did you respond? He replied: He indicated that mine is the nation whose Master turned His face from it, and I gestured to him that His hand is outstretched over us. The members of the Caesar’s household said to that heretic: What did you gesture to him? He said to them: I gestured that his is the nation whose Master has turned His face from it. They asked: And what did he gesture to you? He said to them: I don’t know; I did not understand. They said: How can a man who does not know what others gesture to him claim to gesture in the presence of the king? Since the heretic clearly did not speak sign language, they arrested him under suspicion of espionage, e.g. making secret hand signals across the court and lying that they were sign lanaguge. Indeed, they took him out and killed him.

§ The Gemara recounts: Caesar said to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya: I wish to see your God.Rabbi Yehoshuasaid to him: You cannot see Him. The emperor said to him: Truly,I wish to see Him.Rabbi Yehoshuawent and stood the emperor facing the sun at the summer solstice (lit. "the season of Tammuz"). Rabbi Yehoshuasaid to him: Look at it. The emperor said to him: I cannot.Rabbi Yehoshuasaid to him: Now, if with regard to the sun, which is only one of the servants that stand before the Holy One, Blessed be He, you say: I cannot look at it, is it not all the more so with regard to the Divine Presence?

§ The Gemara recounts: Caesar said to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya: I desire to arrange bread, i.e., a meal, for your God.Rabbi Yehoshuasaid to him: You cannot. The emperor asked him: Why?Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: His hosts are too great. The emperor said to him: Truly, I wish to do it. Rabbi Yehoshuasaid to him: Go out and arrange a meal on the shore of the great sea [dirvita], where there is a wide open space. The emperor worked all the six months of summer to accomplish this. A wind came and swept it all into the sea. The emperor worked to arrange another meal all the six months of winter. Rain came and sank it all in the sea. The emperor said toRabbi Yehoshua: What is this?Rabbi Yehoshuasaid to him: These are only the sweepers and floor washers that wait on Him, and they alone have eaten everything. The emperor said to him: If so, I cannot arrange a meal before Him.

Caesar's daughter, who had been investigating Christianity, said to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya: Your God is a carpenter, as it is written: “Who lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters” (Psalms 104:3). [Note that anyone whose bumper sticker proclaims that their boss is a Jewish carpenter is telling us nothing about Judaism or carpentry!] Tell Him to make for me a distaff, a simple tool used in spinning. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananyasaid: Very well. He prayed for mercy for her (?!?) and she was stricken with illness. She sat in the Roman market, and they gave her a distaff, since it was their custom to give a distaff to anyone strickenin Rome, and the patient would sit in the market and untangle bunches of wool, so that people would see and pray for mercy on him.One dayRabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananyawas passing there, and he saw that she was sitting and untangling bunches of wool in the Roman market.Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananyasaid to her: Is the distaff my God gave you pleasing? She said to him: Tell your God to take back what He has given me.Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananyasaid to her: Our God gives, but does not take. You must find healing and comfort by building relationships with your own people, not sit waiting for "God to provide," either materially or spiritually. Beware, O daughter of Caesar, of miracle workers peddling salvation in the marketplace!

Rabbi Joshua said: I have received a tradition from Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai, who heard it from his teacher, and his teacher [heard it] from his teacher, as a halakhah [given] to Moses from Sinai, that Elijah will not come to pronounce unclean or to pronounce clean, to put away or to bring near, but to put away those brought near by force and to bring near those put away by force....

... In the days of R. Yehoshua ben Chananiah, the evil kingdom (Rome) decreed to rebuild the Temple. Papos and Lulianos (two brothers who were later martyred in Lod) set up [fundraising] tables from Akko to Antioch and supplied the pilgrims from the diaspora with silver, gold and all of their needs. Some Samaritans went [to the emperor] and said, "The king should know that if this rebellious city is built and its walls fortified, 'they will not pay tribute, poll-tax, or land-tax.'" He said to them, "What should I do, I have already made the decree?" They said to him, "Send to say to them [that] they either change the location of the Temple or add or remove five ells from it[s building plans] to suit you, and they will pull back from the process on their own." And all of the [Jewish] people was gathered in Beit Rimon.When the imperial edict arrived, they began to cry [with rage]; they sought to rebel against the emperor. [The sages sought to quell the riot and] said, "Let a wise man go up to quiet the assembled." They said, "Let Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananiah go up, as he is learned in the Torah." Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananiah went up and expounded:A lion was devouring prey [and] a bone got stuck in its throat. It said, 'I will give a reward to anyone who comes and removes it.' An Egyptian heron with a long beak put his beak into the mouth of the lion and extracted the bone. It said to the lion, 'Give me my reward.' The lion said to it, 'Go and boast, "I went into the mouth of the lion in peace and I came out in peace" - and there is no greater reward than that.' So too, it must be enough for us that we entered into this empire in peace and came out in peace! Be grateful that we still have our heads, and do not antagonize the lion any further!

And when these matters, this story involving his peer Rabbi Elazar ben Arakh succesfully studying the Divine Chariot, were recounted before Rabbi Yehoshua, he was walking along the way with Rabbi Yosei the Priest. They said: We too shall expound the Design of the Divine Chariot. Rabbi Yehoshua began expounding. And that was the day of the summer solstice, when there are no clouds in the sky. Yet the heavens became filled with clouds, and there was the appearance of a kind of rainbow in a cloud. And ministering angels gathered and came to listen, like people gathering and coming to see the rejoicing of a bridegroom and bride.

Rebbi Joshua ben Hanania said: I am able to take gourds and watermelons and turn them into rams and deer who would produce rams and deer.Rebbi Yannai said, I was walking on a road in Sepphoris when I saw a Minean (a Christian prosletyzer?) taking a pebble, throwing it into the air, after which it came down transforming itself into a calf. But did not Rebbi 'Lazar say in the name of Rebbi Yose ben Zimra: If all people of the world came together, they could not create one mosquito and bring it to life

Rebbi Eliezer, Rebbi Joshua, and Rebbi Akiba went to bathe at the public baths of Tiberias. A heretic (a Christian prosletyzer?) saw them, said what he said [e.g a spell], and the doors of the cupola caught them from behind with a painful slam. Rebbi Eliezer, an accomplished sorcerer himself, said to Rebbi Joshua: Joshua ben Ḥanania, see what you can do. When this Minean was leaving, Rebbi Joshua used his memory--another specialty of Rabbi Eliezer's--said what he said, and the door trapped him just as smartly. Anybody who entered that bath room inadvertently hit him with his fist, anybody leaving hit him inadvertently when forcing the door open. The Minean told them, undo what you did; they told him, you undo, then we shall undo. They mutually undid their spells and left [the rest of the Muggles] in peace.

But when they left, Rebbi Joshua said to this Minean, is that all you are wise to? He answered, let us go down to the sea. When they had descended to the sea, this Minean said what he said [insert magic spell here] and the sea was split. He told them, is that not what your teacher Moses did to the sea? They answered, do you not agree that our teacher Moses walked through it? He said to them, yes. They told him, enter it. He entered it. Rebbi Joshua commanded the prince of the sea who swallowed him. "Dear me," the Sages may have mused. "Impaled on your own sword, eh Gilderoy?"

The Sages taught: There was once an incident with regard to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya, who was standing on a step on the Temple Mount, and ben Zoma saw him and did not rise before him and greet him, as he was deep in thought. Rabbi Yehoshuasaid to him kindly: From where do you come and where are you going, ben Zoma, i.e., what is on your mind? He said to him: In my thoughts I was looking upon the act of Creation, at the gap between the upper waters and the lower waters, as there is only the breadth of a mere three fingers between them, as it is stated: “And the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2), like a dove hovering over its young without touching them. Rabbi Yehoshua said to his students who had overheard this exchange: Ben Zoma is still outside.

Rav Ashi said: Even according to the one who says that if a rabbi forgoes the honor due him, his honor is forgone, if a Nasi forgoes the honor due him, his honor is not forgone. The Gemara raises an objection: There was an incident involving Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Tzadok, who were reclining at the wedding of Rabban Gamliel’s son. And Rabban Gamliel, who had just been named Nasi of the Sanhedrin at the time, was standing over them and serving them drinks. He gave the cup to Rabbi Eliezer and he would not accept it; he gave it to Rabbi Yehoshua and he accepted it, made kiddush over it, and drank. Rabbi Eliezer said to him: What is this, Yehoshua? We sit and the esteemed Rabban Gamliel stands over us and serves us drinks?Rabbi Yehoshuasaid to him: We found one greater than him who served his guests, as our forefather Abraham was greater than him and he served his guests. Abraham was the greatest man of his generation and it is written about him: “And he stood over them under the tree, and they ate” (Genesis 18:8). And lest you say: His guests appeared to him as ministering angels, and that is why he honored them, in fact they appeared to him only as Arabs. And if so, should not the esteemed Rabban Gamliel stand over us and serve us drinks?Rabbi Tzadok said to them: For how long will you ignore the honor due to the Omnipresent, and deal with the honor of people? You could cite a proof from God Himself. After all, the Holy One, Blessed be He, makes the winds blow, and raises the clouds, and brings the rain, and causes the earth to sprout, and sets a table before each and every creature. And should not the esteemed Rabban Gamliel stand over us and serve us drinks?

This discussion indicates that even a Nasi may forgo the honor due him. Rather, if it was stated, it was stated as follows: Rav Ashi said: Even according to the one who says that if a Nasi forgoes the honor due him, his honor is forgone, if a king forgoes the honor due him, his honor is not forgone. As it is stated: “You shall set a king over you” (Deuteronomy 17:15), which indicates that his fear should be upon you. The people are commanded to fear a king, and therefore it is not permitted for him to forgo the honor due to him.

...As Rabbi Yehoshua went to Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Nuri to study Torah, even thoughRabbi Yehoshua himself was an expert in the halakhot of diverse kinds and found him sitting among the trees, andRabbi Yehoshuastretched a vine from one tree to another and said to him: Rabbi, if there are grapevines here, in the enclosed area, what is the halakha with regard to sowing diverse kinds of seeds here, on the other side of the partition? Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Nurisaid to him: In a case where the trees are only ten cubits apart, it is permitted; however, where they are more than ten cubits apart, it is prohibited.

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya said as follows: In all my days, no person defeated me in debate--except for one woman, one young boy, and one young girl. Which woman? The hostess who taught me better manners! One time I was staying at a certain inn and the hostess prepared me beans. On the first day I ate them and left nothing over, although proper etiquette dictates that one should leave scraps on his plate to show he has not left hungry. On the second day I again ate and left nothing over. On the third day she over-salted them so that they were inedible. As soon as I tasted them, I withdrew my hands from them.She said to me: My Rabbi, why aren’t you eating beans as on the previous days? Not wishing to offend her, I said to her: I have already eaten during the daytime. She said to me: You should have withdrawn your hand from snacks and bread and left room for some protein! She then said to me: My Rabbi, perhaps you did not leave a remainder of food on your plate on the first days, which is why you are leaving over food today. Isn’t this what the Sages said: One need not leave a remainder in the pot [ilpas], but one must leave a remainder on the plate as an expression of etiquette (Tosafot).

Which is the young girl? The one who taught me that just because everyone is getting away with it doesn't mean that you should try it, too. One time I was walking along the path, and the path passed through a field, and I was walking on it. A certain young girl who lived on that farm said to me: My Rabbi, isn’t this a field? One should not walk through a field, so as not to damage the crops growing there. I said to her: Isn’t it a well-trodden path through the field, across which one is permitted to walk? She said to me: Robbers like you have trodden it as flat as a path! (Just because everybody else cuts through our lot doesn't mean that a great leader like you should encourage them by doing so yourself!)

Which isthe young boy? The one who posed me the internationally acknowledged "traveller's riddle." One time I was walking along the path, and I saw a young boy sitting at the crossroads. And I said to him: On which path shall we walk in order to get to the city? He said to me: This path is short and long, and that path is long and short. I walked on the path that was short and long. When I approached the city I found that gardens and orchards surrounded it, and I did not know the trails leading through them to the city. I went back and met the young boy again and said to him: My son, didn’t you tell me that this way is short? He said to me: And didn’t I tell you that it is also long? I kissed him on his head and said to him: Happy are you, O Israel, for you are all exceedingly wise, from your old to your young.

Indeed, Beit Shammai did posken and hold by their own will in the issue of “tzarat ha-bat,” I assure you! (Come and learn (here be a baraita): it was in the days of Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinas that a woman was permitted to perform levirate marriage after being co-wife to a childless uncle/niece marriage, and it was very hard for the rabbis to stomach! (Not that they realized the genetic issues in allowing uncle/niece marriages, but that they held by Beit Hillel, that such a tricky union ought not to be propagated by levirate marriage to anyone even remotely involved.) The issue was difficult for the Sages because the one who was giving this psak was himself a very great sage, and they did not wish to disrespect him by summoning him to court like a common criminal. “Who will go and inform him of the state of things?” they begged. “I will go,” offered Rabbi Yehoshua. And after him came young Rabbi El’azar ben Azaria and after him came Rabbi Akiva: a very illustrious committee.

Thereupon they stood in the courtyard like dopes because Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinas had no doorbell and no porter, and it seemed wretchedly awkward simply to barge into his house without knocking and being invited in. Flawless as these great men were at Yeshiva etiquette, they had no idea what to do with themselves making a home visit to a stranger! Both Rabbi Yehoshua, that blue-collar champion of chips and beers by the telly (see Rosh Hashanah 25), and wealthy Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria, who could hobnob with the Roman governor and charm his way out of antisemitic persecution (see Brachot 27-28), were completely without social instincts in this matter. Eventually, a maid came inside from the courtyard and told Rabbi Dosa, “The Sages of Israel have come to see you!” and he bade her to welcome them in, which she did. So then they came in. ☺

Rabbanit Farber stresses the pathos of this moment, that the bravest and best-educated rabbis of the Sanhedrin hanging nervously around the front door because they have excessive halachic intelligence but are painfully lacking in social intelligence.Rabbi Dosa, who was blind, caught Rabbi Yehoshua by the arm, felt his face, recognized him easily because of his Apert's Syndrome, and seated him with great honor on a gilt couch--the finest in the living room. “Rabbi,” said Rabbi Yehoshua gently. “Bid my colleague, your student behind me also to sit.” Rabbi Dosa did not recognize his guest and whispered, “Who is he?” “This is Rabbi El’azar ben Azaria,” Rabbi Yehoshua introduced them. “Azaria our colleague has a son?” exclaimed the old man, who had been living quietly at home for more than 13 years. (See Brachot 28 and the Passover Haggadah for Rabbi Elazar’s extreme youth: he was scarcely 20 at the time.) “נַעַר הָיִיתִי גַּם זָקַנְתִּי וְלֹא רָאִיתִי צַדִּיק נֶעֱזָב וְזַרְעוֹ מְבַקֶּשׁ לָחֶם,” quoted the old man happily, and seated Rabbi Elazar next to his colleague on the golden couch. “Rabbi,” said Rabbi Yehoshua gently. “Bid my colleague, your student, behind me also to sit.” “And who is this?” asked Rabbi Dosa, who did not realize there was still a third guest to be seated. “This is Akiva ben Yosef,” Rabbi Yehoshua introduced his former student. Said their host, “Are you Akiva ben Yosef whose fame has spread from one end of the world to the other??? Sit, sit my son! Sit, and may there be many more like you in Israel!”

They began talking around various laws with their host, until the conversation came around and arrived at tzarat ha-bat, a daughter’s co-wife. They asked him, “What is the issue of tzarat ha-bat?” Said he, “It is a machloket between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel.” Much surprised to hear the man who was promulgating Shammaist levirate unions state the case so unambiguously, they pressed, “And with whom does the final decision stand?” “With Beit Hillel,” replied their host. The rabbis were baffled. “Is it not in your name that they are saying that the law is according to Beit Shammai?” they stammered?

“Was it,” Rabbi Dosa asked them exasperatedly, “Rabbi Dosa’s name that you heard, or just plain ‘Ben Harkinas’?” “By your life, master,” the committee swore. “We just heard, stam.” Rabbi Dosa let out an almighty sigh. “I have a younger brother,” he explained, “firstborn of Satan that he is! His name is Yonatan [ben Harkinas] and he is a staunch Shammaite. [And if you go after him like you have done for me,] be wary that he does not fence you into defeat with halachot, for he can field 300 reasons why tzarat ha-bat is permitted. [But in spite of all his clever rhetoric], I call to witness heaven and earth that Chaggai the Prophet once sat on this very mortar [preserved ever after in my family as an heirloom] and taught three rulings: a daughter’s co-wife is forbidden in levirate marriage, lands of Ammon and Moav [in Transjordan] donate ma’aser ani to the poor of Israel during the shmita year, and it is permitted to accept and marry converts from among the Karduyim and Tamrodim.”

Who is really blind in this meeting? This scene would play well in ancient China, with its focus on the valuable memories of the old as compared to the brash assumptions of the younger generations. The committee is so sure of itself and is only embarrassed to be delivering a stinging rebuke to such a wise old sage. And here they are rebuking the wrong fellow when their host knows more about the history of these laws then they do!The committee left the house one by one, quite ashamed of their presumption, and scattered throughout the neighborhood to find the elusive Rabbi Yonatan ben Harkinas. Rabbi Akiva bumped into him, and Rabbi Yonatan was just as troublesome with his fearsomely well-founded arguments as they had been warned. Laughed his adversary, “And YOU are Akiva whose fame has spread from one end of the earth to the other? You haven’t as much organizational expertise as a cattle rancher!” Replied Akiva, who had learned humility by his experience at the house of Rabbi Dosa, replies with a humble smile, “Not even as much as a shepherd, sir.”

There is no indication that Rabbi Akiva won the argument or that he succeeded in bringing Yonatan by Hyrcanus to heel. The victory here is Rabbi Akiva’s victory over his own ego, in that he is willing to lose an argument out of respect for the Torah and out of respect for his opponent’s clever reasoning. He doesn’t feel threatened by losing, either, and is able to respond to the dig with gentle humor. Yochi Brandes writes very persuasively about how well matched Rabbi Akiva was with his teacher, Rabbi Yehoshua.

They asked Rabbi Yehoshua: What is the halakha with regard to the rival wife of a daughter? He said to them: It is a matter of dispute between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel. They continued to ask him: And in accordance with whose statement is the halakha? He said to them: Why are you inserting my head between two great mountains, i.e., between two great disputing opinions, between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel? I fear lest these two mountains break my skull.However, I shall testify to you about two great families that were in Jerusalem, the Beit Tzevo’im family who came from the town of Ben Akhmai, and the Beit Kofai family from the town of Ben Mekoshesh: They were the descendants of rival wives who married others, in accordance with the opinion of Beit Hillel, and from them came High Priests who served on the altar.

MISHNA: There was an incident in which two witnesses came to testify about the new moon, and they said: We saw the waning moon in the morning in the east,and that same day we saw the new moon in the evening in the west. Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Nuri said: They are false witnesses, as it is impossible to see the new moon so soon after the last sighting of the waning moon. However, when they arrived in Yavne, Rabban Gamliel, who had already consulted his scientific charts, knew it was Rosh Chodesh and accepted them as witnesses without concern. And there was another incident in which two witnesses came and said: We saw the new moon at its anticipated time, i.e., on the night of the thirtieth day of the previous month; however, on the following night, i.e., the start of the thirty-first, which is often the determinant of a full, thirty-day month, it was not seen. And nevertheless Rabban Gamliel relied on the science and accepted their testimony and established the New Moon on the thirtieth day.

Rabbi Dosa ben Horkinassaid: They are false witnesses; how can witnesses testify that a woman gave birth and the next day her enormous belly is between her teeth? If the new moon was already visible at its anticipated time, how could it not be seen a day later? (This was a rhetorical question: Rabbi Dosa disapproved of the Gamliel dynasty's reliance on science and math and insisted that the new moon was a property of the witness statements, not a property of the lunar cycle.) Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: I see the logic of your statement; Rabban Gamliel is singlehandedly trying to change the halachic system.Rabban Gamliel sent a message to him: I decree against you that you must appear before me with your staff and with your money on the day on which Yom Kippur occurs according to your calculation;according to my calculation, that day is the eleventh of Tishrei, the day after Yom Kippur.

Rabbi Akiva went and foundRabbi Yehoshuadistressed that the head of the Great Sanhedrin was forcing him to desecrate the day that "really" was Yom Kippur. In an attempt to console him, Rabbi Akivasaid toRabbi Yehoshua: I can learn from a verse that everything that Rabban Gamliel did in sanctifying the month is done, i.e., it is valid. As it is stated: “These are the appointed seasons of the Lord, sacred convocations, which you shall proclaim in their season” (Leviticus 23:4). This verse indicates that whether you have proclaimed them at their proper time or whether you have declared them not at their proper time, I have only these Festivals as established by the representatives of the Jewish people. Rabbi Yehoshua then came to Rabbi Dosa ben Horkinas, who said to him: If we come to debate and question the rulings of the court of Rabban Gamliel, we must debate and question the rulings of every court that has stood from the days of Moses until now. As it is stated: “Then Moses went up, and Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, and seventy of the Elders of Israel” (Exodus 24:9). But why were the names of these seventy Elders not specified? Rather, this comes to teach that every set of three judges that stands as a court over the Jewish people has the same status as the court of Moses. Since it is not revealed who sat on that court, apparently it is enough that they were official judges in a Jewish court.

When Rabbi Yehoshua heard that even Rabbi Dosa ben Horkinas maintained that they must submit to Rabban Gamliel’s decision, he took his staff and his money in his hand, and went to Yavne to Rabban Gamliel on the day on which Yom Kippur occurred according to his own calculation. Upon seeing him, Rabban Gamliel stood up and kissed him on his head. He said to him: Come in peace, my teacher and my student. You are my teacher in wisdom and seniority,and you are my student, inasmuch as you accepted my statement, despite disapproving of my scientific process.

§ The Gemara relates: Rabbi Tzadok, an erudite priest, had a firstborn animal. He placed barley in wicker baskets for it, and while it was eating, its lip split, rendering the animal blemished. Rabbi Tzadokcame before Rabbi Yehoshua, to ask whether or not he is suspected of intentionally causing a blemish in his firstborn animal offering. Rabbi Tzadoksaid to him: Didn’t we differentiate between a priest who is a ḥaver (a "friend of the court, i.e. a rabbinic Jew), and a priest who is an am-ha'artez(a non-rabbinic Jew who may be trying to circumvent inconvenient halachot)? Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: Yes, we did. Since you are a well-respected rabbi and a priest, you are deemed credible to testify that this blemish was caused inadvertently. Rabbi Tzadok then came before Rabban Gamliel, the Nasi and head of the academy of Yavne at the time. Rabbi Tzadoksaid to him regarding another court case completely: Do we differentiate between a priest who is a ḥaver and a priest who is an am ha'artez? Rabban Gamliel said to him: No! We do not give "special dispensation" to priests with rabbinic ordination when they are accused of misappropriating Temple property for personal ain. Rabbi Tzadok complained andsaid to him: But Rabbi Yehoshua said to me that yes, we did! Rabban Gamlielsaid toRabbi Tzadok: Wait until the masters of the shields [ba’alei terisin], a reference to the Torah scholars who battle in the war of Torah, enter the study hall, at which point we will discuss this issue.

When the Torah scholars entered the study hall, the questioner stood before everyone present and asked: With regard to blemishes found on a firstborn animal, didn’t we differentiate between a priest who is a friend of the court and a priest who is an ignoramus? Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: No, we did not. Rabban Gamliel said to him: But they said to me in your name that yes, we did differentiate. Rabban Gamliel continued: Yehoshua, stand on your feet and they will testify against you.

Rabbi Yehoshua stood on his feet and said: How should I act? If I were alive andRabbi Tzadok had been run over by a cart and were dead, the living can deny the dead. Now that I am alive and he is alive, how can the living deny the living? However, Rabban Gamliel did not dignify this quip with a response. He thought Rabbi Yehoshua was trying to treat this situation as a joke, and rather than engaging with the supposedly insubordinate rabbi, Rabban Gamliel left the matter hanging in haughty disdain.

For the rest of the afternoon, Rabban Gamliel was standing and lecturing, and Rabbi Yehoshua all the while was standing on his feet, as Rabban Gamliel did not give him permission to resume his seat. This continued for some time, untilall of the people assembled began murmuring and said to Ḥutzpit the meturgeman(human microphone): Stop!, and he stopped the lecture.

The Sages taught: There was an incident involving a student, who came before Rabbi Yehoshua. The student said to him: Is the evening prayer optional or obligatory?Rabbi Yehoshuasaid to him: Optional. The same student came before Rabban Gamliel and said to him: Is the evening prayer optional or obligatory?Rabban Gamlielsaid to him: Obligatory. The student said toRabban Gamliel: But didn’t Rabbi Yehoshua tell me that the evening prayer is optional?Rabban Gamlielsaid to the student: Wait until the “masters of the shields,” a reference to the Torah scholars who battle in the war of Torah, enter the study hall, at which point we will discuss this issue.

When the masters of the shields entered, the questioner stood before everyone present and asked: Is the evening prayer optional or obligatory? Rabban Gamliel said to him: Obligatory. In order to ascertain whether or not Rabbi Yehoshua still maintained his opinion, Rabban Gamliel said to the Sages: Is there any person who disputes this matter? Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: No, no one disagrees. In deference to the Nasi, he did not wish to argue with him publicly (Tziyyun LeNefesh Ḥayya). (Especially after what happened last time.) Rabban Gamliel, however, refused to accept this informal retraction andsaid toRabbi Yehoshua: But was it not in your name that they told me that the evening prayer is optional?Rabban Gamlielsaid toRabbi Yehoshua: Yehoshua, stand on your feet and they will testify against you. Rabbi Yehoshua stood on his feet and said: If I were alive and the student were dead, the living can contradict the dead, and I could deny issuing that ruling. Now that I am alive and he is alive, how can the living contradict the living? I have no choice but to admit that I said it.

In the meantime, Rabban Gamliel, as the Nasi, was sitting and lecturing, and Rabbi Yehoshua all the while was standing on his feet, because Rabban Gamliel had not given him permission to resume his seat. This continued for some time, until all of the people assembled began murmuring and said to Ḥutzpit the meturgeman (human microphone): Stop conveying Rabban Gamliel’s lecture! And he stopped.

The Gemara relates that in their murmuring they said: How long willRabban Gamlielcontinue afflicting him? Last year on Rosh HaShana, he afflicted him;Rabban Gamliel ordered Rabbi Yehoshua to come to him carrying his staff and bag, on the day on which Yom Kippur occurred, according to Rabbi Yehoshua’s calculations. Regarding the firstborn, in the incident involving the question of Rabbi Tzadok, he afflicted him just as he did now, and forced him to remain standing as punishment for his failure to defend his differing opinion. Here too, he is afflicting him. Let us remove him from his position as Nasi.

It was so agreed, but the question arose: Whom shall we establish in his place? Shall we establish Rabbi Yehoshua in his place? The Sages rejected that option because Rabbi Yehoshua was party to the incident for which Rabban Gamliel was deposed. Appointing him would be extremely upsetting for Rabban Gamliel. Shall we establish Rabbi Akiva in his place? The Sages rejected that option because Rabbi Akiva, who descended from a family of converts, would be vulnerable. Perhaps due to Rabban Gamliel’s resentment he would cause him to be divinely punished as he lacks the merit of his ancestors to protect him. Rather, suggested the Sages, let us establish Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya in his place, his outstanding characteristics set him apart from the other candidates. He is wise, rich, and a tenth generation descendant of Ezra. The Gemara explains: He is wise, so ifRabban Gamliel raises a challenge in matters of Torah, he will answer it and not be embarrassed. And he is rich, so if the need arises to pay homage to the Caesar’s court and serve as a representative of Israel to lobby and negotiate, he has sufficient wealth to cover the costs of the long journeys, taxes, and gifts, so he too is able to go and pay homage. And he is a tenth generation descendant of Ezra, so he has the merit of his ancestors, andRabban Gamlielwill be unable to cause him to be punished. They came and said to him: Would the Master consent to being the Head of the Yeshiva? He said to them: I will go and consult with my household. He went and consulted with his wife. She said to him: Do not think this hot-headed committee is doing you any favors. Perhaps they will remove you from office just as they removed Rabban Gamliel. He said to her, based on the folk saying: Let a person use an expensive glass goblet one day and let it break tomorrow, as long as I could use it at the important moment tonight. She said to him: You have no white hair, so those who are not members of this committee will be dismissive of your leadership and ruin your reputation.

Yochi Brandes brings Rabbi Eliezer into the story at this stage. Rabbi Eliezer was known to rely on the supernatural in matters of Torah leadership, as below.

The Gemara relates: That day, he was eighteen years old, a miracle transpired for him and eighteen rows of hair turned white. The Gemara comments: That explains that which Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya said: I am as one who is seventy years old and he did not say: I am seventy years old, because he looked older than he actually was.

It was taught: On that day that they removed Rabban Gamliel from his position and appointed Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya in his place, they also struck down the admissions requirements, and they dismissed the guard at the door and permission was granted to the students to enter. Instead of Rabban Gamliel’s selective approach that asserted that the students must be screened before accepting them into the study hall, the new approach asserted that anyone who seeks to study should be given opportunity to do so. As Rabban Gamliel would proclaim and say: Any student whose insidesare not like his outside,will not enter the study hall. The Gemara relates: On that day several benches were added to the study hall to accommodate the numerous students. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Abba Yosef ben Dostai and the Rabbis disputed this matter. One said: Four hundred benches were added to the study hall. And one said: Seven hundred benches were added to the study hall.

When he saw the tremendous growth in the number of students, Rabban Gamliel was disheartened. He said: Perhaps, Heaven forbid, I prevented Israel from engaging in Torah study. They showed him in his dream white jugs filled with ashes alluding to the fact that the additional students were worthless idlers. The Gemara assures us: That is not the case, but that dream was shown to him to ease his mind so that he would not feel too bad.

About that glorious day of unrestrained discourse and absolute pandemonium, it was taught: the controversial laws that were later collected in Masechet Eduyyot were taught that day, despite this information previously having been reserved for the Nasi's inner circle of judges. And everywhere in the Mishna or in a baraitathat they say: On that day, it is referring to that day. There was no halakha whose ruling was pending in the study hall that they did not explain and arrive at a practical halakhic conclusion.

And even Rabban Gamliel did not avoid the study hall for even one moment, as he held no grudge against those who removed him from office and he participated in the halakhic discourse in the study hall as one of the Sages. As we learned in a mishna: On that day, Yehuda, the Ammonite convert, came before the students in the study hall and he said to them: What is my legal status in terms of entering into the congregation of Israel, i.e., to marry a Jewish woman? Rabban Gamliel said to him: You are forbidden to enter into the congregation. Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: You are permitted to enter into the congregation. ...Rabbi Yehoshua said toRabban Gamliel: Do Ammon and Moab reside in their place? Sennacherib already came and, through his policy of population transfer, scrambled all the nations and settled other nations in place of Ammon. ...Anything that parts from a group parts from the majority.... They immediately permitted him to enter the congregation.

Rabban Gamliel said to himself: Since this is the situation, that the people are following Rabbi Yehoshua, apparently he was right. Therefore, it would be appropriate for me to go and appease Rabbi Yehoshua. When he reachedRabbi Yehoshua’s house, he saw that the walls of his house were black.Rabban Gamlielsaid toRabbi Yehoshua in wonderment: From the walls of your house it is apparent that you are a charcoal burner.Rabbi Yehoshuasaid to him: Woe unto a generation that you are its leader as you are unaware of the difficulties of Torah scholars, how they make a living and how they feed themselves.Rabban Gamlielsaid to him: I insulted you, forgive me.Rabbi Yehoshuapaid him no attention. He asked him again: Do it in deference to my ancestor.He was appeased.

Now that Rabbi Yehoshua was at peace and had put the matter behind him, it was only natural that Rabban Gamliel would be restored to his position. They said: Who will go and inform the Sages? Apparently, they were not eager to carry out the mission that would undo the previous actions and remove Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya from his position as Nasi--exactly as the Nasi's wife had said they would! That particular launderer said to them: I will go. Rabbi Yehoshua sent toto the beit midrash, so that as the washerman returned the cleaned clothes to their owners, he made a great show of trying to return the splendid robes of the Nasi to the absent Rabban Gamliel, saying: The one who always wears the uniform will continue to wear this uniform! Will the one who did not wear the uniform say to the one who wears the uniform, remove your uniform and I will wear it?Rabbi Akiva said to the Sages: Lock the gates so that Rabban Gamliel’s servants will not come and disturb the Sages.

When he heard what happened, Rabbi Yehoshua said: It is best if I go to them myself. He came and knocked on the door. He said to them in much the same language: One who sprinkles pure water on those who are ritually impure, son of one who sprinkles water shall continue to sprinkle water. And it is inappropriate that he who is neither one who sprinkles nor son of one who sprinkles will say to one who sprinkles son of one who sprinkles: Your water is cave water and not the running water required to purify one exposed to ritual impurity imparted by a corpse and your ashes are burnt ashes and not the ashes of a red heifer. Rabbi Akiva said to him: Rabbi Yehoshua, have you been appeased?!? Everything we did was to defend your honor!Early tomorrow you and I will go toRabban Gamliel’s doorway and offer to restore him to his position as Nasi.

The question arose what to do with Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya? They said: What shall we do? Remove him from his position?!? We learned: One elevates to a higher level of sanctity and does not downgrade. Well then, let one Sage lecture one week and the other Sage one week, they will come to be jealous one of another. Rather, Rabban Gamliel will lecture three weeks and Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya will lecture as head of the yeshiva one week. That arrangement was adopted and that is the explanation of the exchange in tractate Ḥagiga: Whose week was it? It was the week of Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya. (Later sources indicate that this system was also untenable, and in the end, Rabban Gamliel became the head of state, acting prince of Judaea, and liason to the Roman governor, while Elazar ben Azaria became Av Beit Din, head of the court and acting head of government.)

One final detail: That student who asked the original question that sparked this entire incident was Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai.

We learned in a mishna there (Kelim 5:10): If one cut an earthenware oven widthwise into segments, and placed sand between each and every segment, Rabbi Eliezer deems it ritually pure. Because of the sand, its legal status is not that of a complete vessel, and therefore it is not susceptible to ritual impurity. And the Rabbis deem it ritually impure, as it is functionally a complete oven. And this is known as the oven of akhnai. The Gemara asks: What is the relevance of akhnai, a snake, in this context? Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said: It is characterized in that manner due to the fact that the Rabbis surrounded it with their statements like this snake, which often forms a coil when at rest, and deemed it impure.

The Sages taught: On that day, when they discussed this matter, Rabbi Eliezer answered all possible answers in the world to support his opinion, but the Rabbis did not accept his explanations from him.
* After failing to convince the Rabbis logically, Rabbi Eliezersaid to them: If the halakha is in accordance with my opinion, this carob tree will prove it. The carob tree was uprooted from its place one hundred cubits, and some say four hundred cubits. The Rabbis said to him: One does not citehalakhicproof from the carob tree. * Rabbi Eliezerthen said to them: If the halakha is in accordance with my opinion, the stream will prove it. The water in the stream turned backward and began flowing in the opposite direction. They said to him: One does not citehalakhicproof from a stream.* Rabbi Eliezerthen said to them: If the halakha is in accordance with my opinion, the walls of the study hall will prove it. The walls of the study hall leaned inward and began to fall, bringing the roof down upon the heads of the terrified students, scholars, and custodial staff alike. Rabbi Yehoshua scolded the walls and said to them: If Torah scholars are contending with each other in matters of halakha, what is the nature of your interruption? The Gemara relates: The walls did not fall because of the deference due Rabbi Yehoshua, but they did not straighten because of the deference due Rabbi Eliezer, and they still remain leaning to this very day.* Rabbi Eliezerthen said to them: If the halakha is in accordance with my opinion, Heaven will prove it. A Divine Voice emerged from Heaven and said: Why are you differing with Rabbi Eliezer, as the halakha is in accordance with his opinion in every place that he expresses an opinion? Rabbi Yehoshua stood on his feet to formally object and said: It is written: “It is not in heaven” (Deuteronomy 30:12).

What is the relevance of the phrase “It is not in heaven” in this context? Rabbi Yirmeya says: Since the Torah was already given at Mount Sinai, we do not regard a Divine Voice, as You already wrote at Mount Sinai, in the Torah: “After a majority to incline” (Exodus 23:2). Since the majority of Rabbis disagreed with Rabbi Eliezer’s opinion, the halakha is not ruled in accordance with his opinion.

Years after, Rabbi Natan encountered Elijah the prophet and said to him: What did the Holy One, Blessed be He, do at that time, when Rabbi Yehoshua issued his declaration? Elijahsaid to him: The Holy One, Blessed be He, smiled and said: My children have triumphed over Me; My children have triumphed over Me.

Rabbi Abba said that Shmuel said: For three years Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel disagreed. These said: The halakha is in accordance with our opinion, and these said: The halakha is in accordance with our opinion. Ultimately, a Divine Voice emerged and proclaimed: Both these and those are the words of the living God. However, the halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Beit Hillel. The Gemara asks: Since both these and those are the words of the living God, why were Beit Hillel privileged to have the halakha established in accordance with their opinion? The reason is that they were agreeable and forbearing, showing restraint when affronted, and when they taught the halakha they would teach both their own statements and the statements of Beit Shammai. Moreover, when they formulated their teachings and cited a dispute, they prioritized the statements of Beit Shammai to their own statements, in deference to Beit Shammai.

It is taught in a baraita with regard to this debate between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel: Rabbi Yehoshua said: I am ashamed of your words, Beit Shammai, for they are nonsensical. Is it possible that there should be a corpse on the first floor, with an earthenware vessel blocking the opening to the second story, and a woman is standing upstairs kneading dough in a metal bowl, and the woman and the bowl are impure for seven days owing to the impurity of the corpse, while the dough inside the trough is pure? Is it possible that there is a metal pitcher [login] full of liquid in the second story, and the pitcher should be impure with impurity of seven days, while the liquids remain pure?One student from among the students of Beit Shammai approached him and said to him: I will tell you Beit Shammai’s reasoning. He said to him: Speak. He said to him: Does an impure vessel serve as a barrier to corpse contamination or does it not serve as a barrier?Rabbi Yehoshuasaid to him: It does not serve as a barrier. The student asked further: And is a vessel of an am ha’aretz pure or impure? He said to him: Impure. The student responded: And if you tell him that his vessel is impure, will he pay attention to you at all?What is more, if you say to him that it is impure, he will say to you: On the contrary, my vessel is pure and yours is impure.And that is Beit Shammai’s reasoning: Food, drink, and earthenware vessels inside a sealed earthenware vessel remain pure, as, since they belong to an am ha’aretz, a ḥaver will not eat the food or borrow the earthenware vessel. Vessels of metal or similar materials may one day be borrowed by a ḥaver, however, and therefore Beit Shammai declared these to be impure.

Rabbi Yehoshua immediately went and prostrated himself on the graves of the great educators of Beit Shammai, and said: I humble myself before you, bones of Beit Shammai. If such clarity and wisdom is found in your rulings that you stated and left unexplained, all the more so must this be the case in your rulings when they were stated and explained. People said of Rabbi Yehoshua: Throughout his days his teeth darkened because of all his fasts that he undertook to atone for having spoken dismissively of Beit Shammai.

And it was taught in a related baraita: Following the death of Rabban Gamliel, Rabbi Yehoshua entered the study hall to annulRabban Gamliel’s statement with regard to fasts. Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Nuri stood on his feet and said: As I see it, the "body" must follow the "head." All of Rabban Gamliel’s life we established the halakha in accordance with his opinion, and now you seek to annul his statement? Yehoshua, no one should listen to you, as the halakha has already been established in accordance withRabban Gamliel. And there was no one who disputed this statement in any way.

A deliberately depressing mishna about the transient nature of normative Jewish practice taught that from the time when Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai died, wisdom ceased. The Sages taught: From the time when Rabbi Eliezer died, it was as if the Torah scroll had been interred, as he had memorized many secrets of the Torah. From the time when Rabbi Yehoshua died, council and deliberate thought ceased, as he had the sharpest mind in Israel. From the time when Rabbi Akiva died, the powerful arm of Torah, meaning the exposition of all the details of Torah scripture, ceased, and the fountains of wisdom were sealed.

Rabbi Joshua said: a begrudging eye, an evil inclination, and hatred for humanity put a person out of the world.