(ח) רַבָּן יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי קִבֵּל מֵהִלֵּל וּמִשַּׁמָּאי. הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, אִם לָמַדְתָּ תוֹרָה הַרְבֵּה, אַל תַּחֲזִיק טוֹבָה לְעַצְמְךָ, כִּי לְכָךְ נוֹצָרְתָּ. חֲמִשָּׁה תַלְמִידִים הָיוּ לוֹ לְרַבָּן יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן, רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר בֶּן הוֹרְקְנוֹס, וְרַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן חֲנַנְיָה, וְרַבִּי יוֹסֵי הַכֹּהֵן, וְרַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן נְתַנְאֵל, וְרַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן עֲרָךְ. הוּא הָיָה מוֹנֶה שִׁבְחָן. רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר בֶּן הוֹרְקְנוֹס, בּוֹר סוּד שֶׁאֵינוֹ מְאַבֵּד טִפָּה. רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן חֲנַנְיָה, אַשְׁרֵי יוֹלַדְתּוֹ. רַבִּי יוֹסֵי הַכֹּהֵן, חָסִיד. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן נְתַנְאֵל, יְרֵא חֵטְא. וְרַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן עֲרָךְ, מַעְיָן הַמִּתְגַּבֵּר. הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, אִם יִהְיוּ כָל חַכְמֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּכַף מֹאזְנַיִם, וֶאֱלִיעֶזֶר בֶּן הוֹרְקְנוֹס בְּכַף שְׁנִיָּה, מַכְרִיעַ אֶת כֻּלָּם. אַבָּא שָׁאוּל אוֹמֵר מִשְּׁמוֹ, אִם יִהְיוּ כָל חַכְמֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּכַף מֹאזְנַיִם וְרַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר בֶּן הוֹרְקְנוֹס אַף עִמָּהֶם, וְרַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן עֲרָךְ בְּכַף שְׁנִיָּה, מַכְרִיעַ אֶת כֻּלָּם:
(8) Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai received [the oral tradition] from Hillel and Shammai.He used to say: if you have learned much Torah, do not claim credit for yourself, because for such a purpose were you created. Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai had five disciples and they were these: Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah, Rabbi Yose, the priest, Rabbi Shimon ben Nethaneel and Rabbi Eleazar ben Arach. He [Rabbi Johanan] 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 woman that gave birth to him; Rabbi Yose, the priest, is a pious man; Rabbi Simeon ben Nethaneel is one that fears sin, And Rabbi Eleazar ben Arach is like a spring that [ever] gathers force. He [Rabbi Yohanan] used to say: if all the sages of Israel were on one scale of the balance and Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus on the other scale, he would outweigh them all. Abba Shaul said in his name: if all the sages of Israel were on one scale of the balance, and Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus also with them, and Rabbi Eleazar ben Arach on the other scale, he would outweigh them all.
All the years of Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai’s life were 120 years: Forty years he was involved in business so that he could achieve financial independence and study Torah, forty years he studied Torah, and forty years he taught Torah.
The Sages said about Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai, the teacher of Rabbi Eliezer: In all his days he never engaged in idle conversation; and he never walked four cubits without engaging in Torah study and without donning phylacteries; and no person ever preceded him into the study hall; and he never slept in the study hall, neither substantial sleep nor a brief nap; and he never contemplated matters of Torah in alleyways filthy with human excrement, as doing so is a display of contempt for the Torah; and he never left anyone in the study hall and exited; and no person ever found him sitting and silent, i.e., inactive; rather, he was always sitting and studying; and only he opened the door for his students, disregarding his own eminent standing; and he never said anything that he did not hear from his teacher; and he never said to his students that the time has arrived to arise and leave the study hall except on Passover eves, when they were obligated to sacrifice the Paschal lamb, and Yom Kippur eves, when there is a mitzva to eat and drink abundantly. And Rabbi Eliezer, his student, accustomed himself to model his conduct after his example.
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, 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 neglect Bible; Mishna; Gemara; halakhot and aggadot; minutiae of the Torah and minutiae of the scribes; the hermeneutical principles of the Torah with regard to a fortiori inferences and verbal analogies; the calculation of the calendrical seasons; and numerology [gimmatreyaot]. In addition, he did not neglect esoteric matters, including the conversation of ministering angels; the conversation of demons, and the conversation of palm trees; parables of launderers, which are folk tales that can be used to explain the Torah; parables of foxes; and more generally, a great matter and a small matter. The Gemara elaborates: A great matter is referring to the secrets of the Design of the Divine Chariot, the conduct of the transcendent universe. A small matter is, for example, halakhot that were ultimately formulated in the framework of the disputes of Abaye and Rava. He did not neglect any of these disciplines so as to fulfill that which is stated: “That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance and that I may fill their treasuries” (Proverbs 8:21), as Rabban Yoḥanan was filled with the disciplines of Torah and wisdom. And if the youngest of them was so prolific, the greatest of them was all the more so prolific. The Gemara relates that the Sages said of Yonatan ben Uzziel, the greatest of Hillel’s students, that when he sat and was engaged in Torah study, the sanctity that he generated was so intense that any bird that flew over him was immediately incinerated.
The Roman authorities then sent Vespasian Caesar against the Jews. He came and laid siege to Jerusalem for three years. There were at that time in Jerusalem these three wealthy people: Nakdimon ben Guryon, ben Kalba Savua, and ben Tzitzit HaKesat.
The Gemara explains their names: Nakdimon ben Guryon was called by that name because the sun shined [nakad] on his behalf, as it is related elsewhere (see Ta’anit 19b) that the sun once continued to shine in order to prevent him from suffering a substantial loss.
Ben Kalba Savua was called this because anyone who entered his house when he was hungry as a dog [kelev] would leave satiated [save’a].
Ben Tzitzit HaKesat was referred to by that name because his ritual fringes [tzitzit] dragged along on blankets [keset], meaning that he would not walk in the street with his feet on the ground, but rather they would place blankets beneath him. There are those who say that his seat [kiseh] was found among the nobles of Rome, meaning that he would sit among them. These three wealthy people offered their assistance.
One of them said to the leaders of the city: I will feed the residents with wheat and barley. And one of them said to leaders of the city: I will provide the residents with wine, salt, and oil. And one of them said to the leaders of the city: I will supply the residents with wood.
The Gemara comments: And the Sages gave special praise to he who gave the wood, since this was an especially expensive gift. As Rav Ḥisda would give all of the keys [aklidei] to his servant, except for the key to his shed for storing wood, which he deemed the most important of them all. As Rav Ḥisda said: One storehouse [akhleva] of wheat requires sixty storehouses of wood for cooking and baking fuel. These three wealthy men had between them enough commodities to sustain the besieged for twenty-one years.
There were certain zealots among the people of Jerusalem. The Sages said to them: Let us go out and make peace with the Romans. But the zealots did not allow them to do this.
The zealots said to the Sages: Let us go out and engage in battle against the Romans. But the Sages said to them: You will not be successful. It would be better for you to wait until the siege is broken.
In order to force the residents of the city to engage in battle, the zealots arose and burned down these storehouses [ambarei] of wheat and barley, and there was a general famine.
... The Gemara relates: Abba Sikkara was the leader of the zealots [biryonei] of Jerusalem and the son of the sister of Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai. Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai sent a message to him: Come to me in secret. He came, and Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai said to him: Until when will you do this and kill everyone through starvation? Abba Sikkara said to him: What can I do, for if I say something to them they will kill me. Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai said to him: Show me a method so that I will be able to leave the city, and it is possible that through this there will be some small salvation. Abba Sikkara said to him: This is what you should do: Pretend to be sick, and have everyone come and ask about your welfare, so that word will spread about your ailing condition. Afterward bring something putrid and place it near you, so that people will say that you have died and are decomposing. And then, have your students enter to bring you to burial, and let no one else come in so that the zealots not notice that you are still light. As the zealots know that a living person is lighter than a dead person. Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai did this.
Rabbi Eliezer entered from one side and Rabbi Yehoshua from the other side to take him out. When they arrived at the entrance of the city on the inside, the guards, who were of the faction of the zealots, wanted to pierce him with their swords in order to ascertain that he was actually dead, as was the common practice. Abba Sikkara said to them: The Romans will say that they pierce even their teacher. The guards then wanted at least to push him to see whether he was still alive, in which case he would cry out on account of the pushing. Abba Sikkara said to them: They will say that they push even their teacher. The guards then opened the gate and he was taken out. When Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai reached there, i.e., the Roman camp, he said: Greetings to you, the king; greetings to you, the king. Vespasian said to him: You are liable for two death penalties, one because I am not a king and yet you call me king, and furthermore, if I am a king, why didn’t you come to me until now? Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai said to him: As for what you said about yourself: I am not a king,
in truth, you are a king, if not now, then in the future. As if you are not a king, Jerusalem will not be handed over into your hand, as it is written: “And the Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one” (Isaiah 10:34). And “mighty one” means only a king, as it is written: “And their mighty one shall be of themselves, and their ruler shall proceed from the midst of them” (Jeremiah 30:21), indicating that “mighty one” parallels “ruler.” And “Lebanon” means only the Temple, as it is stated: “That good mountain and the Lebanon” (Deuteronomy 3:25). And as for what you said with your second comment: If I am a king why didn’t you come to me until now, there are zealots among us who did not allow us to do this. Understanding that Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai was prepared to ask him not to destroy the Temple, Vespasian said to him: If there is a barrel of honey and a snake [derakon] is wrapped around it, wouldn’t they break the barrel in order to kill the snake? In similar fashion, I am forced to destroy the city of Jerusalem in order to kill the zealots barricaded within it. Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai was silent and did not answer. In light of this, Rav Yosef later read the following verse about him, and some say that it was Rabbi Akiva who applied the verse to Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai: “I am the Lord…Who turns wise men backward and makes their knowledge foolish” (Isaiah 44:25). As Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai should have said the following to Vespasian in response: In such a case, we take tongs, remove the snake, and kill it, and in this way we leave the barrel intact. So too, you should kill the rebels and leave the city as it is. In the meantime, as they were talking, a messenger [feristaka] arrived from Rome, and said to him: Rise, for the emperor has died, and the noblemen of Rome plan to appoint you as their leader and make you the next emperor. At that time Vespasian was wearing only one shoe, and when he tried to put on the other one, it would not go on his foot. He then tried to remove the other shoe that he was already wearing, but it would not come off. He said: What is this? Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai said to him: Be not distressed or troubled, for good tidings have reached you, as it is written: “Good tidings make the bone fat” (Proverbs 15:30), and your feet have grown fatter out of joy and satisfaction. Vespasian said to him: But what is the remedy? What must I do in order to put on my shoe? Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai said to him: Have someone with whom you are displeased come and pass before you, as it is written: “A broken spirit dries the bones” (Proverbs 17:22). He did this, and his shoe went on his foot. Vespasian said to him: Since you are so wise, why didn’t you come to see me until now? Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai said to him: But didn’t I already tell you? Vespasian said to him: I also told you what I had to say. Vespasian then said to Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai: I will be going to Rome to accept my new position, and I will send someone else in my place to continue besieging the city and waging war against it. But before I leave, ask something of me that I can give you. Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai said to him: Give me Yavne and its Sages and do not destroy it, and spare the dynasty of Rabban Gamliel and do not kill them as if they were rebels, and lastly give me doctors to heal Rabbi Tzadok. Rav Yosef read the following verse about him, and some say that it was Rabbi Akiva who applied the verse to Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai: “I am the Lord…Who turns wise men backward and makes their knowledge foolish” (Isaiah 44:25), as he should have said to him to leave the Jews alone this time. And why didn’t Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai make this request? He maintained that Vespasian might not do that much for him, and there would not be even a small amount of salvation. Therefore, he made only a modest request, in the hope that he would receive at least that much.
(א) שמעון הצדיק היה משירי אנשי כנסת הגדולה הוא היה אומר על שלשה דברים העולם עומד על התורה ועל העבודה ועל גמילות חסדים. על התורה כיצד הרי הוא אומר (הושע ו) חסד חפצתי ולא זבח ודעת אלהים מעולות מכאן לעולה שהיא חביבה מזבחים מפני שהעולה כולה כליל לאישים שנאמר (ויקרא א) והקטיר הכהן את הכל המזבחה ובמקום אחר הוא אומר (ש״א ז) ויקח שמואל טלה חלב אחד ויעלה עולה כליל לה׳ ותלמוד תורה חביבה לפני המקום מעולות לפי שאם אדם למד תורה יודע דעתו של מקום שנאמר (משלי ב) אז תבין יראת ה׳ ודעת אלהים תמצא. מכאן לחכם שיושב ודורש בקהל שמעלה עליו הכתוב כאילו הקריב חלב ודם לגבי מזבח שני ת״ח שיושבים ועוסקים בתורה ועברה לפניהם כלה או מטה של מת אם בידן כדי צרכן אל יבטלו ממשנתן ואם לאו יעמדו וישנו ויקלסו לכלה וילוו למת :
(ב) מעשה ברבי יהודה בר׳ אלעאי שהיה יושב ושונה לתלמידיו ועברה כלה ואחז בידו כדי צרכו והיה משנין בה עד שעברה הכלה מלפניו:
(ג) שוב מעשה בר׳ יהודה בר׳ אלעאי שהיה יושב ושונה לתלמידיו ועברה כלה לפניו אמר מהו זה אמרו לו כלה שעברה אמר להם בני עמדו והתעסקו בכלה שכן מצינו בהקב״ה שנתעסק בכלה (שנאמר (בראשית ב) ויבן ה׳ אלהים את הצלע) הוא נתעסק בכלה אני עאכ״ו. והיכן מצינו שהקב״ה נתעסק בכלה שנא' ויבן ה׳ אלהים את הצלע שכן קורין בכרכי הים לכלה בנאיתה. מכאן שתקנה הקב״ה לחוה וקשטה ככלה והביאה אצל אדם שנא׳ ויביאה אל האדם. פעם אחת נעשה הקב״ה שושבין לאדם מכאן ואילך אדם קונה שושבין לעצמו (שנאמר עצם מעצמי ובשר מבשרי). פעם אחת נטלה חוה מאדם מכאן ואילך מקדש אדם את בת חבירו :
(ד) על העבודה כיצד כל זמן שעבודת בית המקדש קיימת העולם מתברך על יושביו וגשמים יורדין בזמנן שנאמר (דברים יא) (לאהבה את ה׳ אלהיכם) ולעבדו בכל לבבכם ובכל נפשכם ונתתי מטר ארצכם בעתו יורה ומלקוש [וגו'] ונתתי עשב בשדך לבהמתך. ובזמן שאין עבודת בית המקדש קיימת אין העולם מתברך על יושביו ואין הגשמים יורדין בזמנן שנאמר (שם) השמרו לכם פן יפתה לבבכם וגו' ועצר את השמים ולא יהיה מטר וכן בחגי (ב) הוא אומר שימו נא לבבכם מן היום הזה ומעלה מטרם שום אבן אל אבן בהיכל ה׳ מהיותם בא אל ערמת עשרים והיתה עשרה בא אל היקב לחשף חמשים פורה והיתה עשרים מפני מה לא נאמר ביקב עשרים והיו עשרה כשם שנאמר בחטים כ׳ והיו עשרה לפי שיקב סימן טוב יותר מחטים ללמדך שכל זמן שהיין לוקה סימן רע לכל השנה כולה אמרו ישראל לפני הקב״ה רבש״ע מפני מה אתה עשית לנו כך. השיבן רוח הקודש (שם א) פנה אל הרבה והנה למעט [וגו׳] יען ביתי אשר הוא חרב ואתם רצים איש לביתו ואם אתם תעסקו בעבודת בהמ״ק אני אברך אתכם כבתחילה שנאמר (שם ב) שימו נא לבבכם [וגו'] מיום כ״ד לתשיעי למן היום אשר יוסד היכל ה׳ [וגו'] העוד הזרע במגורה ועד הגפן והתאנה והרמון ועץ הזית לא נשא מן היום הזה אברך הא למדת שאין עבודה שהיא חביבה לפני הקב״ה יותר מעבודת בית המקדש:
(ה) על גמ״ח כיצד הרי הוא אומר (הושע ו) כי חסד חפצתי ולא זבח. העולם מתחלה לא נברא אלא בחסד שנאמר (תהלים פט) כי אמרתי עולם חסד יבנה שמים תכין אמונתך בהם. פעם אחת היה רבן יוחנן בן זכאי יוצא מירושלים והיה רבי יהושע הולך אחריו וראה בית המקדש חרב [אר״י אוי לנו על זה שהוא חרב] מקום שמכפרים בו עונותיהם של ישראל. א״ל בני אל ירע לך יש לנו כפרה אחת שהיא כמותה ואיזה זה גמ״ח שנאמר כי חסד חפצתי ולא זבח שכן מצינו בדניאל איש חמודות שהיה מתעסק בגמ״ח ומה הן גמ״ח שהיה דניאל מתעסק בהם אם תאמר עולות וזבחים מקריב בבבל והלא כבר נאמר (דברים יב) השמר לך פן תעלה עולותיך בכל מקום אשר תראה כי אם במקום אשר יבחר ה׳ באחד שבטיך שם תעלה עולותיך. אלא מה הן גמ״ח שהיה מתעסק בהן היה מתקן את הכלה ומשמחה ומלווה את המת ונותן פרוטה לעני ומתפלל ג׳ פעמים בכל יום ותפלתו מתקבלת ברצון שנאמר (דניאל ו) ודניאל כדי ידע די רשים כתבא על לביתיה וכוין פתיחן ליה בעיליתה נגד ירושלם וזימנין תלתה ביומא הוא ברך על ברכוהי ומצלא ומודא קדם אלהה כל קבל די הוא עבד מן קדמת דנה. וכשבא אספסיינוס להחריב את ירושלים אמר להם שוטים מפני מה אתם מבקשים להחריב את העיר הזאת ואתם מבקשים לשרוף את בית המקדש וכי מה אני מבקש מכם אלא שתשגרו לי קשת אחת או חץ אחת ואלך [לי] מכם. אמרו לו כשם שיצאנו על שנים ראשונים שהם לפניך והרגנום כך נצא לפניך ונהרגך. כיון ששמע רבן יוחנן בן זכאי שלח וקרא לאנשי ירושלים ואמר להם בני מפני מה אתם מחריבין את העיר הזאת ואתם מבקשים לשרוף את בהמ״ק וכי מהו מבקש מכם הא אינו מבקש מכם אלא קשת אחת או חץ אחת וילך לו מכם. אמרו לו כשם שיצאנו על שנים שלפניו והרגנום כך נצא עליו ונהרגהו. היו לאספסיינוס אנשים שרויין כנגד חומותיה של ירושלים וכל דבר ודבר שהיו שומעין היו כותבין על החצי וזורקין חוץ לחומה לומר שרבן יוחנן בן זכאי מאוהבי קיסר הוא. [וכך היה מזכיר לאנשי ירושלים] וכיון שאמר [להם] רבי יוחנן בן זכאי יום אחד ושנים ושלשה ולא קבלו ממנו שלח וקרא לתלמידיו לר׳ אליעזר ורבי יהושע אמר להם בני עמדו והוציאוני מכאן עשו לי ארון ואישן בתוכו ר׳ אליעזר אחז בראשו ר׳ יהושע אחז (ברגליו והיו מוליכין אותו עד שקיעת החמה עד שהגיעו אצל שערי ירושלים. אמרו להם השוערים מי הוא זה אמרו להן מת הוא וכי אין אתם יודעין שאין מלינים את המת בירושלים אמרו להן אם מת הוא הוציאוהו) והוציאוהו (והיו מוליכין אותו עד שקיעת החמה) עד שהגיעו אצל אספסיינוס פתחו הארון ועמד לפניו. אמר לו אתה הוא ריב״ז שאל מה אתן לך א״ל איני מבקש ממך אלא יבנה אלך ואשנה בה לתלמידי ואקבע בה תפלה ואעשה בה כל מצות [האמורות בתורה] א״ל לך וכל מה שאתה רוצה לעשות עשה. א״ל רצונך שאומר לפניך דבר אחד א״ל אמור. א״ל הרי את עומד במלכות. מניין אתה יודע. א"ל כך מסור לנו שאין בהמ״ק נמסר ביד הדיוט אלא ביד המלך שנאמר (ישעיה י) ונקף סבכי היער בברזל והלבנון באדיר יפול. אמרו לא היה (יום אחד שנים) שלשה ימים עד שבא אליו דיופלא מעירו שמת קיסר ונמנו עליו לעמוד במלכות. הביאו לו קשת של זירים ותיפ״א כנגד החומה של ירושלים הביאו לו נסרים של ארז ונתן לתוך קשת של זירים והיה מכה בהן על החומה עד שפורץ בו פירצה הביאו ראש חזיר ונתנו לתוך קשת של זירים והיה משליך אותו כלפי איברים שע״ג המזבח. באותה שעה נלכדה ירושלים והיה רבן יוחנן בז זכאי יושב ומצפה וחרד (כנגד מקום) שהיה עלי יושב ומצפה שנאמר (ש״א ד) והנה עלי יושב על הכסא יד דרך מצפה כי היה לבו חרד על ארון האלהים. כיון ששמע רבן יוחנן בן זכאי שהחריב את ירושלים ושרף את בהמ״ק באש קרע בגדיו וקרעו תלמידיו את בגדיהם והיו בוכין וצועקין וסופדין ואומר (זכריה יא) פתח לבנון דלתיך [זה בהמ״ק] ותאכל אש בארזיך אלו כהנים (גדולים) שהיו במקדש שהיו [נוטלים] מפתחותן בידן וזורקין כלפי מעלה ואומרים לפני הקב״ה רבש״ע הילך מפתחותיך שמסרת לנו הואיל ולא היינו גזברין נאמנין לעשות מלאכת המלך ולאכול משלחן המלך . אברהם יצחק ויעקב וי״ב שבטים היו בוכין וצועקין וסופדין ואומרים (שם) הילל ברוש כי נפל ארז אשר אדירים שודדו [הילל בראש כי נפל ארז זה בית המקדש אשר אדירים שודדו זה אברהם יצחק ויעקב וי״ב שבטים] הילילו אלוני בשן זה משה אהרן ומרים כי ירד יער הבציר זה קודש הקדשים קול יללת הרועים כי [שדדה] אדרתם זה דוד ושלמה בנו קול שאגת כפירים כי שודד גאון הירדן זה אליהו ואלישע:
(ו) בשלשה דברים שינה הקב״ה את בני אדם זה מזה אלו הן בקול בנעימה ובמראה. כיצד מלמד ששינה הקב״ה קולות בני אדם זה מזה שאלמלא (לא) שינה הקב״ה קולות בני אדם זה מזה כבר היתה זנות הרבה בעולם כיון שאדם יוצא מתוך ביתו [יבא אחר] ויכבש את אשתו בתוך ביתו לפיכך שינה הקב״ה קולות בני אדם זה מזה קולו של זה אינו דומה לקולו של זה. בנעימה כיצד [מלמד ששינה הקב״ה נעימות בני אדם זה מזה] שאלמלא שינה הקב״ה נעימות בני אדם זה מזה היו מתקנאין זה בזה לפיכך שינה הקב״ה נעימות בני אדם של זה מזה נעימה של זה אינו דומה לזה ושל זה אינו דומה לזה. במראה כיצד מלמד ששינה הקב״ה מראה בני אדם זה מזה שאלמלא (לא) שינה הקב״ה מראה פנים זה מזה לא היו בנות ישראל מכירות את בעליהן ואין הזכרים מכירין את נשותיהן לפיכך שינה הקב״ה את מראה פנים זה מזה:
((5) On acts of kindness. How so? It says (Hosea 6:6), “For I desire kindness, not a well-being offering.” The world was created from the very beginning with kindness, as it says (Psalms 89:3), “For I have said that the world will be built on kindness, and the heavens will be established on Your faith.” Once, Rabban [our rabbi] Yohanan ben Zakkai, left Jerusalem, and Rabbi Yehoshua followed after him. And he saw the Holy Temple destroyed. [Rabbi Yehoshua said: Woe to us, for this is destroyed –] the place where all of Israel’s sins are forgiven!2I.e., via the bringing of sacrifices. [Rabbi Yohanan] 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.” And so we find that Daniel, the precious man, would busy himself with acts of kindness. And what were these acts of kindness that he was so busy with? If you would say that in fact he did bring burnt offerings and other sacrifices in Babylon, doesn’t it already say (Deuteronomy 12:13–14), “Take care not to bring burnt offerings in just any place you see, but only in the place that the Eternal will choose in one of your tribal territories shall you bring burnt offerings.” So what were the acts of kindness he busied himself with? He would help a bride and bring her happiness, he would escort the dead [in a funeral procession], and he would always give a perutah to a poor person. And he would pray three times a day, and his prayers would be gladly accepted, as it says (Daniel 6:11), “When Daniel learned that [the ban against worshiping God] had been put in writing, he went to his house, in whose upper chamber he had windows made facing Jerusalem, and three times a day he knelt down, prayed, and made a confession to his God, as he had always done.”
And when Vespasian came to destroy Jerusalem, he said to [the inhabitants]: Fools! Why do you seek to destroy this city and burn the Holy Temple? What do I request of you? Only that you give me one bow or one arrow [as a sign of your surrender], and then I will leave you be. They said to him: Just as we went out [to battle] against the two who came before you, and killed them, so will we go out against you and kill you.
When Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai heard this, he sent for the men of Jerusalem and said to them: My children, why do seek to destroy this city and burn the Holy Temple? For what did he ask of you but one bow or one arrow, and then he would leave you be. They said to him: Just as we went out [to battle] against the two who came before him, and we killed them, so will we go out against him and kill him.
Vespasian had men lurking within the walls of Jerusalem, and everything they heard they would would write on an arrow and shoot over the wall. So they reported that Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai supported the Caesar. [Thus would he remind the men of Jerusalem, i.e., plead with them to acquiesce to Vespasian.]
And after Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai said this [to them] day after day, and saw that they would not accept his advice, he sent for his students, Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua, and said to them: My sons, take me out of this place! Make me a coffin, and I will sleep in it. So Rabbi Eliezer held [the coffin] on one end, and Rabbi Yehoshua held it (on the other, and they carried him until the sun set, right up to the gates of Jerusalem. The gatekeepers said to them: What is this? They replied: A dead body – and you know that a corpse cannot remain overnight in Jerusalem. They said: If that is a dead body, go ahead and take it out [of the city]). So they took him out (and they were carrying him until sunset) until they came to Vespasian, and they opened the coffin, and [Rabbi Yohanan] got up and stood before him.
He said: So you are Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai. Ask for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you. He replied: I ask nothing from you except for Yavneh. I will go there and teach my students, and I will establish prayer, and I will do all the mitzvot [mentioned in the Torah]. [Vespasian] replied: Go. All that you wish to do, you may do. [Rabbi Yohanan] said to him: Do you want me to tell you one thing? He said: Go ahead. He said to him: Take note; soon you will ascend to the kingship. How do you know? [Vespasian] said to him. [Rabbi Yohanan answered:] We have a tradition that the Holy Temple will not be taken by an ordinary man, but only by a king. For it says (Isaiah 10:34), “And the Lebanon tree will fall in its majesty.”
They say that it was not (one or two or) three days until a letter came from [Vespasian’s] city announcing that the Caesar had died and they were appointing him to ascend to the kingship. They brought him a catapult and positioned it toward the walls of Jerusalem. Then they brought him cedar posts, put them in the catapult, and fired them against the wall until they made a breach. Then they brought him the head of a pig, put it in the catapult, and flung it toward the sacrificial portions that were on the [Temple] altar.
While Jerusalem was being taken, Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai was sitting and waiting, and he trembled (before God), just as Eli sat and watched, as it says (I Samuel 4:13), “There was Eli, sitting on a seat on the side of the road, waiting, and his heart trembled because of the Ark of God.” When Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai heard that Jerusalem was destroyed and the Holy Temple was burning in flames, he tore his clothes, and his students tore their clothes, and they cried and screamed and lamented.
It says (Zechariah 11:1), “Open your doors, Lebanon [i.e., the Holy Temple], and let fire consume your cedars” – these are the (high) priests who were in the Sanctuary, who [took] their keys in their hands and threw them toward the heavens, and said before the Holy Blessed One: Master of the World! Here are Your keys, which You entrusted to us. For we were not faithful custodians doing the King’s work and eating from the King’s table.
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the twelve tribes, were also crying and screaming and lamenting, and they said (Zechariah 11:2), “Howl, cypresses, for cedars have fallen! How the mighty are ravaged!” [“Howl, cypresses, for cedars have fallen!” – these are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the twelve tribes.] “Howl, you oaks of Bashan” – these are Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. “For the stately forest is laid low” – that is the Holy of Holies. “The voice of wailing shepherds, for their fields [have been ravaged]” (Zechariah 11:3) – these are David and his son Solomon. “The sound of the lions roaring, for the jungle of the Jordan has been ravaged” – these are Elijah and Elisha.
Eicha Rabbah 1:31
Three and a half years did Vespasian encircle Jerusalem. And he had four dukes with him,The duke of Arabia, The duke of Africa The duke of Alexandria, The duke of Palestine The duke of Arabia is named “praise” ( קילוס ) and “Panegyrist” ( פנגר ). And in Jerusalem, there were three/four councilmen, each one of them being able to sustain nourishment for the city for ten years.
And there was Ben Batiach, the son of the sister of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai who was in charge of the storehouses And he burnt all the storehouses Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai heard it, He said “Vey”! They went and said to Ben Batiach: “Your uncle said Vey! [Ben Battiah] sent and had brought [Rabbi Yohanan]. He said to him: “Why did you say Vey”? He said to him: “I didn’t say Vey but Wow ( וה )! [i.e., I did not disapprove, but approve].” He said to him: “You said ‘Wow!’? And why did you say ‘Wow!’?” He said to him: “Because you burnt all the storehouses, and I said as long as the storehouses exist the souls will not engage in battle.”
Between a Vey! and a Wow! Rabbi Yohanan was saved.
After three days Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai went up to walk in the market, And he saw that they boiled straw and drank its water. He said: “men that cook straw and drink its water, can they stand up to the army of Vespasianus?”
He said: “the essence of the issue is to get out of here.” He sent to Ben Battiah: “Come to me secretly.” [Rabbi Yohanan] said to him: “Until when will you do so and kill the people with famine?” He said to him: “We decreed that no man should go out except for a deceased” He said: “Bring me out in the likeness of a deceased.” [Rabbi Yohanan] pretended to be dead, they placed him in a coffin. They carried him, Rabbi Eliezer in the front, and Rabbi Joshua at the feet, and Ben Battiah walked before them in rent garments. As they reached [the gate, the guards] wanted to pierce him , and they did not let him.51 [Ben Batiach] said to them: “Do you want that the enemies say ‘even with their master) they had no pity?’” [They bring out Rabbi Yohanan through a gate and place him in a cemetery.]
Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakai went out to walk in the camp of Vespasianus. He said to them: “Where is the king?” They went and said to Vespasianus: “A Jew wants to salute you.” He said to them: “Bring him!” As [Rabbi Yohanan] came, he said to him: “Biba Mari Eplator” [Vespasian] said to him: “You addressed me with an address for a king, and I am not king, and if the king hears (it) he will kill me [Rabbi Yohanan] said to him: “If you are not king now, in the end you will be king, since this temple is not burned by any other than by the hands of a king, as it is said And Lebanon will fall by a mighty one.” (Isaiah 10.32)
They took him and placed him behind of seven latticed gates And they asked him: “What is the hour of the night”? And he told them. “What is the hour of the day”? And he told them.
Where from did Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakai know? From the strength of his studies.
After three days Vespasianus went to bathe in Gofna As [Vespasian] washed and put on one shoe, good news was brought, and they announced to him that Nero had died and the sons of Rome had made him king.
He wanted to put on the other shoe, and it would not go up He sent for R. Yohanan and said: “Will you not tell me why all these days I wore two shoes and I could put them on, but now I can put on one and one I cannot put on?” He said to him: “You have been informed of good news, as it is written, ‘A good report fattens the bones.’” (Proverbs 15:30) He said to him: “What must I do to put it on?” He said to him: “If you have somebody whom you hate or who owes you, let him pass in front of you, and your flesh will shrink, as it is written, ‘A broken spirit dries the bones.’” (ibid. 15:22)
They started to tell parables [to Rabbi Yohanan]. “A vat in which a snake nests, what does one do to it?” He said to them: “One brings a charmer and charms the snake, and leaves the cask (intact).” Panegyrist said: “One kills the snake and breaks the cask.” “A tower ( מגדל ) in which a snake nests, what does one do to it?” He said to them: “One brings a charmer and charms the snake, and leaves the cask (intact)” Panegyrist said: “One kills the snake and burns the tower!” Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai said to Panegyrist: “Do all neighbors who do evil do it to their neighbors? Instead of being a defender you are an accuser [Panegyrist] said to him: “I want your welfare, since as long as this house is standing, the kingdoms will attack you, if I burn this temple, the kingdoms will not attack you. Rabbi Yochanan said to him: “The hearer knows if it is woven ( לעקל ) or crooked ”.(לעקלקלות)
Vespasianus said to Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai: “Ask me for something and I will do it.” He said to him: “I want that you to abandon this city and to go away.” He said to him: “Did the sons of Rome make me king so that I would abandon this city? Ask me something [realistic], and I will do it!” He said to him: “I want you to leave the western gate which goes to Lod and everyone who goes out until the fourth hour will be spared.” As he conquered [the city], he said to him: “Do you have any friends or relative that is close to you? Send and bring him out before the army will go up.
He send for Rabbi Eliezer and for Rabbi Joshua to bring out Rabbi Tsadoq “the Just”. They went and found him at the city gate As he came, Rabbi Yochanan stood up before him. Vespasianus said to him: “Before this emaciated old man you stand?” He said to him: “By your life, if there had been one morelike this one and an army twice the size would have been with you, you could not have conquered [the city].” He said to him: “What is his strength ? He said to him: “That he would eat one fig and teach on it one hundred peraqin.” He said to him: “Why is he so thin?” He said to him: “From the intensity of his abstinences and fasts.” [Vespasian] sent and brought physicians who fed him on small portions of food and doses of liquid until his body returned to him
As he conquered the city he divided the four ramparts to the four dukes, and the western gate went to Panegyrist. And it was decreed from heaven that it would not ever be destroyed. Why? Because the Shekhina is in the west They destroyed theirs and [Panegyrist] did not destroy his. He send and he was brought. He said to him: “Why did you not destroy yours”? He said to him: “By your life! For the praise of the kingdom ( have I done it.63 Since if I had destroyed [it], no one would have known what you destroyed. And if creatures see it, they will say: ‘see the might of Vespasian, what he would destroy.’” He said to him: “Enough, since you have spoken well, but you have transgressed my orders. You will climb to the top of the temple mount and jump from it. If you will live, you shall live, and if you die, you shall die.” He climbed and jumped from it and died. And he was reached by the curse of Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakai.
The mishna teaches: From the time that the Temple was destroyed, Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai instituted that partaking from the new crop on the day of waving the omer, the sixteenth of Nisan, is completely prohibited and one may partake of the new crop only the next day. The Gemara analyzes this statement. What is the reason for this? It is that soon the Temple will be rebuilt, and people will say: Last year [eshtakad], when there was no Temple, didn’t we eat of the new crop as soon as the eastern horizon was illuminated, as the new crop was permitted immediately upon the advent of the morning of the sixteenth of Nisan? Now, too, let us eat the new grain at that time. And they would not know that last year, when there was no Temple, the illuminating of the eastern horizon permitted one to eat the new grain immediately, but now that the Temple has been rebuilt and there is an omer offering, it is the omer that permits the consumption of the new grain. When the Temple is standing, the new grain is not permitted until the omer offering has been sacrificed.
MISHNA: At first, during the Temple era, the lulav was taken in the Temple all seven days of Sukkot, and in the rest of the country outside the Temple, it was taken only one day, on the first day of the Festival. After the Temple was destroyed, Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai instituted that the lulav should be taken even in the rest of the country all seven days, in commemoration of the Temple. And for similar reasons, Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai instituted that for the entire day of waving the omer offering, i.e., the sixteenth of Nisan, eating the grain of the new crop is prohibited. By Torah law, when the Temple is standing the new grain may not be eaten until after the omer offering is brought on the sixteenth of Nisan, usually early in the morning. When the Temple is not standing it may be eaten from the time that the eastern horizon is illuminated at daybreak. However, Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai instituted a prohibition against eating the new grain throughout the entire sixteenth of Nisan, until the seventeenth, to commemorate the Temple. GEMARA: The Gemara asks: And from where do we derive that one performs actions in commemoration of the Temple? As the verse states: “For I will restore health to you, and I will heal you of your wounds, said the Lord; because they have called you an outcast: She is Zion, there is none who care for her” (Jeremiah 30:17). This verse teaches by inference that Jerusalem requires caring through acts of commemoration. § The mishna taught: Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai also instituted that for the entire day of waving the omer offering, eating the grain of the new crop is prohibited. The Gemara asks: What is the reason for this ordinance? The reasoning is that soon the Temple will be rebuilt and people will say: Last year, when the Temple was in ruins, didn’t we eat from the new crop as soon as the eastern horizon was illuminated on the morning of the sixteenth of Nisan, as the new crop was permitted immediately? Now too, let us eat the new grain at that time. And they do not know that last year, when there was no omer, the eastern horizon illuminating, i.e., the morning of the sixteenth of Nisan, served to permit the consumption of the new grain immediately. However, now that the Temple has been rebuilt and there is an omer offering, it is the omer that permits the consumption of the new grain. When the Temple is standing, the new grain is not permitted until the omer offering has been sacrificed. The Gemara clarifies: In this scenario, when is it that the Temple was built? If we say that it was rebuilt on the sixteenth of Nisan, then the Temple was not standing in the morning and therefore the eastern horizon illuminating indeed rendered eating the new grain permitted, as it was not yet possible to bring the omer offering. Rather, you must say that it was rebuilt on the fifteenth of Nisan or on some earlier date, in which case the new grain would not become permitted by the illumination of the eastern horizon. In that scenario, from midday onward let it be permitted to eat the new grain, as didn’t we learn in a mishna in tractate Menaḥot: The people distant from Jerusalem, who are unaware of the precise time when the omer was brought, are permitted to eat the new grain from midday onward, because the members of the court are not indolent with regard to the omer offering and would certainly have sacrificed it by midday. If so, now too, it should be permitted to eat the new grain beginning at that time. Why did Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai prohibit it for the entire day? The Gemara answers: This ordinance was necessary only in a case where the Temple was rebuilt on the fifteenth adjacent to sunset. Alternatively, in a situation where the Temple was rebuilt at night, on the evening of the sixteenth, and there was no opportunity to cut the omer that night. In either case there is insufficient time to complete all the preparations so that the offering can be sacrificed by noon the next day. If people eat the new grain at midday, they will have retroactively transgressed a prohibition. Therefore, Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai instituted that the new grain should be prohibited for the entire day of the sixteenth.
When Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Zakkai fell ill his students entered to visit him. When he saw them, he began to cry. His students said to him: Lamp of Israel, the right pillar, the mighty hammer, the man whose life’s work is the foundation of the future of the Jewish people, for what reason are you crying? With a life as complete as yours, what is upsetting you? He said to them: I cry in fear of heavenly judgment, as the judgment of the heavenly court is unlike the judgment of man. If they were leading me before a flesh and blood king whose life is temporal, who is here today and dead in the grave tomorrow; if he is angry with me, his anger is not eternal and, consequently, his punishment is not eternal; if he incarcerates me, his incarceration is not an eternal incarceration, as I might maintain my hope that I would ultimately be freed. If he kills me, his killing is not for eternity, as there is life after any death that he might decree. Moreover, I am able to appease him with words and even bribe him with money, and even so I would cry when standing before royal judgment. Now that they are leading me before the supreme King of Kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He, Who lives and endures forever and all time; if He is angry with me, His anger is eternal; if He incarcerates me, His incarceration is an eternal incarceration; and if He kills me, His killing is for eternity. I am unable to appease Him with words and bribe him with money. Moreover, but I have two paths before me, one of the Garden of Eden and one of Gehenna, and I do not know on which they are leading me; and will I not cry? His students said to him: Our teacher, bless us. He said to them: May it be His will that the fear of Heaven shall be upon you like the fear of flesh and blood. His students were puzzled and said: To that point and not beyond? Shouldn’t one fear God more? He said to them: Would that a person achieve that level of fear. Know that when one commits a transgression, he says to himself: I hope that no man will see me. If one is as concerned about avoiding shame before God as he is before man, he will never sin. The Gemara relates that at the time of his death, immediately beforehand, he said to them: Remove the vessels from the house and take them outside due to the ritual impurity that will be imparted by my corpse, which they would otherwise contract. And prepare a chair for Hezekiah, the King of Judea, who is coming from the upper world to accompany me.
Rav Yitzḥak bar Shmuel said in the name of Rav: The night consists of three watches, and over each and every watch the Holy One, Blessed be He sits and roars like a lion, because the Temple service was connected to the changing of these watches (Tosefot HaRosh), and says: “Woe to Me, that due to their sins I destroyed My house, burned My Temple and exiled them among the nations of the world.” Incidental to the mention of the elevated significance of the night watches, the Gemara cites a related story: It was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yosei said: I was once walking along the road when I entered the ruins of an old, abandoned building among the ruins of Jerusalem in order to pray. I noticed that Elijah, of blessed memory, came and guarded the entrance for me and waited at the entrance until I finished my prayer. When I finished praying and exited the ruin, Elijah said to me, deferentially as one would address a Rabbi: Greetings to you, my Rabbi. I answered him: Greetings to you, my Rabbi, my teacher. And Elijah said to me: My son, why did you enter this ruin? I said to him: In order to pray. And Elijah said to me: You should have prayed on the road. And I said to him: I was unable to pray along the road, because I was afraid that I might be interrupted by travelers and would be unable to focus. Elijah said to me: You should have recited the abbreviated prayer instituted for just such circumstances. Rabbi Yosei concluded: At that time, from that brief exchange, I learned from him, three things: I learned that one may not enter a ruin; and I learned that one need not enter a building to pray, but he may pray along the road; and I learned that one who prays along the road recites an abbreviated prayer so that he may maintain his focus. And after this introduction, Elijah said to me: What voice did you hear in that ruin?
I responded: I heard a Heavenly voice, like an echo of that roar of the Holy One, Blessed be He (Maharsha), cooing like a dove and saying: Woe to the children, due to whose sins I destroyed My house, burned My Temple, and exiled them among the nations.
And Elijah said to me: By your life and by your head, not only did that voice cry out in that moment, but it cries out three times each and every day. Moreover, any time that God’s greatness is evoked, such as when Israel enters synagogues and study halls and answers in the kaddish prayer, May His great name be blessed, the Holy One, Blessed be He, shakes His head and says: Happy is the king who is thus praised in his house. When the Temple stood, this praise was recited there, but now: How great is the pain of the father who exiled his children, and woe to the children who were exiled from their father’s table, as their pain only adds to that of their father (Rabbi Shem Tov ibn Shaprut).