[Illustration: _ABRAHAM M. SIMON (born in Kalvaria, Russian-Poland, in
1886; came to America in 1904) received his A.B. with honors from
Harvard College in 1910, and his M.A. from the University of
Pennsylvania in 1911. During 1910-11 he was a Fellow in the Dropsie
College for Hebrew and Cognate Learning of Philadelphia, and he spent
the summer of 1911 at the Bodleian Library at Oxford and the
Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, reading and copying Arabic
manuscripts. In 1913 he won his Ph.D. in Semitics at the University of
Pennsylvania. Mr. Simon was one of the original members of the Harvard
Menorah Society, and read a Hebrew poem_ Ner Yisrael (_"The Light of
Israel"_) _at the dedicatory exercises of the Society._]
The Jewish commonwealth was dissolved; the Jewish nation disrupted.
Jerusalem was taken; the Temple had become a ruin. The last vestige of
independence seemed to have been wiped out. All who had taken up arms
were either dead, or enslaved, or banished. The infuriated Roman
conquerors had spared neither the women nor the children. It seemed as
if Judaism had breathed her last in that terrible year 70. Sadduceeism
was annihilated; the Zealots were exterminated; the austere sentiment
of the Pharisees, continually looking back to ancient customs and
institutions, tried to assert itself. It is no longer permitted, they
announced, to eat meat or drink wine, now that the Temple has fallen,
because animals can no longer be sacrificed on the holy altars, nor
wine offered there as a drink-offering. By such asceticism, these
Pharisees of the strict school would have caused the destruction of
Judaism. But there was a Hillelite still alive--a man who had
inherited the spirit of Hillel, who rated conviction higher than
ceremony, and consulted the times more than the ancient forms. It was
he who kept the remnants together in close union, and did not permit
the spirit to vanish, although the material bond was broken. This
Hillelite was Rabbi Jochanan ben Zakkai.
_The Disciple and Favorite of Hillel_
Of the eighty disciples moulded by the great Hillel to continue his
policy, Rabbi Jochanan ben Zakkai was especially distinguished. Before
his death, Hillel is said to have designated Jochanan as "the father
of wisdom," and "the father of the coming generation." Tradition
divides Jochanan's life, like Hillel's, into three periods of forty
years each. The first forty years were spent in mercantile pursuits;
in the second he studied; and in the third he taught and managed the
affairs of the Jewish spiritual community.
Even before the destruction of Jerusalem, Jochanan's fame had spread
far and wide. He was a member of the Synhedrion and taught the holy
law within the shadow of the Temple. His school was called the "Great
House," and was the scene of many incidents which formed the subjects
for anecdote and legend. He was the first man who successfully
combatted the Sadducees, and who knew how to refute their arguments,
which were partly religious and partly juridical. But Jochanan's great
fame was chiefly due to the influence which he afterwards exercised at
Jabneh.
_Jochanan's Escape from Jerusalem_
Owing to his peaceful character, Rabbi Jochanan had joined the party
of peace when the Romans laid siege to Jerusalem, and on several
occasions urged the nation, and in particular his nephew, ben Betiach,
the leader of the Zealots, to surrender the city. "Why do you desire
to destroy the city, and give up the Temple to the flames?" said he to
the leaders of the revolution. But his well meant admonitions were
disregarded by the "war party." When he saw the end approaching, and
recognized that all was lost, he determined to leave the doomed city.
He counselled with his foremost disciples, Eliezer ben Hyrkanos,
Joshua ben Chananja and others. It was decided that Rabbi Jochanan
should leave the city, go to the Roman general, and plead for those
people who had no share in the rebellion. But to depart from the city
was extremely dangerous, as the Zealots kept up a constant watch and
slew all who attempted to leave. Rabbi Jochanan, therefore, caused a
rumor to be spread of his sudden sickness and later of his death.
Having been placed in a coffin he was carried to the city gates, at
the hour of sunset, by his pupils Eliezer and Joshua. When the funeral
procession approached, it was stopped at the gate within.
"Whose body do you carry here?" asked the Hebrew guard.
"We are carrying the crown of Israel, the body of our master, Rabbi
Jochanan ben Zakkai," they answered in tears.
The captain of the guards was affected.
"Open the gates, men, and let them pass," the captain ordered.
"Are you sure, captain, that Rabbi Jochanan ben Zakkai is dead?"
exclaimed one of the soldiers. "Maybe they are taking away a living
traitor. I will make sure that he is dead."
He raised his dagger to strike at the shrouded form of the Rabbi.
"Hold, soldier!" cried the captain; "to dishonor the body of the saint
would be a sin for which all Israel would have to atone. Open the
gates and let them pass in peace."
The fanatic reluctantly desisted; the gate was opened and the
procession passed through.
Vespasian received the fugitive in a friendly manner, the more since,
like Josephus, Jochanan prophesied imperial honors for the general.
Asked to name the favor he desired, Rabbi Jochanan, instead of seeking
personal gain, requested permission to establish a school at Jabneh
(or, as the place is sometimes called, Jamnia), where he could
continue to give his lectures to his disciples. The request was
granted, and thereupon Jochanan settled with his disciples in Jabneh,
there to await the issue of events.
What could Vespasian have thought of Rabbi Jochanan when he made his
request? Any one else bearing such prophecies might have asked for
gold, honor, great political preferments, while this Hebrew sage asked
simply for a corner where he could study undisturbed. How could the
Hebrew nation exist when the leaders, their great men, lacked
ambition? Little did Vespasian dream that his granting of the Rabbi's
modest request would undo the whole work of the Roman conquest.
_The Fall of the Temple: Jabneh Succeeds Jerusalem_
In Jabneh, surrounded by his disciples, Rabbi Jochanan received the
terrible news of the fall of Jerusalem and the burning of the Temple.
Although he had foreseen the calamity, yet the news crushed the soul
of the great master. He and his disciples tore their garments and for
seven days wept and mourned in sackcloth and ashes. Jochanan, however,
did not despair, for he recognized the truth that Judaism was not
indissolubly bound with its Temple and its altar. He saw a new
spiritual Temple emerge from the ruins and smoke of the old one; he
beheld Judaism rising to a higher plane, offering faith, love, truth
and happiness to all humanity. He comforted his colleagues and
disciples by reminding them that Judaism still existed. "My children,"
he said, "weep not, and dry your tears; the Romans have destroyed the
material Temple, but the true altar of God, the true place of
forgiveness, they could not destroy, and it is with us yet. Would you
know where? Behold, in the homes of the poor, there is the altar;
love, charity, mercy, and justice are the offerings, the sweet incense
which pleases the Lord more than any sacrifice, as it is written: For
I take pleasure in mercy and not in burnt offerings." The next step
taken by Rabbi Jochanan and his friends was to convoke a Synhedrion at
Jabneh, of which he was at once chosen president. With no opposition,
Jabneh took the place of Jerusalem, and became the religious national
center for the dispersed community. It enjoyed the same religious
privileges as Jerusalem. All the important functions of the
Synhedrion, by which it exercised a judicial and uniting power over
the distant congregations, proceeded from Jabneh.
Rabbi Jochanan's motto was: "If thou hast learnt much Torah, ascribe
not any merit to thyself, for thereunto wast thou created." He found
his real calling in the study of the Law. His knowledge was spoken of
reverently as though it included the whole cycle of Jewish learning.
And not only the Law but many languages of the Gentiles occupied the
active mind of Rabbi Jochanan. The following description of him is
handed down to us by tradition: "He had never been known to engage in
any profane conversation. He had always been the first to enter the
Academy. He never allowed himself, wittingly or unwittingly, to be
overtaken by sleep while in the Academy. He had never gone a distance
of four cubits without meditating on the Torah and without
phylacteries. No one ever found him engaged in anything but study. He
always lectured in person to his pupils. He never taught anything
which he did not hear from his masters. He had never been heard to say
that it was time to leave the Academy." He advised a certain family in
Jerusalem, the members of which died young, to occupy itself with the
study of the Torah, so as to mitigate the curse of dying in the prime
of life.
_Rabbi Jochanan as Teacher and Commentator_
Rabbi Jochanan ben Zakkai may be designated as the representative of
Halachic Judaism, founded by the great master Hillel, rather than as
an originator or independent thinker. Hillel, the most respected of
all the teachers of the Law, had given to Judaism a special garb and
form. He had drawn the Law from the midst of contending sects into the
quiet precincts of the Beth-Hamidrash, and labored to bring into
harmony those precepts which were apparently opposed to one another in
the Law. Rabbi Jochanan employed and developed Hillel's method. Like
Hillel, he was also liberal in his general views. Thus he seems to
have frequently engaged in discussions with heathens. And such was his
general affability and courtesy to all that no man was ever known to
have anticipated his salutations. The Haggadic tradition connects
numerous and various sayings with the name of Rabbi Jochanan. The
Haggadah was a peculiarly fascinating branch of study. Abounding in
brilliant sallies, displays of ingenuity, and wonderful stories, it
gave special scope for the cleverness and the rich imagination of the
lecturers. By it a Halachah might be illustrated, or a passage of
Scripture commented upon in a novel fashion. Without binding himself
to any strict exegetical principles, the Haggadist would bring almost
anything out of the text, and interweave his comment with legends. At
the same time, the Haggadah remained only the personal saying of the
individual teacher, and its value depended upon his learning and
reputation, or upon the names which he could quote in support of his
statements.
In this manner Rabbi Jochanan explained many laws and rendered them
comprehensible, when they seemed obscure or extraordinary. Rabbi
Jochanan's view of piety corresponded with his teaching that Job's
piety was not based on the love of God, but on the fear of God. To
love God; to serve Him out of love and not out of fear; to study the
law continually, and to have a good heart--these were the essentials
of a pious man. He once saw the daughter of Nakdimon ben Gurion
picking up a scanty nourishment of barley-corn from among the hoofs of
the horses of the enemy. When he recognized the woman, he broke out in
tears and told his companion how he had signed her marriage contract
as a witness when her father gave her one million golden dinars,
besides the wealth she received from her father-in-law. Then the old
sage exclaimed: "Unhappy nation, you would not serve God, therefore
you must serve your enemies; you would not offer half a shekel for the
Temple, therefore you must pay thirty times as much to the
institutions of your conquerors; you refused to keep the woods and
paths in order for the pilgrims, therefore you must build roads and
bridges for the Roman soldiers; and in you is fulfilled the prophecy:
Because thou servest not the Lord with joyfulness, and with gladness
of heart, by reason of abundance of all things, therefore shalt thou
serve thy enemies, which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger
and in thirst and in nakedness and in want of all things."
_Jochanan's Spirit in Affliction and in Death_
Rabbi Jochanan had domestic as well as national troubles. A dearly
beloved son was taken from him by death, and the soul of the father
was filled with grief. His five famous scholars came to offer sympathy
and consolation. One recalled the sorrow that Adam had endured when he
looked at the body of his murdered son. Another one urged the example
of Job; a third, that of Aaron, the brother of Moses; a fourth, that
of David, King of Israel.
"My sons," said the stricken father, "how can the sufferings of others
alleviate my sorrow?" But Eliezer ben Aroch, the most famous of his
scholars, then spoke to him and said:
"A certain man had a priceless jewel entrusted to him. He watched it
by day and by night for its safe keeping, but was always troubled by
the thought that he might lose it. When, therefore, the owner of the
jewel came to take it back, the man was happy, because he no longer
had to fear for the safety of the precious jewel. Even so, dear
master, thou shouldst rejoice when thou hast given thy son to God, who
trusted thee with him, since thou hast returned him in his innocence
as thou didst first receive him."
"My son," said the master, "thou hast truly comforted me."
When Rabbi Jochanan was nigh to death, his colleagues and disciples
gathered round him in sorrow and trembling.
"Master, Light of Israel!" they exclaimed. "Why weepest thou?"
And the master answered: "If they were about to lead me before a king
of flesh and blood, who today is and tomorrow is in the grave--if he
were wroth with me, his wrath were not eternal; if he should put me in
chains, his chains were not eternal; if he should put me to death,
that death would not be eternal; I might appease him with words or
bribe him with gifts. But now they are about to lead me before the
King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, who lives and remains
through all eternity. If He is wroth with me, His wrath is eternal; if
He casts me into chains, His chains are eternal; if He puts me to
death, it is eternal death; Him no words can appease, no gifts soften.
And further, there are two ways--one to hell, one to Paradise; and I
know not which way they will lead me. Is there not cause for tears?"
Asked to give his disciples a last blessing, he told them:
"Fear God even as ye fear men."
His disciples seemed disappointed, whereupon he added:
"He who would commit a sin first looks around to discover whether any
man sees him; so take ye heed that God's all seeing eye see not the
sinful thought in your heart."
His death occurred only a few years after the destruction of the
Temple. But in that short time he saved Judaism, and the impress he
left upon Israel is evident from the famous dictum of the Talmud:
"With the death of Rabbi Jochanan ben Zakkai the light of wisdom was
quenched." And many still believe that none like him--scholar and
diplomat--has since arisen in Israel.
[Illustration: Signature: Abraham M. Simon]
EDITORS' NOTE.--_The first sketch in this series on
Jewish Worthies, Dr. Moses Hyamson's study of
"Golden-Rule Hillel," appeared in our April number.
The third in the series will be on Rabbi Akiba._