From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Talmudic Academies in the Land of Israel
Talmudic Academies in the Land of Israel
Rabbinical Eras Hillel, the venerable Johanan ben Zakkai, founded a new
home for Jewish Law in Yavne (Jamnia), and thus evoked
• Chazal a new intellectual life from the ruins of a fallen political
• Zugot
• Tannaim existence. The seat of the Patriarchate at Yavne, which
• Amoraim at once constituted itself the successor of the Great San-
• Savoraim hedrin of Jerusalem by putting into practise the ordi-
• Geonim nances of that body as far as was necessary and practica-
• Rishonim ble, attracted all those who had escaped the national cat-
• Acharonim
astrophe and who had become prominent by their char-
acter and their learning. Moreover, it reared a new gen-
The Talmudic Academies in the Land of Israel were
eration of similarly gifted men, whose task it became to
yeshivot that served as centers for Jewish scholarship
overcome the evil results of still another dire catastro-
and the development of Jewish law in the Levant and had
phe—the unfortunate Bar Kokhba war with its melan-
a great and lasting impact on the development of world
choly ending. During the interval between these two dis-
Jewry.
asters (56-117), or, more accurately, until the "War of
According to an oft-quoted tradition of Hoshayah, (a
Quietus" under Trajan, the school at Yavne was the rec-
collector of traditions of the tannaim, who lived in Cae-
ognized tribunal that gathered the traditions of the past
sarea in the first half of the third century), there existed
and confirmed them; that ruled and regulated existing
in Jerusalem 480 synagogues, all of which were destroyed
conditions; and that sowed the seeds for future devel-
with the Temple. Each of these synagogues was provided
opment. Next to its founder, it owed its splendor and
with a school for Biblical instruction, as well as one for
its undisputed supremacy especially to the energetic Ga-
instruction in the oral law. Besides these schools of the
maliel II, a great-grandson of Hillel. To him flocked the
lower and middle grades mentioned by the tradition
pupils of Johanan ben Zakkai and other masters and stu-
(which is not to be too readily discredited, though it may
dents of the Law and of Biblical interpretation. Though
have exaggerated their number for the sake of a good
some of them taught and labored in other places — Eliez-
round figure), there existed in Jerusalem a sort of univer-
er ben Hyrcanus in Lydda; Joshua ben Hananiah in Pe-
sity or academy—an institution composed of the scribes
ki’in; Ishmael ben Elisha in Kefar Aziz, Akiva in Bene
(sages and teachers), whose pupils, having out-grown the
Barak; Hananiah ben Teradyon in Siknin — Yavne re-
schools, gathered around them for further instruction
mained the center; and in "the vineyard" of Yavne, as
and were called, therefore, talmidei hakhamim ("disciples
they called their place of meeting, they used to assemble
of the wise"). There is, however, no certain information
for joint action.
as to the organization of this institute, or of the relation
in which it stood to the Great Sanhedrin, whose Pharisee
members certainly belonged to it. The most important Levantine Judaism Restored
details of its activity are afforded by the accounts con-
In the fertile ground of the Yavne Academy the roots of
cerning the schools ("houses") of Hillel and Shammai,
the literature of tradition — Midrash and Mishnah, Tal-
whose controversies and debates belong to the last cen-
mud and Aggadah — were nourished and strengthened.
tury of the period of the Second Temple, and relate not
There, too, the way was paved for a systematic treat-
only to the Halakhah, but also to questions of Biblical ex-
ment of Halakhah and exegesis. In Yavne were held the
egesis and religious philosophy. For example, it is said
decisive debates upon the canonicity of certain Biblical
that the schools of Shammai and Hillel occupied two and
books; there the Jewish liturgy received its permanent
a half years in discussing the question whether it had
form; and there, probably, was edited the Targum on the
been better for man not to have been created.[1]
Pentateuch, which became the foundation for the later
Targum named after Onkelos. It was Yavne that inspired
Council of Jamnia and sanctioned the new Greek language version of the Bi-
ble — that of Akylas (Aquila of Sinope). The events that
Main article: Council of Jamnia
preceded and followed the great civil revolution under
The Roman destruction of Jerusalem put as abrupt an end
Bar Kokhba (from the year 117 to about 140) resulted
to the disputes of the schools as it did to the contests
in the decay and death of the school at Yavne. Accord-
between political parties. It was then that a disciple of
ing to tradition, the Sanhedrin was removed from Yavne
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Talmudic Academies in the Land of Israel
to Usha, from Usha back to Yavne, and a second time Hanina’s lifetime the last migration of the Sanhedrin oc-
from Yavne to Usha.[2] This final settlement in Usha in- curred. His pupil, Johanan b. Nappaha, settled in Tiberias,
dicates the ultimate spiritual supremacy of Galilee over and the patriarch Judah II (grandson of Judah I) soon
Judea, the latter having become depopulated by the war found himself compelled to remove to that city. The im-
of Hadrian. Usha remained for a long time the seat of the posing personality and unexampled learning of Johanan
academy; its importance being due to the pupils of Aki- rendered Tiberias for a long period the undisputed cen-
ba, one of whom, Judah ben Ilai, had his home in Usha. ter of Levantine Judaism, the magnet which attracted
Here was undertaken the great work of the restoration of Babylonian students.
Levantine Judaism after its disintegration under Hadrian. When Johanan died in 279—this is the only settled
The study of the Law flourished anew; and Shimon ben date in the whole chronology of the Palestinian
Gamliel II, was invested with the rank that had been his amoraim—the renown of the Tiberias Academy was so
father’s in Jabneh. With him the rank of nasi or patriarch firmly established that it suffered no deterioration under
became hereditary in the house of Hillel, and the seat of his successors, although none of them equaled him in
the academy was made identical with that of the patri- learning. For a time, indeed, Caesarea came into promi-
arch. nence, owing solely to the influence of Hoshaya, who
lived there in the first half of the third century, and ex-
Location of the Patriarchate ercised the duties of a teacher contemporaneously with
the Church father, Origen, with whom he had personal
In the time of Shimon ben Gamaliel II, the seat of the Pa- intercourse. After Johanan’s death the school at Cæsarea
triarchate frequently shifted location; its first move be- attained a new standing under his pupil Abbahu; and
ing from Usha to Shefar’am; thence, under Shimon’s son throughout the whole of the fourth century the opinions
and successor, Judah ha-Nasi or Judah I, to Beit She’arim; of the "sages of Caesarea" were taken into respectful ac-
and finally to Sepphoris (Tzippori), where a celebrated count, even in Tiberias. Sepphoris also resumed its for-
disciple of Akiba, Jose ben Halafta, had been teaching. On- mer importance as a seat of learning; and eminent men
ly with great difficulty could Shimon ben Gamaliel estab- worked there in the fourth century, long after the disas-
lish his authority over this pupil of Akiba, who far out- ter to the city wrought by the forces of the emperor Gal-
shone him in learning. Shimon’s son, Judah I, however, lus. From the beginning of the third century there had
was fortunate enough to unite with his inherited rank been an academy at Lydda in Judea, or "the South," as
the indisputable reputation of a distinguished scholar, Judea was then called. This academy now gained a new
a combination of great importance under the circum- reputation as a school of traditional learning. From it
stances. Judah, in whom "Torah and dignity" were com- came the teacher to whom Jerome owed his knowledge of
bined, was the man appointed to close an important Hebrew and his insight into the Hebræa Veritas. But nei-
epoch and to lay the foundation of a new one. The acad- ther Caesarea, Sepphoris, nor Lydda could detract from
emy at Sepphoris, to which eminent students from Baby- the renown of Tiberias.
lonia also flocked, erected an indestructible monument Tiberias accordingly remained the abode of the offi-
to itself through Judah’s activity in editing the Mishnah, cial head of Judaism in the Land of Israel and, in a cer-
which attained to canonical standing as the authentic tain sense, of the Judaism of the whole Roman Empire,
collection of the legal traditions of religious practise. In as well as the seat of the Academy, which considered it-
the Mishnah, the completion of which was accomplished self the successor of the ancient Sanhedrin. The right of
soon after the death of its author or editor (about 219), ordination which, since Shimon ben Gamaliel II, the pa-
the schools both of the Land of Israel and of Babylonia re- triarch alone had exercised (either with or without the
ceived a recognized text-book, upon which the lectures consent of the Council of Sages), was later on so regulat-
and the debates of the students were thence-forward ed that the degree could only be conferred by the patri-
founded. The recognition of Rabbi Judah’s Mishnah arch and council conjointly. The patriarchal dignity had
marks a strong dividing line in the history of the Acade- meanwhile become worldly, as it were; for exception-
mies and their teachers: it indicates the transition from al learning was by no means held to be an essential at-
the age of the Tannaim to that of the Amoraim. tribute of its possessor. The Academy of Tiberias, whose
unordained members were called ḥaberim (associates),
Centers of Learning never lacked men, of more or less ability, who labored
and taught in the manner of Johanan. Among these may
After Judah’s death Sepphoris did not long remain the be mentioned Eleazar ben Pedat, Ami and Assi, Hiyya
seat of the patriarch and the Academy. Gamaliel III, the bar Abba, Zeira, Samuel ben Isaac, Jonah, Jose, Jeremiah,
unpretentious son of a distinguished father, became pa- Mani, the son of Jonah, and Jose ben Abin, who constitute
triarch; but Hanina ben Hama succeeded him as head a series of brilliant names in the field of the Halakah. In
of the school, and introduced the new order of things the department of the Aggadah — always highly prized
that commenced with the completion of the Mishnah. In and popular in Eretz Yisrael - the renown of Tiberias was
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Talmudic Academies in the Land of Israel
also greatly augmented by many prominent and produc- system, which achieved universal recognition, is called
tive workers, from the contemporaries and pupils of Jo- the "Tiberian punctuation." At Tiberias flourished, about
hanan down to Tanhuma ben Abba, who was illustrious the middle of the eighth century, the Masorite Phinehas,
as a collector and an editor of aggadic literature. called also Rosh Yeshiva ("Head of the Academy"), and
Asher the Great, forefather of five generations of Ma-
The Jerusalem Talmud sorites (Nehemiah ben Asher, Moses ben Nehemiah, Ash-
er ben Moses, Moses ben Asher, and Aaron ben Moses),
Main article: Jerusalem Talmud was to a certain extent his contemporary. The last-
The imperishable monument to the school of Tiberias is named Aaron ben Moses ben Asher (briefly called Ben
the Palestinian or, as it is commonly called, the Jerusalem Asher), a contemporary of Saadia Gaon, brought the
Talmud, of which Johanan ben Nappaha laid the founda- Tiberian school of Masorites to a distinguished end.
tion; for which reason he is generally styled, although er- Tiberias thereafter ceased to play any part in Jewish
roneously, its redactor or author. In point of fact, how- learning, until, in the twelfth century, it emerged for a
ever, this work was not completed until nearly a century brief period, and again in the sixteenth century, when it
and a half after Johanan’s death; and its close is undoubt- became the object of the pious ambition of Don Joseph
edly connected with the extinction of the patriarchal of- Nasi of Naxos.
fice (about 425). But Tiberias did not therefore cease to be
a seat of learning, although very little of its subsequent
activity is known. According to a Babylonian legend, a
See also
scion of the Babylonian exilarch’s house fled to Tiberias • Jerusalem Talmud
in the first third of the sixth century, and there became • Palestinian Patriarchate
a resh pirqa (ἀρχιφερεχίτης = head of the school); a hun- • Talmudic Academies in Babylonia
dred years later a Syrian bishop made an appeal to the
sages of Tiberias for the purpose of inducing Dhu Nuwas,
the Jewish king of Himyar, to cease his persecution of the
Notes
Christians there. [1] Eruvin 13b.
[2] Rosh Hashana 31b.
The Tiberian Punctuation
Main article: Tiberian Hebrew
References
Further importance was gained by Tiberias as the seat of • Bacher, Wilhelm. "Academies in Palestine". Jewish
the Masoretic traditions and innovations; for there in the Encyclopedia. Funk and Wagnalls, 1901-1906.
seventh century was introduced that system of punctua- This article incorporates text from a publication now
tion which was destined to aid so efficiently in the prop- in the public domain: Jewish Encyclopedia. 1901–1906.
er reading and understanding of the Biblical text. This
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